Staff writer
Hillsboro City Council approved its 2012 budget Tuesday with a 0.05 percent reduction in the property tax rate.
The mill levy rate will decrease from 41.786 mills to 41.764 mills. That is a reduction of about 25 cents per year on a home appraised at $100,000.
The total amount of money raised through property tax will be $643,730, less than one-tenth of the city’s $8.8M total budget.
Council member Marlene Fast asked how the tax rate decreased while budgeting for 2 percent of merit pay increases. City Administrator Larry Paine said that increase was offset by reducing a budgeted transfer for capital improvement projects from the general fund.
Council member Bob Watson asked what was budgeted for city museums. Paine said the budget included money for upkeep and utilities.
Mayor Delores Dalke said the friends of the museums group was raising money and planning to increase activity. She said the group recognizes money is the biggest issue for the museums.
The council unanimously approved the budget as presented. Council member Byron McCarty was absent.
Fast said she would like to see a final copy of the budget earlier in 2012. She missed several budget work sessions while recovering from an automobile accident and said the budget process went very quickly for her.
In other business, Paine said sewer cleaning is underway. Workers have found some unexpected manholes, and some repairs have been needed.
Dalke said she was grateful the workers discovered roots growing from the line at her house into the city sewer line before sewage backed up into her house. They told her it would have happened soon if it hadn’t been found.
The next regularly scheduled council meeting will be 4 p.m. Sept. 6.