As the national economy continues to recess, the Starkville Board of Aldermen voted to increase city property taxes 3.4 mils in a 5-to-2 decision Tuesday night. The new millage rate is 19.55 mills.
Ward 5 Alderman Matt Cox said the city could operate at the current rate 16.15 mils, which goes to the city, he said.
“We don’t have to raise taxes to support City Hall,” he said. “We can invest $500,000 for city streets and maintenance.”
However, this continues the under-funding in our infrastructure, he said.
“We are looking at an opportunity to invest $1 million in city streets and drainage,” he said. “However, this will cause the millage rate to increase by 3.4 mils.”
The amount that will run City Hall and the streets will be separated, he said.
“It is very specific on the tax levy where your taxes are going,” he said. “That’s how you make your promise clear where the money is going.”
The money goes 100 percent to maintaining the infrastructure, Cox said.
“We are going to invest in our infrastructure, and we are going to pay as we go so we don’t have to borrow money to pay for the basics,” he said.
Two things were implied in writing the budget, Cox said.
“We must put together a very conservative budget and that we had to be clear with what we are going to do with the extra money,” he said.
Ward 6 Alderman Roy Perkins said he could not support the new budget because it supports new taxes and spending.
“Any increase in taxation will be an undue imposition on citizens in my ward and in the city as I see it,” he said.
The board cannot guarantee the money will be used for streets and infrastructure, he said.
It is not guaranteed for the same members to be here,” he said. “this board adopted a 1 mil tax, which lost its identity and went into the general fund.”
Ward 2 Alderman Rodney Lincoln said he cannot agree with the budget increase because it is at the end of the term.
“The current board will not be in office, and the new board will have control of the budget,” he said.
There is no guarantee that the money will be used for what it is voiced, he said.
“In the last 20 years when the millage rate was increased, the money has been rolled into the general fund,” he said. “We do need new improvements with the streets and roads more than at the rate they are receiving, especially subdivisions themselves.”
In order for the community to grow, the streets can’t be completely broken down with potholes, Cox said.
“When you let your roads deteriorate, you can’t perform a simple fix,” he said. “We had a continual conversation with the community and it came back time and time again that we should invest more money in the infrastructure.”
Though the tax is centered on property owners, it does trickle down to renters indirectly, Cox said.
“Whether you own a home or apartment, your property tax will increase,” he said.
College Station and the Polos lease consultant Ashley Doubleday said the rent has basically been steady and has not changed.
“If there is a dramatic increase in rent, it won’t be in effect until the following semester since we are a college apartment complex,” she said. “If we do have a change, it will be because of the economy not because the city has changed anything.”