ARLINGTON — In spite of city staff’s recommendations, the Arlington City Council requested at their Oct. 26 workshop to be presented with a budget on Nov. 2 that includes a 1 percent increase in the general property tax levy.
Finance director Kristin Garcia presented the council with three options:
1: No tax increase, but preserve the 1 percent capacity for future use, which equals $39,174.
2: Increase the tax levy by 0.251 percent, which equals $9,832, and preserve the remaining capacity up to 1 percent for future use.
3: Increase the tax levy by 1 percent, which equals $39,174, and includes no capacity to preserve for future use.
Garcia noted that all three proposals excluded additional revenue that might be received due to new construction, refunds and valuations of state-assessed property.
The preliminary budget presented Oct. 19 proposed no tax increase, but the council requested additional information.
Council member Chris Raezer pointed out that, by not banking the tax increase, the city would lose the compound interest from taking it later.
When council member Jan Schuette asserted that a roughly $39,000 tax increase would be relatively modest, when divided among Arlington’s residents, Mayor Barbara Tolbert reiterated that citizens have already seen a recent increase due to the levy lid lift.
“As we build our reserves back up, that banked capacity is one more tool for us to use,” Tolbert said.
Council member Jesica Stickles countered that it would be “not as painful” to take a $4 per person increase now, versus a possible $15 in the future.
Council member Marilyn Oertle concurred, saying it was “always a wise move” to take the 1 percent increase when it’s available.
After council members Debora Nelson and Randy Tendering noted that such an increase would still leave Arlington in the middle of tax rates for surrounding cities, Garcia asked if there was a consensus to revise the budget to include a 1 percent increase, which the council confirmed.
The lingering issue of the public safety director will remain up for discussion, even as city administrator Paul Ellis admitted that his earlier estimate of $12,000 to hire a police chief for the last six months of 2016 was inaccurate, and revised it to $30,000.
Ellis nonetheless insisted the city could cover that additional expense without taking money away from any other part of the budget.
Tolbert recommended that the council withhold their decisions about the public safety director position, adding that new data will be available in January on how well the position has done for the city.
