June 4, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
Property tax rates for City of Smithville landowners will not be going up this year, but water and sewer rates will be raised by 4% in order to keep utility revenues ahead of expenses, per state requirement.
During the regular monthly meeting Monday night, the Mayor and Aldermen adopted on second and final reading a budget ordinance for the 2024-25 fiscal year. A public hearing was held prior to passage but there were no public comments on the budget.
The city property tax rate is 0.7523 cents per $100 of assessed value and it is expected to generate $1,360,000 in revenue which is about the same as the actual property tax collections of $1,360,762 in the year 2022-23.
The new rates for city water customers will be $8.26 per thousand gallons of usage (up from the current rate of $7.94 per thousand). Rates for customers outside the city limits will be $12.38 per thousand (up from the current rate of $11.90 per thousand. City sewer customers will pay $7.69 per thousand (up from the current rate of $7.39 per thousand).
The new budget includes a 3% across the board pay raise for city employees, the creation of a new part time city codes/ordinance enforcement officer position, and funding for a few capital outlay expenditures.
The city is opting out of its current Nationwide retirement offering and joining the state’s 457B plan hoping to improve retirement benefits for employees who participate. With the change, the city’s local match for those who enroll will be 5%, up from the 3% match under the Nationwide plan.
The largest single expenditure planned (being funded through a budget amendment in the current year 2023-24) is for refurbished radios including portables, mobiles, and repeaters to upgrade the communications system for the police department and mobiles and repeaters for the fire department. The total cost for these refurbished (less expensive than new) radios comes to $273,307 which is in addition to the $115,000 allocated in January for new fire department portables. According to the mayor and aldermen, the city has little choice but to make the investment due to changes in technology which will soon make their current radios obsolete and unusable. The city will use funds from the general fund surplus to pay for all the radios.
The new budget also includes the following in new spending:
*The addition of a part time codes enforcement officer (budgeted salary $30,000 per year)
CAPITAL OUTLAY:
* Public Works: Purchase of F550 with bed crew cab style dump truck to replace a 2002 F350 model.-$85,000 (funded 50% or $42,500 by the general fund and 50% or $42,500 by the water & sewer budget)
*Public Works: Purchase of F-150 pickup truck-$46,000 (funded 50% or $23,000 by the general fund and 50% or $23,000 by the water and sewer budget)
*Public Works: Purchase of (2) ZTRAK lawn mowers-$24,000
*Public Works: AC Machine-$6,600 (new means of substituting refrigerants in the A/C system of city owned vehicles)
*Purchase Fire Hydrants: $40,000
*Police Department: Purchase of Dell Touch Screen Computers for patrol cars-$15,000
*Financial Administration: G-5 Software Upgrade-$55,200 (funded 50% or $27,600 by the general fund and 50% or $27,600 by the water and sewer budget)
*Street paving -$100,000
*Airport: Grounds Equipment Grant-$130,000
TOTAL GENERAL FUND CAPITAL OUTLAY: $408,700
WATER AND SEWER FUND PROJECTS:
*Fixed Asset additions: Sewer rehab project grants-$2,100,000
The General Fund Debt Service for the police department building is projected to be $162,550 for the year including $100,000 in principal payments and $62,550 in interest on long-term debt.