Surprise council sets intent to levy property taxes, keeps rates unchanged

The Surprise City Council on June 2 voted to set the city's intent to levy a primary property tax of 0.5534 and a secondary property tax of 0.388 per $100 of assessed valuation, keeping both rates unchanged from the prior year and scheduling formal adoption for June 16.

Finance staff member Andrea Simmons told the council the combined rate remains 0.9414 and that the county's calculation of the city's maximum allowable primary levy was $15,850,000 (a 0.7632 rate). "The city of Surprise chose to keep the rate the same at 0.5534, which equates to a levy of 11,490,000," Simmons said, noting the chosen levy is about $4,360,000, or roughly 38%, below the maximum the county allowed.

Simmons illustrated the household impact: if a home's market value is $550,000 (limited value approximately $300,000), the primary property tax in the example would be about $166. She added that the secondary property tax is dedicated to repayment of the city's general obligation bonds. "This is only used for bond repayment," Simmons said.

Mayor Sarter opened the public hearing; the clerk reported there were no requests to speak. Councilman Duffy moved to approve Resolution 2026-88, and Vice Mayor Greenberg seconded. The clerk then announced, "That's a pass vote, mayor." The council did not record a roll-call tally in the transcript; the record reflects approval by voice vote.

The council will consider final adoption of the property tax levy on June 16 as stated in Resolution 2026-88.