City property values up $10,000,000

Daniel Walker
Vernon Record
The Vernon City Commission held their July meeting Tuesday and dealt with a light agenda, with commissioners Don Aydelott, Pam Gosline and Mayor Doug Jeffrey in attendance.
During a budget workshop City Manager Marty Mangum saying he had received the certified property tax roll for properties and minerals in the city. The certified value is $415,268,251 – about a million lower than what the initial estimate had been – but still $10,000,000 above the certified values in the current tax year.
“That’s very good for us,” Mangum said.
With property values going up about 2 percent, he said that means that the city’s tax rate for next year could go down slightly.
“We’re not planning to raise more tax than the effective rate,” he said. The effective rate raises the same amount of revenue as this year. That means an increase in the tax values will lower the tax rate.
In the budget workshop, Mangum said that one capital request – a skid steer – was removed and that would change the proposed budget bottom line to show $67,180 more revenue than expense next year.
Gosline asked if the city could still buy the skid steer during the year if things were going well. Mangum said yes.
Mayor Jeffrey asked about the current year – whether the city would end under budget.
Mangum said yes. He said some revenue was higher, and some lower than budgeted, but expenses were lower also and that meant they were tracking to finish in the positive for the year.
In other action the commission approved closing Cumberland and Pease Street for a Main Street Car Show during Summer’s Last Blast. Main Street Director Amanda Lehman said the car show used to be held at a nursing home, but they had asked the city to take it over. She said there would also be a concert and power wheels event for kids.