The increased property tax rate will bring in $936,655 more revenue than last fiscal year, which will help fund additional city staff positions and pay down city debt, according to city documents.
The overview
The adopted budget includes a projected $72.6 million in operating revenues and $72.5 million in operating expenses, Director of Finance Kyle Lester said.
The beginning balance for the general fund is $15.8 million, according to city documents. The projected revenue for the general fund is $36 million, while expenses are projected to be $38.8 million, resulting in a projected ending balance of about $13.1 million.
The budget takes into account increases to health insurance costs, market adjustments for city employee pay and increases to costs of treating water, Lester said.
Additionally, the budget includes $18.6 million for designing the hotel and convention center to be located just east of City Hall, Lester said.
Diving deeper
City officials dedicated $475,000 of the $936,655 revenue increase to funding new city staff positions, which include a custodian, a dispatcher, an IT systems analysis, a seasonal labor for recreation and two utility equipment operators, Community Impact previously reported.
The remaining $465,000 in increased revenue will go toward $22 million in debt funds related to construction of a parking garage on US 377 and Main Street, per previous reporting. City Council announced Aug. 26 that officials intend to issue a bond in November to pay for construction of this parking garage.
More details
The property tax rate will be $0.326182 per $100 valuation, which is a $0.018 per $100 valuation increase, according to city documents.
The average property owner will pay $134 more on their tax bill than last year based on the average home price of $570,000 and the taxable value of $426,000, Lester said at the Aug. 26 City Council meeting.
“Consistently, we have lowered taxes over the past five years,” Mayor Scooter Gierisch said. “In this particular situation, it’s unfortunate, but we’re looking at increasing it.”
