In addition to rising gas and utility costs, Aberdeen residents could be faced with another blow to their wallets because of a proposed increase of more than 40 percent in the city?s property tax ? from 55 cents to 79 cents per $100 of assessed value.
On a house assessed at $200,000, for example, the increase would mean a jump in tax from $1,100 annually to $1,580.
“It will be a shock to everyone,” said resident Ruth Ann Young. “But for many individuals, it will be a true hardship.”
City Manager Doug Miller said the increase was necessitated by a $2 million shortfall in the city?s proposed $16.7 million budget, which was introduced at Monday night?s City Council meeting.
“I had to fill in the gaps between the shortfall in revenue and expenditures,” he said.
Miller, who is new to the city manager job in Aberdeen, said he found the shortfalls when he started working on next year?s proposed budget. He said he began adding a penny at a time to the property tax rate in order to balance the budget.
Miller said recent pay raises for city workers caused the shortfall.
But other city leaders blame the deficit on the administration of former Aberdeen Mayor Doug Wilson.
Mayor S. Fred Simmons said Wilson spent revenue before it was received.
Aberdeen City Council President Ron Kupferman said he expected the increase to be pared down, but he was unwilling to speculate about how much.
The city might be able to make up the deficit by selling off some surplus property, he said.
“I?m looking at selling some acreage around the swimming pool,” Simmons said, referring to land near the city-owned swimming pool on Robin Hood Road. “It could bring in as much as $4 million.”
