City of Albany tax rates will remain the same as back in 1992 after the city council, some reluctantly, voted to keep the 2019 taxes unchanged from the current year, despite the city’s financial difficulties.

The council had postponed setting this year’s rates at its regular meeting in early September, opting to wait and hold a call meeting last Tuesday, September 10 to take action on the rates.

With all members present for the special meeting with the sole item on the agenda being setting the tax rates, the council discussed various pros and cons about raising or keeping the rates as is for about 50 minutes prior to actually taking a vote.

City Clerk Melissa Smith said that according to PVA (Property Valuation Administrator) records, the 2018 collections for city taxes was $132,482 and with the higher assessed value on real property this year, the estimate collection for 2019, at the current rate, would generate around $137,000.

Councilman Tony Delk noted that anyone with property valued at $50,000 was paying, at .18 cents per $100 assessed value, $90 annually. Further, raising the rate to .23 cents per $100 would mean the average taxes on $50,000 in property would add about $25 more to a tax bill.

It was estimated that a five cent per $100 assessed value raise would generate an extra $33,333.00 for the city’s general fund.

City legal advisor Norb Sohm also noted during the discussion that the city utilities, i.e. water and sewer, owes the city general fund money at this point, prompting another long discussion about the city water system problems.

Councilwoman Tonya Thrasher said she could not understand why the water (department) does not have money and asked if it would be feasible for the city to get a financial advisor.

Councilman Gene Ferrill said in his opinion, before raising property taxes, the city needed to do something about the water situation first.

Albany Mayor Lyle Pierce then noted that the city was “in bad shape” financially, with councilman Reed Sloan saying the city cannot survive on taxes with rates that were in place since 1992.

Smith said that both (city and water) were in bad shape, and insofar as the city, they had to withhold some payments, such as allotments to the park board, but added the “water (department) is worse.”

Apparently there are equipment issues and a lot of other variables, such as work that needs to be done to the lift stations, water plant, etc.

It was also noted during the discussion that a recent grant application for help with water related repairs to fix the water pressure issues to the Duvall Valley area had been rejected early last week, apparently due to the city not having enough collateral to cover the cost of any loans they may have to incur.

Smith said city revenue to fund departments such as the street department, fire department and others came from the insurance premium tax, property tax and business licenses.

Although some council members such as Sloan noted a need for a tax increase, councilman Ferrill noted that since water bills would eventually have to increase to get those problems fixed, he wasn’t in favor of a property tax increase now and another increase on water bills later.

If we have to do it (raise rates), “we should do it all at one time, not one now and one later,” Ferrill said.

Following the long discussion and comments, councilwoman Rene York made a motion to set the city’s 2019 tax rates at .18 cents per $100 assessed value on real property and .20 cents on personal property, both the same as the current year. The motion then passed by unanimous vote.

The next regular meeting of Albany City Council is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1 at 5 p.m. at city hall and is open to the general public.