Thursday, July 8, 2010
Lawrenceburg Leaders Approve Tax Rate, Budget Ordinance
Members of the Lawrenceburg Board of Mayor and Council approved an ordinance Thursday that establishes a financial plan for the city during the 2010-2011 fiscal year, and adopts the state certified tax rate.
The budget ordinance was amended slightly from what leaders had approved during their previous meeting, then approved as amended on first reading. The two amendments made had to do with the Lawrenceburg Police Department. One was to include funding for a police department calendar; the second to include as line items funding from a grant as well as the expending of those funds. Neither, City Administrator William McLain said, will affect the overall numbers, but will “equal out.”
Council members adopted the state certified tax rate of $1.4234 per $100 of assessed property value. This figure is down from the prior state certified rate of $1.49. Leaders explained that the change in rate is a result of recent property appraisals conducted by the government. State officials, they said, opted not to include “foreclosed” properties in their assessment, which resulted in a higher property appraisal for most.
Utilizing the lower tax rate, they said, will cause dollar amounts paid by citizens in property taxes to pretty much remain “revenue neutral.” Most individuals, they pointed out, will pay the same amount in property taxes as they did during the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
A public hearing on the budget ordinance and tax rate will be held prior to the council’s regular bi-monthly business meeting on Thursday, July 22, 2010. That meeting will get under way at 8:30 a.m.
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