Perry City holds public hearing on proposed 2027 property tax levy

Perry City officials held a public hearing on a proposed property tax levy for the fiscal year 2027 budget, during which staff reviewed current valuations, levy-rate limits and the cost pressures prompting a larger levy proposal.

The clerk told the council the city’s current taxable valuation is $189,971,635 and that the combined consolidated general-fund levy is constrained by statutory growth limits. “This current year we have growth 5.52%,” the clerk said, and noted that the growth level reduces allowable revenue growth under the rollback/limit table: 2.75–3.99% reduces growth by 1%, 4–6% by 2% and growth above 6% by 3%. The clerk said the maximum allowed combined general-fund levy for the current year is about 8.09, down from an earlier figure the clerk described around 8.50.

Why it matters: those growth and rollback mechanics determine how much the city can increase levy rates as valuations change. Staff told the council that, comparing current levies at the same valuation to the proposed FY2027 budget, projected collections would rise from about $3.4 million to about $3.6 million as the city adjusts rates and accounts for higher costs.

City staff attributed the need for higher levy-supported revenues to a mix of rising costs and accounting reclassifications. The clerk said liability insurance rose (about $15,000) and police and fire retirement contributions increased (about $7,000). Staff also said FICA-related costs were moved back to the appropriate departmental accounts after having been grouped under other employee benefits, which produced a noticeable increase in personnel-related expenditures.

During questions, a council member asked why FICA had risen so much; the clerk replied that the line had been reallocated from “other employee benefits” back to the police budget in the current year, creating the apparent increase. The clerk also summarized year-to-year totals described in the meeting transcript (figures stated roughly as $1,295,000 and $1,396,000).

Jim Caulfield, a reporter with perrynews.com, asked the council to explain the rationale behind taxable-valuation changes and how those changes affect levy limits. A council member replied that assessed-value increases are primarily market-driven and also reflect new construction, development coming off tax abatement and county reassessments (the transcript cited Dallas County reassessments as an example) and that higher reassessments can push the city into higher-growth ranges that then reduce allowable budget growth under the rollback percentages.

The council closed the public hearing at the session and staff said it will set a public hearing on the full budget adoption at the next meeting to allow for a fuller presentation of the budget document and additional public input. No final vote to adopt the levy occurred at this session.

The agenda for the meeting was approved earlier in the session by motion and roll call, and the clerk recorded the roll-call responses.