Westminster residents could be paying higher property taxes to cover the city?s increasing salaries, benefits and utilities if the preliminary 2007 budget is approved in May.
“We have determined we need to add additional funds to bring our pay and benefit system closer to market to attract and retain the best individuals,” said Westminster Mayor Thomas Ferguson.
The budget, presented by Westminster?s Finance Director Joseph D. Urban on Monday at City Hall, calls for an increase from 40 cents to 46 cents per $100 of assessable value, or 15 percent. On a house assessed at $500,000, the property tax would increase from $2,000 to $2,300.
“We have not increased property tax rates since the 2003 fiscal year,” Urban said.
A drop in money in the general fund collected from impact fees ? also referred to benefit assessment revenues ? worsened this year?s revenue gap. The fees, which are collected for new properties or changes to existing properties and cover the additional burden on the city?s infrastructure, fell from $1,612,560 last year to $996,303 this year.
“We had been using one-time fees from the assessments instead of ongoing fees to fund operating costs. These fees were used to balance the budget last year instead of tax and rate increases,” Urban said.
Other general fund expenditures include:
* More money for the city?s street overlay program for milling and resurfacing streets
* A new truck for picking up oversized pieces of trash to help prevent illegal dumping in the city
Proposed general fund costs include
» Street overlay program: $750,000
» Operating reserves in case of emergency: $200,000
» Payroll expenses: $262,000
