The maximum number has been set, and Emporia city commissioners are hoping to lower the tax levy for citizens below what’s currently listed.
City Manger Trey Cocking says the plan is to start with a lower levy than what was approved last year — and hopefully work down from there.
Last year, the city’s levy was set at 43.8 mils, but the official final levy was 44.426 because valuation fluctuated between the time the city’s budget certification and the county’s certification. Cocking says the levy will be down, possibly maxing out at 43.5 for next year, but a 12-percent increase in valuation will likely bring in more tax dollars for the city.
Cocking says the biggest budgetary change from last year to this has been implementing a 4-percent wage increase plan for all city employees, followed by a wage compensation study to elevate wages further — with that happening this past weekend. Both components of the city’s wage plan mean a roughly $1.5 million impact to the city budget. Cocking says the city’s wage plan is sustainable, although the city needs to work diligently to keep funding that as a priority, and comes at a time when public safety’s open positions — police and fire — are getting filled after there were an uncomfortable number of vacancies at this time last year.
Now that the City Commission has set its maximum levy, the County Clerk’s Office will send letters to residents telling them about the proposed tax rates for the city, county, school districts and other taxing entities. The notices go out in early August, with the citys public hearing Sept. 6.
