RED OAK: 2nd public hearing set on proposed property tax rate, budget increase

RED OAK – Not all tax and budget increases are bad.

Not if residents are interested in new and renovated baseball, football, soccer and indoor sports facilities in the city.

In Red Oak, that is exactly what staff and Red Oak City Council are proposing for the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

According to Red Oak City Manager Todd Fuller, the proposed city budget for the new fiscal year will raise more total property taxes than last year’s budget by $944,073 or 13.63-percent.

Of that amount, $325,608 is tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year.

Fuller said, “For an average $200,000 home, approximately $79.68 per year; or $6.64 per month.”

Two public hearings are required for the proposed tax rate when the proposed tax rate exceeds the effective tax rate.

Due to increased property valuations, if the proposed rate is approved it would mean an effective increase in taxes.

The first public hearing was held Monday night at a special called meeting.

The second public hearing will be held at the regular city council meeting Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.

For the new fiscal year tax rate, the governing body is proposing to use revenue attributable to the tax rate increase for the purpose of maintenance and operations and debt service payments for vehicles, machinery, equipment, and various projects.

The proposed tax rate is $0.703645 per $100, while the preceding year’s tax rate was $0.705480 per $100.

The effective tax rate is $0.663804 per $100 with a rollback tax rate of $0.703752 per $100.

“At this point the budget has not yet been approved and the final tax rate has not been approved, so either could still impact the other,” Fuller said.

“The major change in the preliminary budget is establishing a new parks & recreation department from scratch.”

Fuller said these activities have never been provided by the city; therefore, the city has not had a parks department to operate and maintain these facilities and programs.

“In order to establish the parks department, the budget must increase,” Fuller explained.

“With the passage of Senate Bill 2 by the State Legislature, the city will not have the ability to make major changes like adding an entire department to the budget in future years.”

Due to this Senate Bill being passed, the City of Red Oak is foregoing the possibility of adding other needed positions such as police officers or other support staff in order to get the parks department established.

“It will be easier to add one or two employees in other established departments in future years than it will to create an entire department from scratch,” Fuller concluded.