What happened
The approved property tax rate is $0.305 per $100 valuation, a drop of $0.014 compared to the 2023-24 fiscal year rate, according to city documents.
Chief Financial Officer Sharen Jackson reviewed the budget and tax rate in the Sept. 3 meeting, which was the first of two readings to formally approve each item. Jackson said the reduction will reduce city revenues by $1.58 million, while the 20% homestead exemption will reduce revenues by an additional $5.6 million.
She said the average house has a value of $1.09 million and the tax bill will be $2,670. That is an approximate saving of $14 compared to the previous year, according to documents.
The proposed tax rate will allocate $0.25 for general fund operation and $0.055 for debt service. The general fund totals $54.4 million, or 41.6%, of the $130.5 million operating budget for FY 2024-25.
The overall budget features a 3% increase over the FY 2023-24 budget.
According to city documents, the funding priorities from the general fund included:
- $1.25 million for park safety enhancement
- $774,000 for facility maintenance
- $30 million for public utilities operations and maintenance
- $450,000 for police and fire equipment
- $435,000 for technology maintenance and subscription fees
- $1.28 million for compensation and benefits
