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Red Bank staff: incorrect certified tax rate will create roughly $762,000 FY‑26 shortfall
Summary
City staff told commissioners an error in the certified tax rate supplied during the 2025 reappraisal will reduce expected property tax receipts and create a projected FY‑26 budget gap of about $762,286; staff and commissioners said they will continue discussions and seek updates from state officials.
Mister Grama, a city staff member, told the Red Bank City Commission that the certified tax rate (CTR) provided during the 2025 reappraisal was incorrect and that the error creates a substantial revenue shortfall for the fiscal year 2026 budget. "The magnitude of the mistake, unfortunately, is $914,603," Grama said, and he gave a separate figure for the FY‑26 budget gap: "This is a loss of $762,286."
The issue stems from the CTR produced as part of the state reappraisal process. Grama explained the assessor of property and the State Board of Equalization initially presented a revenue‑neutral CTR of 0.8968; later recalculations show the correct revenue‑neutral CTR should have been 1.0775. The city budget adopted a levy of 0.98; staff said that levy, when combined with the corrected reappraisal numbers, produces less revenue than the commission budgeted. "The projected property tax proceeds with a levy of 0.98 is $4,960,214," Grama said, then explained how that compares to the amounts budgeted and historically collected.
Grama walked commissioners through the arithmetic and a graphic that compared: the commission's budgeted property tax revenue ($5,722,500), what the corrected CTR would have generated (about $5,453,000), the last audited actual proceeds ($5,260,982), and proceeds expected from the adopted 0.98 levy ($4,960,214). He described $914,603 as the difference between receipts that would result from the incorrect CTR and the recalculated CTR, and $762,286 as the difference between the budgeted revenue and the amount now expected under the adopted levy.
Commissioners and staff said they will continue to discuss the matter in upcoming commission meetings and pursue more information from state actors. The mayor said he planned to contact members of the legislative delegation and said there appear to be similar problems with reappraisals elsewhere in the state. During public comment, resident Eric Bullard asked whether the assessor of property or state officials had provided updates; Bullard referenced a recent special called session that addressed the issue and urged the commission to pursue any information from the assessor and the legislative delegation.
No formal vote or change to the adopted levy was recorded during the work session. Grama and other staff said additional updates and follow-up items will be presented at regular commission meetings as more information becomes available and as staff and commissioners engage with state offices.
