ORN approves new city  budget, lowers taxes againThe city of Oak Ridge North approved its fiscal year 2015-16 city budget Aug. 31 and established a lower property tax rate for the sixth year in a row.


The new property tax for the 2015-16 fiscal year is set at $0.46 cents per $100 of property valuation, a decrease from the 2014-15 tax rate of $0.48 cents per $100 of valuation.


Director of Finance Kristen Woolley said the new tax rate means residents who own, for example, a $100,000 home will see a $20 decrease in their property tax bill. The new tax rate is expected to raise $28,252 less for the city than last year’s tax rate in terms of maintenance and operation fees.


City Manager Vicky Rudy said the lowered tax rate was possible because of the 11 percent increase in sales tax revenue the city saw in 2015, which increased from $1.7 million in 2014 to around $1.9 million this year. Rudy also said the rate drop was a result of the growth of business in the area.


“Things are changing economically because of the oil downturn, and the budget is fairly flat,” she said. “We kept everything in check, except where inflation was beyond our control. But new growth in the area has helped. Value has gone up.”


The city also planned contributions to the capital improvements fund from the operations and maintenance budget. The general fund for capital improvements is budgeted to transfer $425,000. About $582,603 will also be transferred and allocated for specific maintenance efforts, which are for projects to maintain existing facilities. The total estimated funds available for capital improvements are $4,652,874.


Rudy said the improvements will focus on the city’s water and sewer system, such as renovating water pipelines and commercial meter placement. Design work on Woodson Road’s sidewalk and new signage for the city are also being planned.


“The real focus is the water line and fixing Woodson Road’s sidewalk; we’ve been waiting five years to do that,” she said. “We are proud of the progress we’ve made so far though. We’ve done five years of incredible work.”


Rudy said she hopes to continue with the accomplishments the small city has been able to achieve.


“We want to keep things up so that the infrastructure matches the beautiful homes of the city,” she said. “This budget is set with careful consideration of the existing economic conditions. For 2016, we wanted to be conservative and conscious.”