The City of Jefferson is looking to continue a recent trend of lowering the next fiscal year’s overall property taxes.

City Administrator Mike Palmer says for the fifth consecutive year, the City is anticipating lowering property taxes, from $15.15 per $1,000 of valuation to $14.83 at the start of the 2019 fiscal year on July 1st. The tax levy is made up of the general fund levy, which is proposed at $12.68, and debt service levy, which is $2.15. Palmer points out that the reason for the decrease is because property valuation continues to go up, especially for properties that the City uses tax increment financing (TIF) on.

“As time goes on, especially for the Hy-Vee and the hotel (Cobblestone) is that the agreements have a limited amount of time, I believe like the Hy-Vee is four years. So pretty soon that whole valuation, there won’t be anymore that’s rebated back to them, it goes completely on our tax roles.”

The City is also projecting a surplus for next fiscal year of about $42,600 with revenues generating more funds than expenses.

The public hearing on the 2019 fiscal year budget is scheduled for the next city council meeting this Tuesday. The Council can approve the budget following the public hearing.