Rocky Top proposes new budget with no tax hike
Rocky Top city workers would get raises in the new fiscal year beginning July 1, but the city’s property tax rate would remain the same, according to the proposed new budget approved last week by the City Council on first reading.
The preliminary budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year projects total revenues of $2,774,965, and total expenditures of $3,160,764.
Revenue includes $1,476,400 in local taxes, along with $1,133,955 in state taxes, plus other sources.
Expenditures include $1,068,033 in salaries, up from an estimated total of $944,298 in the current fiscal year ending June 30. That’s for 28 full-time employees, up from 26 in the current fiscal year.
The beginning fund balance (cash on hand) is estimated to be $912,718 as of July 1, with an ending balance of $526,919 on June 30, 2024.
A public hearing will be held on the proposed budget at 9 a.m. Monday, June 26, followed by expected approval of the spending plan during a special called council meeting, on second and final reading.
“The numbers worked out” to allow for raises for city workers without having to raise the property tax rate, Mayor Kerry Templin said Monday.