On Sept. 2, council voted 4-2 to adopt the FY 2025-26 budget, in which general fund revenues and expenditures equal $20.53 million. The council also voted 4-2 to set the property tax rate at $0.53 per $100 valuation, an increase of $0.0156 from FY 2024-25.
Council members Bernard Rubal and Phil Vaughan were the two dissenting votes on both the budget and the tax rate. Vaughan said he voted against the budget and tax rate due to concerns over the rate.
"There's a lot of good things in this budget that I really support, however, it does raise more taxes than I think is necessary," Vaughan said.
The overview
Of general fund revenues, 45% come from property taxes. According to the budget document, FY 2025-26 will raise $273,498, or 2.5% more, in property tax revenues than the prior year.
In FY 2025-26, 45% of general fund expenditures are for public safety, including a police department budget of $5.2 million.
The $3.98 million fire department budget includes a 20% increase for emergency services, as approved by council in June. Capital purchases or improvements in the budget include funds toward fire truck purchases and firefighting breathing apparatuses.
The city’s property tax rate increase comes after years of drops, going from $0.601444 in FY 2019-20 to $0.514382 in FY 2024-25.
The increase is a change of $0.83 per month on a homeowner bill per $100,000 in taxable value, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
