Chair says tax rate unchanged; city projects higher property tax receipts due to valuation increases

The chair opened a public hearing on the city's fiscal-year property tax levy and told residents the posted rate is not changing even though examples in the mailed notice show higher bills due to rises in assessed value.

The chair said the notice explains three parts — the College Community School District levy, the county levy and the city's portion — and pointed to the table that lists the city's current tax rate as "8.10." The chair said the notice's "effective tax rate" column illustrates that if tax dollars were held constant while valuations rose, the levy would decline in the example to about 7.47.

"What we're proposing is to take in more property tax money, from the current 1,250,298 to 1,354,543, and that is leaving the proposed tax rate at 8.10," the chair said. The chair also summarized an example showing a residential assessed value rising from $100,000 to $110,000 and a commercial example rising from $300,000 to $330,000, and explained those example figures drive the percentage changes in the table.

The chair cautioned that the back of the notice "is a little harder to understand" and could mislead readers, noting a reference to "50% authority" that may confuse taxpayers. The chair emphasized: "our rate isn't changing; it's the assessed value that's changing; that's not determined by us."

Staff and the chair also reviewed how the notice treats commercial properties (the transcript describes the first $150,000 taxed like residential, with amounts above that subject to a 90% commercial rollback) and noted last year's example showed a negative percentage when the levy was held steady because of different valuation and rollback calculations.

The chair asked staff to post an explanatory message on the city's Facebook page and to show comparisons with neighboring small towns so residents could see local differences. The chair said the city received one email before the hearing regarding a school levy; after staff clarified the city does not set school levies, the sender withdrew the request for inclusion in the packet.

After asking for public comment from those present and online and receiving none, the chair closed the hearing and a motion to adjourn was made and seconded; the chair called "all in favor," and the council paused briefly to reconvene for a second special meeting scheduled for 6:15.

The meeting included detailed examples and explanations intended for public information; no formal ordinance, rate change, or additional council action on the levy was recorded in the transcript of this session.