Posted: 9/18/02

Wyoming adopts preliminary tax levy

Alice Pickering
Wyoming Area Reporter

By a 4-0 vote Monday night, Wyoming City Council passed a resolution adopting a preliminary 2003 budget in the amount of $1,503,644. Council also certified a preliminary net levy for payable 2003 property taxes in the amount of $1,018,473.

The preliminary levy was turned in to Chisago County on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

According to materials prepared by Administrator Dennis Coryell and explanations Monday, this is the total of the cityís levy limit ($783,370), plus two special levies for road & bridge work ($187,385) and fire hall expansion ($45,718).

The total, $1,503,644, will be reduced about $420,106 from projected non-levy revenue. Sources of non-levy money comes in various forms of state aid, Fairview Hospital, township fire contract, building permits, licenses, fees, fuel tax rebate, and earned interest.

Coryellís figures assume a scheduled two percent cost-of-living increase, step increases for employees ranging from 2.55 percent to 3.5 percent, $350 per month in medical benefit for employees. No new building programs are included.

Even with reductions from non-levy receipts, the preliminary budget exceeds the net levy by $65,065. The special levies are fixed. The only place cuts can be made to reduce the budget, to match the money raised by the levy, is to make cuts from the cityís general operating fund and capital improvement fund, a combined $1,083,538.

Council spent a good part of the meeting trying to find ways to make these reductions, while still providing needed services.

Although final decisions do not have to be made until later in the year, cuts proposed are distributed among departments and in most cases are partial reductions for some line items (fire department repair).

Elimination of other line items means postponement of some projects or purchases (street replacement fund, municipal parking lot overlay, trees, picnic tables, animal shelter, automatic water meter reading, water tower stagecoach logo, computer, police squad).

Council chose not to borrow from interest on the capital improvement investments at this time, about $22,000. Council member Ed Andler said, ìbecause of fiscal unknowns.î the move should not be made. Other council members agreed.

Council member Sandy Standridge reminded residents about the upcoming Wyoming Library Society public informational meeting Thursday, Sept. 26 at St. Paul Lutheran Church. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Residents are invited and encouraged to attend.

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