With each year the city is required to establish a
preliminary levy amount that is certified to the county. This year, after minimal levy increases in
past years, a preliminary levy was set with a 5 percent increase. This amounts to a total increase in the levy
of $89,900. It was proposed that the
final levy should be the same as the preliminary levy. The impact of that increase in the levy, due
to growth in taxable value, was a decrease in the tax rate from that of
2016. The 2016 tax rate was 42.683%
while the proposed rate for 2017 is 42.44%; this is 0.243% decease.
The budget showed both revenue gains as well as expenditure
increases. Some of the more unusual
expenses found in the 2017 budget includes a roof replacement for the Public
Safety Building, estimated at $52,000.
The phone system that serves both city buildings is in excess of 15
years old and crashed a year ago. Given
the age of the system it was difficult to find replacement parts but we were
successful in finding a circuit board that made the system functional but not
at 100%. This system replacement is
estimated at $15,000. Road Improvements,
although assessed, consume $115,000 of levy for 2017. Roadway improvements and seal coat maintenance
costs are estimated at $505,500 for 2017.
We continue to levy funds for future capital expenses. Salary increases and health insurance also
consume a good part of the budget. A
police squad car is replaced annually on a 6 year rotation with estimated costs
of $34,850 is included. Body cameras and
a thermal imaging camera are also proposed for 2017. Public works has proposed a carbide toothed
blade for the grader as well as a gravel packer. The intention here is to somewhat reconstruct
gravel roads by stirring up the gravel and flattening it to give the surface a
new finish extending the gravel and reducing the amount of grading. This is proposed to reduce costs and give a
better surface.
Not part of the levy, but improvements for the sewer system propose
that lift station number 1 include a permanent bypass to the forcemain that
delivers sewer to the wastewater plant and the replacement of the control panel
there. The sewer system was installed in
1976 and requires some maintenance and upgrades. The proposed improvement expenditures here
amount to $75,000.
The overall expenditure budget for 2017 is budgeted at
$2,692,663 with the revenue budget $2,703,583.
This gives us a small margin to deal with unknowns. The budget and levy was adopted at the
December meeting. As such the levy was
certified to the county for collection in 2017.
