Shenandoah City Council held a special meeting Sept. 6 to appoint an interim city secretary and further discuss the proposed fiscal year 2017-18 budget. The special meeting was the first meeting for Interim City Administrator Kathie Reyer and all council members were present. To view the entire agenda, click here. 1. The council unanimously appointed Courtney Clary as interim city of secretary. With the resignation of former City Administrator Greg Smith effective Aug. 31, former City Secretary Kathie Reyer was appointed interim city administrator until the council hires a permanent replacement. To fill Reyer's role as city secretary, the council unanimously appointed Courtney Clary as interim city secretary. Clary previously worked as an executive assistant with the city. 2. The council determined the proposed budget will include a property tax rate of 20.99 cents per $100 valuation. The proposed property tax rate is lower than the FY 2016-17 rate of 22.95 cents per $100 valuation and lower than the FY 2017-18 effective tax rate of 21.08 per $100 valuation. If approved, the proposed property tax rate would go into effect Oct. 1. 3. The proposed budget will also include the city footing the bill for residential trash service. While residents will still pay for their own recycling services, the proposed budget and general fund surplus, if approved, would allow for the city to pay for residential trash service. Currently, the average Shenandoah household pays $18.55 per month for trash service and $6.08 for recycling service. Effective Oct. 1, waste management providers will increase the monthly trash fee  to $19.29 and the monthly recycling fee will increase to $6.33. The city is working to negotiate with Shenandoah’s trash service provider to reduce the cost to $16.55 per month for trash service and $6.08 per month for recycling service. If the budget is approved, the average Shenandoah household would save approximately $200 annually on trash services at the $16.55 monthly rate. The council will vote on whether to adopt the proposed budget during the next regular meeting, Sept. 13.