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Also approved was a library tax rate of 9.34 cents. The library tax last year was 9.07 cents.
That brings the total city property tax levy for the year to 68.75 cents. The 2007 total tax rate was 67.63 cents. In 2006, the total levy was 68.45 cents.
Janet Braun, finance manager, told council members that the levy submitted Monday night was based on the latest assessed valuation figures provided by the county. But those figures likely will change again which means a revised ordinance will have to be adopted prior to the Aug. 31 deadline to certify tax rates, she said. The city has to certify the levy by that date or it forfeits the tax revenue for the year.
The council may have to hold a special meeting next Wednesday night during the administration committee meeting to revise the ordinance, it was explained.
Braun recommended setting the tax rate at the maximum levy in order to fund department operations.
Councilman John Rhodes proposed a voluntary 10 percent rollback in the general fund tax given that the city has increased water and sewer fees and is considering increasing refuse collection fees.
A 10 percent rollback would reduce general fund revenue by approximately $200,000, it was estimated. Braun said the city would have to tap into reserve funds to cover that amount.
Rhodes said every year the city has carryover funds from projects that aren't completed or started.
"We try to provide a balanced budget to the council," said City Administrator Jim Briggs. "I would not recommend that - budgeting in the red. We always take a conservative approach to budgeting. Our tax base is very low."
Briggs explained that the budget includes between $150,000 and $200,000 in extra expenditures for fuel for all city vehicles due to the continuing oil price increases. The cost of operations continues to rise, he noted.
Most of the city's reserves are in accounts receivable, including money that's loaned to the city's redevelopment corporation for industrial and economic development projects, which create jobs, Briggs said. The city would have to call in those notes in order to utilize those reserves.
"We need to have a balanced budget," Mayor Dick Stratman said. "If we cut taxes we also must cut spending. That's a council decision.
"If we say we need to take $200,000 out of the budget, we're going to have to go in and say where the $200,000 is going to come from," Stratman said. "We can pull reserves down, but it's not a good thing to do."
The mayor noted that the council had a proposal on the agenda Monday night for spending $35,000 to upgrade the television broadcasting system for council meetings. "But that money's not in the budget. It's a great idea to cut taxes but if you do you're going to have to cut spending."
Councilman Tim Overschmidt said he believes the city can look at the budget and find $180,000 to trim. He mentioned a proposed $200,000 capital project to reconstruct Camp Street, north of Busch Creek.
That project, according to Briggs, will be financed with transportation sales tax revenue, not out of the general fund budget. "You can't commingle funds," he noted.
Also, more than 18 cents of the 59.4-cent general fund levy is dedicated for operation of the volunteer fire department, Briggs said. That is the sole source of funding for the fire company.
"The taxpayers are having the same problem we are," Rhodes remarked. "They're looking at higher fees for services.Every year we have money rolled over from the previous year."
Councilman Herb Dill asked how Washington's tax rate compares to other cities of similar size.
Compared to other cities in out-state Missouri, Washington rate "is low," Briggs said.
Dill said he recalls back in the 1980s, the city's property tax was over $1. "Through the years we've lowered that. This is cheap." He said with a 10 percent rollback, the average person would save only $5 to $6 on their bill.
"This is a very reasonable rate," Dill said before offering a motion to approve it.
Voting in favor of the motion were Dill, Roger Langendoerfer, Carolyn Witt and Connie Groff. Rhodes, Overschmidt, Guy Midkiff and Jeff Mohesky voted no.
They all cast the same votes on the ordinance authorizing the 2008 rates, and Stratman broke both ties.
The votes came at the conclusion of a public hearing on the tax rates.
No one in the audience addressed the council on the tax rates.
The council did not propose a rollback in the levy in 2007 or 2006, but approved rollbacks in each of the five years prior to 2006.
