By LYNETTE SOWELL-STEVENS
Cove Leader-Press
During its meeting on Aug. 18, the Copperas Cove city council took action on a record vote to propose a property tax rate of 69.9 cents per $100.
The council had a long discussion during the Aug. 4 meeting regarding several property tax rate options presented by the city, and how those revenues would affect the budget.
On Aug. 18, the council saw the rates again.
The City’s No-New-Revenue Tax Rate was calculated at 67.8856 cents per $100 valuation which did not change from the Aug. 4 meeting.
The Voter Approval rate option was presented on Aug. 4, calculated at 73.2531 cents per $100 valuation. The new calculation presented at the Aug. 18 meeting was lower, at 71.4543 cents per $100 valuation. The “Voter Approval” rate means the rate at which an election must be held for voters to approve the tax rate.
Another option was the current rate of 68.6419 cents per $100 valuation.
Much of the discussion on Aug. 4 surrounded keeping the property tax rate as it currently is, with councilmember Rita Hogan giving a list of possible reductions to the proposed budget to offset the deficit that would have been created by keeping the same property tax rate. On the chopping block for her suggestion was $92,000 in Fire/EMS equipment purchases, delaying an HR compensation study, eliminating the proposed Development Services Manager position, postponing third-party plan review services, delaying nearly $90,000 in personnel reclassifications, and also cutting staff COLA and market salary adjustments by 50 percent.
Discussions then turned to proposing a 69.9-cent tax rate – more than the current rate by 2.0144 cents.
The 69.9-cent tax rate, or $0.699 per $100 valuation, was what the council voted to propose on Tuesday.
The decision was not unanimous but was 5-1, with Hogan voting against the tax rate increase and councilmember Vonya Hart being absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
The delay in a record vote came about because the city needed to receive a new “no-new-revenue” tax rate, because the 69.9-cant tax rate scenario also included the use of $400,000 from the debt service fund balance.
The city council has not formally approved the proposed tax rate.
The final decision on the tax rate will be made during the Tuesday, Sept. 1 meeting, during which a public hearing will be held for the proposed tax rate as well as the proposed budget.
The budget includes a new position, that of an assistant city manager, which some residents have questioned the need for. At least two of them spoke out against the additional position at Tuesday’s meeting.
The revision to the general fund budget also includes a $1,599,781 deficit, but $600,000 of those dollars a one-time cost for City Hall repairs which will be paid out of the fund balance from the General Fun. The repairs were added to the General Fund after being removed from the list of projects funded via the annual general obligation bonds.
The Sept. 1 meeting will also include a vote on the proposed fee schedule, which includes several utility rate increases as well. The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and will be held in the city council chambers, located in the Technology Center, 508 S. 2nd St.
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