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City, school set budget hearings for Aug. 13

By Caroline Trowbridge - | Jul 25, 2001

After receiving a 2002 budget proposal that included a 0.455-mill increase from this year’s budget, Tonganoxie city council members asked that an additional mill be added to the tax rate.

On Monday, city council members reviewed a budget proposed by City Administrator Chris Clark.

Clark’s proposal called for a mill levy rate of 33.561 a slight increase from the 2001 rate of 33.106 mills. A mill is $1 in taxes for every $1,000 in assessed property valuation.

But city council members said they thought the city should include more money in the 2002 proposal for the police, fire and street departments and for a reserve fund. Council member Pat Albert pushed for a higher tax increase.

“I think we need to be more aggressive to get some projects started,” he said.

Council members discussed the possibility of adding 2 mills to the tax rate for 2002, but council members Janet Angell and Kathy Graveman balked at that idea.

“People’s valuations have gone up,” Graveman said. “Even if we did nothing, people’s taxes still are going to increase.”

The council compromised, agreeing to a total 1.455-mill increase from the 2001 budget.

The additional 1 mill will translate into $17,000 additional revenue for the city.

Meanwhile, the Tonganoxie school district’s 2002 budget proposal is calling for a 44.089 mill levy an increase of 2.26 mills.

Public hearings on the school and city budget proposals for 2002 are set for Aug. 13.

According to preliminary figures, the city’s property valuation increased by $2,388,900 from the value used in the 2002 budget proposal.

That compares with a $1,668,418 increase in valuation between the 2000 budget and the 2001 budget.

Part of that valuation increase included new development, and part of it is attributed to higher valuations placed on property by the county.

The 2002 city budget proposal calls for a new police officer and a new firefighter for the city. In addition, the budget calls for a $1.25 increase on each monthly water bill to help retire water department debt.