For the first time since 2006, the Greenwood City Council may raise the city’s tax rate.
Mayor Carolyn McAdams has proposed a budget that would increase the city’s tax on real and personal property from 48.26 mills to 51.26 mills, an increase of more than 6 percent.
This would translate to an extra $30 in taxes annually on an owner-occupied $100,000 home or an extra $27 in taxes on a $30,000 car.
“I have been saying all along that I don’t think it’s a good idea to go 11 years without raising the millage rate,” McAdams said at a meeting with council members Wednesday. “That being said, this year we have had to be a little aggressive with raising our millage rate.”
The meeting was only a preview of next year’s city budget, and the proposals are subject to change. A meeting to make a final decision on the tax rate is scheduled for Aug. 29. By law, the city’s budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 has to be approved by Sept. 15.
“Everyone is going up on their prices,” McAdams said. “We can’t continue to give the services of the city out with the same millage rate we have been doing.
“I don’t want it to go up. My taxes go up, too, just like y’all’s are going to go up.”
Some council members were not pleased with the prospect of a tax increase. Ward 4’s Charles McCoy said that because both the city and Leflore County could be increasing their tax rates, this would be a “shock.”
City Clerk Nick Joseph said that city finances are being helped in part by the current reappraisal of all property in the county, a process which Mississippi law mandates to occur every four years.
“The appraiser valued the city,” Joseph said. “Of course, countywide it went up, so it did help us some. Our value went from $105 million to $109 million.”
For the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the city has had to take almost $500,000 out of its reserves to balance its budget. The reserve presently has $2.7 million.
“Our revenue was down, and with expenses being up, then that led us into a deficit,” McAdams said.
The council also discussed the fact that city employees’ health insurance rates will rise. According to McAdams, the cost per employee that the city pays for the coverage is increasing from $372 per month to $420. She said it was the first hike in premiums in four or five years.
Two severe claims this month and lower reserves are some of the reasons for the increase, she said.
Next year’s general fund budget calls for spending $12.2 million, up from $11.7 million this year. Joseph said the increases are largely from the higher health-insurance costs and increased appropriations for police and fire protection.
The council also discussed the prospect of charging for trash pickup, which the city currently does not. Residential garbage pickup is $17.50 per month, and the council is considering charging an additional $2.50 for trash pickup.
McAdams said the volume of trash pickup and the costs of dumping it in the county-owned landfill have both risen, necessitating the need to consider charging for the service.
Ward 5’s Andrew Powell said he was concerned about the proposed trash fee because the rate for garbage was already high.
Ward 1’s Johnny Jennings, Ward 6’s David Jordan and Ward 7’s Carl Palmer were not present for the meeting.
• Contact Lauren Randall at 581-7239 or lrandall@gwcommonwealth.com.
