Council approved a tax rate of $0.343111 per $100 valuation, and that is a 6.09% decrease from the tax rate from the preceding year of $0.365347, according to the Town Council agenda.
Zooming In
The maintenance and operations rate is $0.246157, and the interest and sinking is $0.096954. The average value of a home is $617,339, and the average bill would be $2,119, up from $2,040 last year. The average value of a home last year was $554,599.
The budget has $7.06 million in revenue and $6.89 million in expenditures. The budget and tax rate were passed in 4-0 votes, with Gordon Baethge absent, and Ron Schmidt, Chad Boyd, Cynthia Hermann and Casey Stewart voting in favor.
What they said
Most of the budget discussion came from Council Member Ron Schmidt, who had many questions about the numbers in town documents.
Mayor Rick Bradford, echoing Town Administrator Erika McComis, said the budget is just a proposal and council town is not bound and required to spend all the money. Bradford said the town is in growth mode, and the future looks bright for the town’s commercial prospects.
“I’m very optimistic about what the future looks like for this town,” he said, adding there was not this level of interest and this opportunity for commercial revenue in the town’s past.
He said a “pretty big raise” in sales taxes will happen with the growth.
In addition, in the new fiscal year, employees will receive a 3 percent cost of living adjustment, and $500,000 will be allocated toward the proposed law enforcement center, according to town's website, with the funds being used to acquire land and for the construction of a new, state-of-the-art law enforcement center.
