Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Rate increases, new employees likely
DAVENPORT—The city finance committee was faced with its yearly task of discussing the annual budget and any changes coming to the use of taxpayer dollars prior to council’s Oct. 12 meeting.
The committee, which consists of councilmembers Heath Becker, Chris Ruiz and Jessica Smith, went over seven items presented by city administrator Steve Goemmel: planned projects, revenue projections, tax levies, utility rates, budget impacts, a drafted budget and a review of this year’s third quarter finances.
The city is proposing a 1% raise in property taxes, the maximum allowed without a vote of the people. The city is also likely to raise water and sewer rates by 3% each, a move that has happened in years past but was put on hold temporarily during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The lone project currently planned for next year is building another phase of the Sports Complex Trail. The trail will begin at the start of Highway 25 by Highway 2 and continue north along Highway 25 for 0.34 miles where it will meet the end of the current trail.
The project is projected to cost $323,600, which includes $43,700 in city funding and $279,000 in federal funding.
Potential budget impacts discussed included L&I costs going up 6.7% for maintenance employees and 6.5% for administrative employees. A potential cost-of-living 10% increase was discussed, but the committee indicated it would prefer to see that number between 2% and 4%.
Health insurance for city employees will increase 4.5%, but no increases are expected for vision, dental or life insurance.
The city hopes to hire a new maintenance person in anticipation of potential retirements later in 2023, Goemmel told the committee.
The draft of the 2023 budget presented to the committee included a projected $8,396,542 in revenue and $7,610,280, a net sum of $786,262. The highest projected revenues are the airport capital improvement fund, water, sewer and garbage funds, criminal justice fund and street fund. The highest projected expenses are for airport improvements, streets, water, sewer and garbage.
Council will hold a public hearing for the full 2023 budget at its Oct. 26 meeting before official passage.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
Reader Comments(0)