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Council sets public hearings for proposed 63¢ tax rate and budget; staff projects $5M deficit
Summary
Council set Aug. 19 public hearings for a proposed tax rate of $0.63 per $100 valuation and for the budget and PID. Finance staff said the draft budget projects a $5 million deficit and noted about $900,000 in unrealized revenue tied to exemptions.
Finance staff presented a proposed 2026 tax rate and requested the council set public hearings for the budget, tax rate and a public-improvement district (PID) budget.
“Mister Miller” told the council the proposed tax rate is $0.63 per $100 of assessed valuation, down from 63.5¢ last year, and asked the council to set three public hearings on Aug. 19 for the tax rate, the budget and the PID budget. He said the proposed budget is presently projected as a $5,000,000 deficit but noted prior years' conservative budgeting often results in better actual collections than projected.
Council members asked for clarity on revenue impacts from recent exemptions and freezes; staff said the combined effect of homestead exemptions and the over-65 freeze amounts to about $900,000 in unrealized revenue for the current year, and that roughly $2.9 million in valuation is exempted under various programs. Staff said they lowered revenue projections for two major sales-tax contributors that may relocate and adjusted rebate expense projections accordingly.
Council moved, seconded and approved a motion to set the public hearings for Aug. 19 on the proposed 63¢ tax rate and related budget and PID items (motion by Mr. Schrag; second by Mr. Marks).
