PRESCOTT Area News Prescott Council Oks spending plan with 8.3% levy increase

Posted 11/29/22

PRESCOTT – The Prescott City Council approved the 2023 budget of $7,926,546 at its meeting Monday night. The levy that will be paid by city property owners to support the budget is up $194,746, or …

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PRESCOTT Area News Prescott Council Oks spending plan with 8.3% levy increase

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PRESCOTT – The Prescott City Council approved the 2023 budget of $7,926,546 at its meeting Monday night. The levy that will be paid by city property owners to support the budget is up $194,746, or 8.3 percent from a year ago for a total of $2,561,610, with inflation, city infrastructure projects and wage increases affecting the spending plan.

City Administrator Matt Wolf presented the budget at a public hearing attended by just one property owner. He said that new development helped keep the levy down to that point. He said that taxes on a home valued at $250,000 will see the city’s share of the property tax bill that will arrive in mailboxes in coming weeks up $78.

“Inflation has been a major, major target point in 2022. A lot of those inflation numbers do affect us in terms of gas, electricity, supplies and other materials that we need to operate,” said Wolf.

The city council and staff have also worked to put together a capital improvement plan through the year 2030 to meet the growing community’s infrastructure needs. Included in the budget is the reconstruction of Locust Street for this year. The city will increase its debt service by $84,000 annually to keep up with the capital plan.

Wolf said the city has 70 percent remaining in its borrowing capacity, so the city is in good financial shape. He said increasing the debt is the only way to get capital projects accomplished.

“The problem is, if you’re keeping debt service at a level limit, you’re just going to have to keep things pushing back further and further as you go. If you’re never increasing that amount, we’re constantly having to draw things out longer and longer,” he said.

Other items included in the 2023 capital improvement plan include: $40,000 for library shelving and a circulation desk. Total project cost is $110,077, with additional money coming from the library fund.

$53,741 for new police department equipment. Body cameras will be upgraded, expired ballistic vests will be replaced, radios will be upgraded, and improvements will be made to the police training room.

$91,500 for a new public works truck, bobcat and equipment.

$41,000 for a new plow truck. $74,619 for improvements at Public Square Park. Proposed are two additional pickleball courts, as well as tennis nets, new fencing, parking along Court Street and possible basketball court resurfacing.

65,957 for replacement of Freedom Park boiler.

Wage increases in the budget are projected at an average of 6.3 percent.

“An important asset to the city is the employees doing the day-to-day work,” Wolf said. “Prescott wants to remain competitive with surrounding communities that are of like size in population. With that being said, the city is working to bring our employees to market rate through wage adjustments that keeps us competitive and retains our excellent employees.”

The council vote to approve the budget was unanimous. Council members expressed the opinion that the increase is necessary.

Thomas Oss said there have been several meetings where the budget was discussed.

“I was at every one of these budget meetings, and there was nobody else here. We took a lot of time, and we left no stone unturned in determining what needed to be done and had to be done,” he said. “I personally brought up Locust Street and Elm Street and thought, ‘Could we shove this down the road a couple years?’ It was pointed out to me by our public works department, ‘No, we can’t.’ So, I reluctantly agreed to that. Our police budget, inflation’s affecting everybody. Our number one priority in my opinion is public safety. We have a safe town right now. We let go of that, and then we’ll see some blaming. We carefully worked on this and came to these conclusions.”

“I hate it,” Bailey Ruona said of the levy increase. “But that’s where we’re at right now. We have to do these projects. We can’t wait on them, otherwise we’re just pushing it down the road to the next council, and that’s not the appropriate thing to do either. It’s unfortunate, but it’s necessary.”