Budget committee approves current tax rate, recommends FY 2024–25 budget with $15,000 discretionary fund

The Talent Budget Committee voted unanimously on June 5 to recommend the town’s proposed fiscal year 2024–25 budget to the city council and to approve the current property tax rate. The committee also approved applying the state revenue-sharing allocation included in the proposed budget.

Speaker 3 moved to approve the current property tax rate of $3.2316 per $1,000 of assessed value for the town; after a second and a roll-call vote the motion carried. Speaker 2 told the committee it does not have legal authority to raise the rate, which remains set at $3.2316; assessed values may rise up to 3 percent annually as determined by the county assessor.

On the budget, Speaker 3 moved to approve the proposed FY 2024–25 budget with an added $15,000 council discretionary line item and the changes outlined in the finance director’s May 8, 2024 memo; Speaker 1 seconded. The clerk conducted a roll-call and all members voted in favor, and the committee recommended the budget package to the city council.

The committee also approved accepting and applying state-shared revenues (cigarette, diesel and alcohol taxes among others) as shown in the budget. Speaker 2 said the amount included in the budget is $171,969, roughly $40,000 less than last year, noting the decline reflects both reduced per-capita distributions and Talent’s lower population.

The committee thanked staff for preparing the budget; staff said they remain available for follow-up questions. The budget committee adjourned at 6:39 p.m.; the item will next appear before the city council on June 20.