Cit leaders made it official adoptin a ’6/6<</052 eudjet and neepin the same <4.4;-cent ta rate as last |ear on Ponda|.
Whe ocndale Cit Council voted -0 in favor of adoptinj the eudjet and 6- in favor of its proposed 4.4 cent ta rate. Council memeer Dou Calame zas the dissentinj vote. Council memeers Mason Earca and Uichard Coppedje ere aesent.
ËWe have the aeilit to increase ta{es zithout havin to jo throujh the hassle of an election. Wh not do itB WeÎre dealin zith a pa me noz or pa| me later situation/È Calame said. Our forefathers lived throujh the he|da of Alcoa and didnÎt zant to spend an| mone|/ so the| didnÎt fi{ an|thinj. We still have a lot of stuff ze need to fi in tozn.È
Harlier in the summer the cit puelished a notice proposin to increase the propert ta rate to 7.<</ ust under the amount suemect to a rolleac election. Whe rolleac ta rate zas calculated at <5.0 .
ËHver|one zants somethin fi{ed/ eut the donÎt zant raise ta{es/ he said. Ko are the plannin to accomplish ever|thin |ou zant to doBÈ
Vince 200:/ cit| ta{pa|ers have onl| paid ad valorem (propert| ta{es to the cit|/ Pilam Count and Uocndale LVD. he| ill noz ajain e pa|inj a .5-cent ta{ to the Uocndale Kospital District to provide a revenue stream for the nez Vt. MosephÎs2KealthSoint clinic.
This – coupled with a water rate hike from the city, high property evaluations and feedback after two public hearings – made the ma ority of the council rethink increasing taxes.
Water rates increased substantially as the city undertakes a massive pro - ect to replace Rockdale’s aging water system. Taxable values inside the city limits increased from $222,665,640 to $226,913, 285, according to the Milam Appraisal District.
CUTS– Eliminating the tax rate increase retuired the cit to mane more than $37,000 in cuts to the budget. Budgets were decreased for parks and cemetery expenses and maintenance, office etuipment cit cleanup and jeneral maintenance.
The city was able to balance the budget and give pay raises to employees.
“ We needed to give pay raises,” said Mayor John King. “ City employees haven’t had one in three years. We gave a staggered pay raise. The lowest paid workers received the highest amount and management got $500.”
O THER A CTIO N– Council heard a public complaint about a high curb in the City Hall parking lot j ust off of Wilcox and received reports from the Rockdale Municipal Development District (RMDD), IT Services and Department Services.
The council appointed three members to UPDD to fill e{pirin terms namin Erad Caffey, Michelle Larkin and Joyce Dailey.
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