How Much Will My Taxes Increase?

A $133 million budget for next year would increase taxes by less than $70 for the average household, according to city officials.

“We are probably looking at approximately less than 2 percent increase in property tax," said Mayor Arthur Vigeant of the budget that was proposed to the City Council.

That budget represents a 4.89 percent increase over the previous year, but because of increased state funds and anticipated revenues residential taxes will increase by an estimated 1.57 percent.

That results in an estimated tax rate from $15 per $1,000 to $15.23 per $1,000. What that means for the average household valued at $302,700 is an increase of $69.12 in taxes to $4,610.12 per year.

The retail tax rate would increase from $28.46 per $1,000 to $28.92 per $1,000. For the average retail value of $900,000 that would mean an increase of $414 to $26,028 per year.

The Finance Committee voted on cuts from some of the areas of the proposed budget, meaning these figures could go even lower.

“This isn’t the mayor’s budget. This is the budget the department heads met with the mayor about and fought with the mayor to get what they needed," said City Council President Patricia Pope. "There is not a lot of wiggle room in this budget.”