A discussion was had during last night’s Finance Committee meeting about a proposed increase to inside millage. I wanted to provide some details about that discussion and some history.
The proposed increase would be a total of 4.9 mils broken out as such:
- .7 mils for police pension.
- .7 mils for fire pension.
- 1.0 mil to capital for safety services
- 2.5 to general fund to satisfy the following commitments:
- 3 Additional Firefighters
- Maintain PD Officers/Sergeants
- Increase Dispatch staffing
- Maintain Post 5/24/20 Service Department Staffing Level
Since 2014 the general fun had subsidized the fire pension fund to the tune of $2,802,804 and the police pension fund $2,435,852. This additional millage will decrease the dependency on the general fund.
4.9 Mills will generate approximately $3.2 Million in property tax revenue for the City.
This equates to a $171.50 annual increase or $14.29/month in property taxes per $100,000 of home value.
Decreasing City dependency on Income Tax is vital to maintain City services throughout economic downturns (such as this global pandemic). This proposal would do that.