City Council passes on taking 1 percent tax increase MONROE - The City Council voted last week to approve the mayor’s recommendation that the city not take the 1 percent property tax increase allowed by law for 2013.
The motion passed 6-0; Councilman Kurt Goering was absent.
According to city documents, property tax revenue represents approximately 19 percent of the city’s operating budget and is expected to be $1.96 million for 2013.
Should the council have agreed to take the increase, the city would have seen an additional $19,626 in revenue for 2013, which would have cost the average homeowner an additional $2 next year.
Councilman Tom Williams said he wasn’t in favor of increasing the tax because it wasn’t needed to balance the budget.
Finance director Dianne Nelson had recommended the city take the increase.
“The cumulative effect doesn’t hit the homeowner that hard each year, but it makes a big effect on the city,” Nelson said. “It represents a lot for the city, but not that much to the homeowner.”
