The Advocate and Democrat

In a rare Saturday morning meeting, Sweetwater city commissioners voted 4-1 to include a 9-cent property tax hike in the $4.6 million proposed 2008-09 city budget.

The final vote on the budget and tax rate will come June 23.

Saturday’s vote would take the property tax rate in Sweetwater from $1.05 per $100 of assessed property value to $1.14. The tax rate had been $1.32 until a recent state reappraisal dropped the rate to $1.05.

By law, a city or county government cannot bring in more tax money due to a state reappraisal.

Commissioners can still vote to raise the rate from the new state certified tax rate, which Sweetwater commissioners did Saturday.

The tax hike was needed to balance the budget after commissioners made additions to the original budget Mayor Jim Stutts proposed in May. Only Commissioner David Cleveland voted against the 9-cent hike, saying he would rather see a 10-cent increase.

Each penny in property taxes brings in $13,000 in revenue to the city.

Much of the tax increase will go to improvements for the recreation complex, including bathroom facilities at the junior high and improvements for the tennis courts.

Police Commissioner Bill Stockton pointed out complaints had been lodged about parking conditions and some of the fields at the main recreation complex at the June 2 commission meeting by a resident, Jim Maerki.

“But are people willing to pay for it?” Stockton asked.

Maerki gave commissioners a long list of issues he saw at the complex.

“I would just like the kids to have a decent place to play,” he said. “Our city is growing faster than what our park is.”

Maerki said light poles were leaning, parking areas were not lit, the grass was not being properly taken care of on soccer and football fields and the tennis court is cracking just to name a few.

Parks and Recreation Commissioner James Matoy asked for $48,000 for improvements to be put in the budget the mayor gave commissioners last month.

Matoy had asked for the improvement money in May before Maerki appeared before the commission.

Matoy also asked to be allowed to replace Cecil Borden, a longtime city employee who is retiring soon.

The mayor had cut that $33,000 (counting benefits) position out of the budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

Matoy said his department does not have a State Street Aid fund like the Street Department or a drug fund like the Police Department has.

“It’s taxpayer money, that’s where it has to come from,” Matoy said.

In addition to $81,000 put back into the Parks and Recreation Department, the city will have to pay an additional $12,400 to the increase already figured in the budget for employee health insurance.

About $8,400 of that figure will come after the city reimburses employees for a new deductible.

Commissioners decided to go ahead and budget for Cleveland’s proposal to include a merit pay plan for city employees, which will cost $41,000.

But not everybody got what they wanted Saturday.

Fire Chief Doug Watson asked commissioners for $17,539 to equalize the fire captains’ and lieutenants’ pay with police captains and police sergeants.

Fire Commissioner Tommy Haun included that request in his motion on the Fire Department budget but it failed for a lack of a second.

The other four commissioners approved Haun’s request for increases in travel expenses and supplies.

Stockton got approval for $10,000 for new police car expenses through a lease program.

At the end of Saturday’s meeting Street Commissioner Buster West and Stutts briefly sparred over the city’s $415,000 industrial park fund.

West says taxpayer money funded the original park acquisition and the funds should be put back in the general fund to help with a tight cash flow.

The mayor said the city bought the industrial park land with a capital outlay note and wants to keep industrial park money available to buy more industrial land.

But much to Cleveland’s chagrin, the mayor said the commissioners could only discuss that issue Saturday and could not take any action because it was not advertised as part of the called meeting.

tommy.millsaps@advocateand democrat.com | 337-7101.

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