The Jefferson City Council met Tuesday night in regular session.

During open forum, a resident said in the 17 years since he has lived in Jefferson, he has seen his taxes increase and was concerned about what the $2 million bond was going to do to his taxes that the Council was considering. He added that his assessed value of his property has dramatically increased which he was also concerned about because he has not done home improvements because he can’t afford them.

The Council then held its public hearing about the $2 million general obligation bond. City Administrator Scott Peterson outlined that the bond was to follow what the Council had previously approved in the capital improvement plan that would be paid for through a debt issuance, but will maintain the overall tax levy for the next fiscal year of $14.88 per $1,000 of property valuation. He noted that the main projects with the debt issuance were going to be a portion of a new fire truck, an asphalt overlay on McKinley Street, and installing a new sidewalk around Westwood. Peterson added that of the overall tax levy of $14.88, $2.70 was from the debt service levy which will continue to be that rate for sometime into the future. 

A concern was voiced about the tax levy increasing for next fiscal year, which Peterson said was untrue as the overall tax levy will continue to be the same as this current fiscal year of $14.88. Following the hearing, the Council approved the resolution unanimously to enter into a general obligation loan agreement for the bond and levying taxes for it.

Then the Council approved the first reading to amend an ordinance that would allow for fireworks to be used within city limits on July 3rd and 4th, as well as December 31st into 12:30am on January 1st. The selling of fireworks would also be permitted from June 1st through July 8th and December 10th through January 3rd to adhere to the state law. Peterson noted some exceptions and citation amounts for violating the ordinance. They also approved the first reading to amend an ordinance to decrease the sewer rates going into the next fiscal year. Peterson mentioned that even though the Council had previously approved setting the rate at 15 percent for five years to pay for the improvements to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, that after reviewing the figures, year four was proposed as a decrease to ten percent. 

Additionally, the Council approved membership fee increases for the Greene County Community Center and the Jefferson Community Golf Course. The fees for the community center would go up 15 percent for the family rate and 10 percent for all other memberships. The golf course membership fees are going to increase by $100 over two years, along with other fees also seeing an increase. Then, the Council approved an $11,265 purchase of a trailer from Olsen’s Outdoor Power and $5,661 for an underground locator from Vermeer for the Water Department and an engineering agreement with Bolton and Menk for an amount not to exceed $159,000 for preliminary work on the Westwood sidewalk project. Finally, the Council approved the quarterly funding request for Greene County Development Corporation.