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Lancaster votes to raise property tax

August 22, 2006|BOBBIE CURD

LANCASTER - The City Council voted 3-2 in a special meeting Monday to increase the city's property tax. The vote was tied until Mayor Pro Tem Donna Powell voted in favor of the raise.

Council member Randy Stathers voted against the increase.

"Since we raised it last year, I vote we leave it alone. With the economy the way it is, plus with all the residents have had to put up with on the roads with the construction, we should just leave it," Stathers said.

Council member Jesse Wagoner seconded the motion against the tax increase, and member Cecilia Adams asked the city attorney what the difference in city revenue would be if the increase did take place.

"A little over $6,000 a year," Jimmy Sanders said. "It would average out to about $500 or more a month."

Currently, Sanders explained, the tax is fixed at 15 cents on every $100 of real property owned by citizens, but the property valuation administrator had not reassessed property yet. It will go to 15.6 cents.

"You will probably face a rollback in taxes after the reassessment is done," Sanders told the council.

Mayor Pro Tem asked for recommendation

The vote was tied with Stathers and Wagoner against the increase and Adams and council member Donald Rinthen in favor.

Powell asked Sanders for his recommendation before making a tie-breaking vote.

"If you don't raise it, you can't get it back. You'll have a tax rate retrograde, you won't have the revenue, and you'll have a roller coaster effect," Sanders advised.

Sanders said after the PVA reassessment, plus factoring in the effect of the Homestead Act - a property tax break given to property owners age 65 and older and the permanently disabled, the tax rate will actually decline if the increase isn't taken.

After Powell broke the tie in favor of the increase, a new September meeting date was set to allow time for advertising the new ordinance before a public hearing.

Hearing is Sept. 7

The hearing on the increase will be 6:30 p.m. Sept. 7, and the regular monthly meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

In other business, the council held a workshop on creating and implementing a new nuisance ordinance. The topics discussed were: restricting semis, tractors, trailers and other commercial vehicles (over 14,000 pounds) from parking inside residential areas, requiring property owners to cut their grass and enforcing the restriction of junk and rubbish, including cars and scrap materials, from the front lawns in residential areas.

Powell said she will re-write the ordinance using help from other city employees, and present it to the council in a rough draft, but the expected completion date is not known.

"We will have a public hearing and the readings on it, plus advertise it in the paper as we do any ordinance," Powell said.

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