St. Joseph City Commissioners have approved the budget for the next fiscal year and held a first of two readings on next year’s millage rates.
At a meeting this past week, commissioners were told the library millage and the rubbish millage will go down slightly, while a millage to retire debt will increase slightly. City Manager John Hodgson told us the net effect will be a small tax decrease for property owners.
“If you took all three of those together, coming down about.35 of a mill for rubbish, going up about a little less than 0.90 to 0.09 for the CSO debt, and coming down just a little more than one hundredth on the other side, I’d call it about 0.27 mills, or $25 to $27 for the year for a property with a taxable value of $100,000,” Hodgson said. “It’s small, but it’s better than a tax increase.”
As for the 2024-2025 budget, Hodgson said it includes a few modest increases, mostly related to staff. Total expenditures will be $11.4 million, versus last year’s budgeted $10.9 million. The biggest expense, by far, remains public safety, followed by parks and recreation and fire operations.
The second reading on the millage rates will be held later this month.
