The tax rate is split into $0.1269 per $100 valuation for debt service repayment and $0.2979 per $100 valuation for maintenance and operations, including police protection, traffic control, street maintenance, and parks and recreation.
The tax rate is a decrease from the FY 2021-22 rate, which was set at $0.4723 per $100 valuation, according to the city’s website.
The City Council also approved an amended contract with Waste Management for residential waste services.
In its meeting on June 27, the city approved a contract that would charge residents $16.91 a month for a weekly pickup standard service. Meeting documents said the city then received back a draft contract, which listed the cost at $17.93 per month. Waste Management then offered the city a rate of $17.57, which the city accepted while requesting additional changes to the contract.
The new contract is a five-year agreement but includes a 90-day termination clause that allows the city to cancel the contract with reason, provided Waste Management is given the opportunity to fix the mistake.
The new rate of $17.57 per month is an increase from the previous rate of $15.34. Tiana Smith, public sector solutions manager for Waste Management, said the increase accounts for inflation and fuel costs. The new contract includes a clause that allows the rate to decrease if fuel prices also decrease.
The contract was approved with a 3-2 vote, with council members Alex Jones and Clint McLaren voting in opposition. Jones had also voted against the previous contract proposed in June.
The council also voted to delay the closing of work on Phase 1 of the Oak Ridge North Plaza District to no later than March 2024. The agreement between the city previously stated the closing date as October 2022.
City Manager Heather Neeley said the delay is due to new changes to the Robinson Road Project that interfere with development of the plaza district.
“We changed the traffic control plan a couple months ago. We were going to use going through the city’s property to go through Robinson Road instead of having parts shut off— that way they can shut off that and work on it while it’s going through the city’s property,” Neeley said. “[The developer] doesn’t feel comfortable having work done and everything ... if something happens, and just the liability of paying the property taxes and everything while he can’t develop it.”
Neeley said the developer may choose to close sooner than March 2024 depending on when the portion of the Robinson Road Project that affects the property is completed.
