City holds line on taxes in proposed budget

A divided Clarendon Board of Aldermen threw the brakes on a proposed tax increase for city property owners and eliminated an expansion of health benefits for city employees last week following two contentious public hearings held earlier.

City officials were meeting again as the Enterprise went to press Tuesday night where they were expected to formally adopt the budget for fiscal year 2013 and maintain the current ad valorem tax rate of 65 cents per $100 valuation. Visit www.ClarendonLive.com for the latest information.

In a budget workshop on September 20, Mayor Larry Hicks told the board it was time to make their final decisions about the tax rate and the budget so city officials could draft the final document that was to be considered this week.

Aldermen had left a similar workshop two nights earlier with what seemed to be a consensus to set the tax rate at 67 cents, which was five cents below what City Administrator Lambert Little had asked for and two cents lower than the 69 cents that the board had finally proposed last month on a 3-2 vote with Aldermen Terry Noble, Abby Patten, and Will Thompson in favor and Aldermen Tommy Hill and Jesus Hernandez against.

At the September 20 meeting, Hicks asked each alderman to air their concerns or thoughts on the tax rate or the budget. Noble said he was fine with what they had before them, but Hernandez said he wanted a 65-cent tax rate.

Hill argued against raising taxes because of economic hard times locally and around the world, and Thompson said he feared not raising taxes would throw the city back into a situation it found itself in a few years ago where it was having to dip into reserves to make its payroll. Patten said raising taxes was hard for her because she had heard from many people against it.

Without taking a formal action, the mayor asked for a show of hands about the tax rate. Thompson and Noble supported the 67-cent rate while Hill, Hernandez, and Patten favored keeping the rate at 65 cents.

A similar pattern emerged regarding expanding employee health benefits to include dental and vision insurance. The proposed budget did not include raises for city employee wages or salaries but did include a $6,000 line item that would have provided dental and vision benefits.

Hill said he didn’t think that mattered to the employees, Thompson said he thought the employees were the city’s best asset and should be taken care of and that it did matter to them, and Patten said the city had stated employees would not be given a raise and yet the expansion of benefits is a raise.

Hicks again asked for a show of hands. Thompson and Noble supported adding the dental and vision benefit while Hill, Hernandez, and Patten opposed the plan.

With no other points of contention in the budget at that time, the aldermen adjourned and were to meet September 25 to adopt the 65-cent tax rate and the budget, which calls for a increase in trash and sewer rates of about five percent.