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- What's that tinkling sound?
- City tax hike unlikely for 1999
- SUNNYSIDE (Monday, 11-16-98)--The city council all but put the kibosh on a city tax hike this evening.
The council instructed city staff to draft an ordinance leaving next year's tax bite the same as this year's. The city will bank any other dollars that come in. It will vote on that ordinance to that effect at it's next meeting at 7 p.m. Nov. 23.
The council maintains an option at any later time to raise taxes--if the city finds itself with insufficient funds--up to the 6% it did not raise them for '99.
The effort to curb increased taxes does not sit well with city staff, who warn the city will have to dip into reserves just to maintain increasingly costly current street programs, and retire existing debts.
But that's not a sure thing. The majority of councilmen have combed through the city's preliminary 1999 budget, and believe dollars for city needs may be found in dollars the city will have on hand come January.
The city's overall annual budget is $21.4-million. It would have been $1.7-million or 8.71% greater in '99 if a staff-proposed tax hike had been approved by the council.
From 1997 to 1998, the amount rose $1,635,130 or 8.2%--from $19.9-million to today's $21.4-million--under the prior city council.
Of the '98 tax hike, 8% or $150,000 went to the current expense fund, 48% or $780,600 went into the street fund, 8% or $130,200 into the library fund, and $574,330 or 35% into paying city debts.
The same divvy-up isn't going to happen as Sunnyside moves into 1999, because there probably will be no tax hike. The city will have to make do with whatever other revenues it takes in and cash balances it has left over at the end of this year.
Councilman Don Vlieger is very content with that. "Lets find the dollars somewhere else. The issue is, when do we tell taxpayers we have enough?...When do we stop?" he said.
Councilman Chad Werkhoven agreed. "When is enough enough?...It keeps adding up and adding up. I can't see raising taxes to meet our goals here," he said.
The tinkling sound emanating from city hall in 1999 likely will be an orchestra of belt buckles being tightened. It's probably music to the ears of taxpayers.