News / Upcoming Events
Originally published on Tuesday, June 02, 2009 in the Local & State category of the Fayetteville Observer
Budget proposal
Council agrees to lower tax rate
By Andrew Barksdale
Staff writer
The Fayetteville City Council has settled on a lower tax
rate after cutting nearly $3 million in proposed spending.
The council
voted 8-2 Monday to levy taxes at 45.1 cents for every $100 in property
value.
The current rate is 53 cents, and City Manager Dale Iman had recommended
47.5 cents.
The county’s revaluation of every parcel this year fueled the city’s
desire to reduce the tax rate.
Monday’s action at a work session was preliminary and will require
a final vote on a budget ordinance scheduled for Monday.
Everyone but Val Applewhite and D.J. Haire voted for the tax rate and cuts.
“This entire budget is about tightening our belts, and we are willing
to do that,” Mayor Tony Chavonne said.
Iman had proposed increasing the general fund budget by 4.8 percent, to
$140.9 million.
The city finance department calculated that 45.1cents would bring in the
expected growth in property tax revenue this year if there had been no property
revaluation.
Even with that reduction, many homeowners still will see a higher tax bill.
That’s because the average assessment for a single-family home inside
Fayetteville grew by almost 30 percent, to $132,256. A home of that value
would be billed $596, plus other fees and county taxes, with Monday’s
agreed-upon city tax rate.
The mayor said he talked individually with the council members before reaching
a consensus of how to trim the budget to reach the 45.1-cent rate.
The council agreed to eliminate a proposed 2 percent pay raise for city
employees that would have cost taxpayers $1 million. Police officers still
will get their pay raises averaging 4.8percent in the new budget.
Applewhite said she had a problem with not giving hard-working city employees
raises.
“I think from the very beginning, the chances of you getting a pay
raise were slim to none,” she said. Applewhite wondered if the council
would have been so eager to cut taxes if this had not been an election year.
Councilman Bobby Hurst disagreed with her. He said three employees at his
family business, Hurst Annaho Supply Co., have been laid off and that wages
have been frozen for the rest of his staff. He said his salary has been
cut twice in the past 18 months. “In an election year or not, we need
to do the right thing for our citizens,” he said.
Mayor Pro Tem Wesley Meredith defended the city wage freeze, pointing out
that Fayetteville will spend a combined $4.6 million in longevity pay, retirement
benefits and increased health insurance costs for employees. Longevity pay
is a common perk for county and municipal employees. It amounts to a bonus
check based on tenure. Iman has proposed eliminating longevity pay for employees
hired after July 1, when the new fiscal year starts. The council concurs
with the idea. Many other cities have begun phasing out the perk, too.
The council also agreed to fill only 30 new Police Department positions,
mostly with anticipated federal grants. Iman wanted 52 new hires, but several
council members thought that figure would be unattainable in a single year.
Other cuts in the budget announced Monday included consultant fees for unidentified
projects and $175,000 (out of a proposed $3.5 million) for resurfacing streets.
The council also tweaked the projected employee vacancy rate to find an
additional $633,880 in annual savings.
Chavonne said adopting a tax rate any higher than 45.1cents should be unthinkable.
“If it had not been a revaluation year, would we really be talking
about raising taxes?” he asked.
Staff writer Andrew
Barksdale can be reached at barksdalea@fayobserver.com or 486-3565.
