East Texas

By ADAM RUSSELL
Staff Writer

CHANDLER -- Residents can expect a 2.2 cent per $100 valuation increase in the tax rate as the city prepares for the 2008-09 budget, Chandler City Manager Jim Moffeit said.

Moffeit said if the new rate is adopted in September by the city council it would mean residents with a $100,000 home will pay $22 more than the previous year. The rate will likely be changed from .3508 cents per $100 taxable value to the rollback rate of .372893 cents per $100, Moffeit said.

He said the city had, for the past few years, accepted the rollback rate. The effective rate for the city, the rate by which the city would bring in the same amount of revenue as last year, is .3358 because of appraisal valuation increases, more houses and sales tax revenue as well as city annexations.

The city has been striving to fill revenue gaps with grant funding and other state and federal assistance packages as the city's budget and demand for infrastructure continues to increase, Moffeit said.

He said the first budget workshop went well and that the budget appears to be balanced. A second public workshop will be held Sept. 9 inside Chandler City Hall.

The city budget will increase around 17 percent, from around $1.4 to 1.7 million, Moffeit said.

Moffeit said minimal tax rate increases will catch up to the city because of the need to expand infrastructure to accommodate growth, but the city has done well on what he called a shoestring budget.

"Historically we have had low, low taxes," he said. "I am pretty happy with what we've been able to do with the budgets that we've had."

Council Member Gene Giger said he had spoken with several community members and though they expressed disappointment in rising rates, they understand the city's situation. He said citizens expect the rollback rate hikes each year at this point and those he talked with were pleased it was not more.

This year, however, the city will attempt to add a retirement program for city employees to the budget.

That program will bring stability for Chandler's workforce, Giger said. He called present employee benefits unacceptable and said the city should provide at least the minimum benefit and retirement packages for its employees.

"(Adding benefits) tells our people we care about them and that we appreciate them," he said. "That will mean a lot to employees in the future and our ability to hire and retain city employees."

Moffeit said the city will also add one patrol officer and a work truck for code enforcement.

Giger called all of the additions to the 2008-09 budget community investments. He also said the mayor and city administrators did an amazing job to bring a balanced budget to the table.

He said there were very few budget-related questions during Tuesday night's council meeting and expects the Sept. 9 public budget workshop will end with a vote to accept.