City budget calls for small decrease in tax levy

The proposed 2009-2010 Fairfield budget calls for a minute decrease in the city?s property tax levy rate.

If approved, the levy will decrease less than 1 cent from $16.58031 per $1,000 assessed valuation in the current fiscal year to $16.57892 per $1,000 assessed valuation in the next fiscal year. Still, an increase in taxable value means the levy will generate $117,403 more for a total tax asking of $4,081,193.

?We?re trying to keep things as lean and mean as possible,? said Fairfield City Council Ways and Means Committee Chairman Myron Gookin. ?It?s always a balancing act between trying to provide good city services and keeping the burden on the back of the taxpayers reasonable. When we are working on the budget, we have no idea how this tax levy is going to end up. I?m actually surprised that we were able to keep it at the same level that we did, and I?m very pleased with that.?

This year marked one of the largest gaps the committee has ever faced between the funds requested and the funds available. Every year department heads approach the committee with legitimate requests, and even though turning some of them down is unpleasant, Gookin explained it?s part of his obligation to the taxpayers.

According to city administrator John F. Brown, roughly $700,000 had to be trimmed from the budget, mostly in cuts from the general fund. A couple of the largest cuts include $162,000 for a fire truck and $58,000 for a water heater at the indoor pool.

Fairfield Police Chief Randy Cooksey was denied funding for two additional officers.

?It?s not that we dispute the fact that Chief Cooksey could take a lot of burden off his existing staff and could provide more and better services if we had two more officers, but we just didn?t feel like we could afford it,? Gookin said, adding personnel costs are a huge factor in the city?s budget.

For the complete article, see the Friday, March 20, 2009, Fairfield Ledger.