May 6, 2025
By: Dwayne Page
Property tax rates for City of Smithville landowners will not be going up this year, but water and sewer rates will be raised by 4% in order to keep utility revenues ahead of expenses, per state requirement.
During the regular monthly meeting Monday night, the Mayor and Aldermen adopted on first reading a budget ordinance for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Second and final reading action will be at the June 2 regular monthly meeting.
The city property tax rate is 0.7523 cents per $100 of assessed value and it is expected to generate $1,230,000 in local revenue. Actual city property tax collections for the year ending 2023-24 were $1,217,281.
The new rates for city water customers will be $8.59 per thousand gallons of usage (up from the current rate of $8.26 per thousand). Rates for customers outside the city limits will be $12.88 per thousand (up from the current rate of $12.38 per thousand. City sewer customers will pay $8.00 per thousand (up from the current rate of $7.69 per thousand).
Under state law, if a utility operates at a loss for more than two years and doesn’t address it, the state has the authority to force rate increases to make it solvent. The city is currently not running at a loss in the water and sewer fund. According to the budget the city finished the 2023-24-year June 30 on the plus side by $530,625 but is projected to be only $2,914 to the good by the end of the 2025-26 year on June 30.
The new budget includes a 3% pay raise for hourly city and salaried employees with a few exceptions (noted below). Those with up to four years of service would get a step raise due them on their employment anniversary date along with the 3% increase. The total regular base pay for all city employees combined in 2025-26 will be $3,081,525, up by $169,567 from $2,911,958 in 2024-25.
According to the budget, the salaries of the following city department heads and employees will be as follows (regular pay not including benefits) in 2025-26:
City Administrator: $90,000, up from $85,840 in 2024-25
Public Works Director: $74,000 up from $70,008
Certified Municipal Finance Officer (CMFO): $74,000, up from $66,950
Golf Manager: $42,000 up from $38,192
Lead Operator in Water & Sewer Maintenance (same employee with new title): $26.32 per hour with CDL, up from $23.64 per hour with CDL.
Parks employee: (same employee going from part time to full time): $19.07 per hour, up from $17.52 per hour.
Also included in the proposed new budget is $4,000 to increase the longevity pay of volunteer firefighters as follows: 5 to 10 years of service- $250; 10 to 15 years of service-$500, and over 15 years of service-$750. Total budgeted payment to volunteer firefighters-$70,000.
Not included in the budget is the proposed purchase of a $1.2 million Pierce fire engine as requested by the fire chief nor the three additional full-time (career) firefighter positions he wanted.
Projected general fund expenditures for 2025-26 are to exceed revenues by $250,970. A year ago, the budget showed that actual city spending outpaced revenues by $795,688 for the year ended June 30, 2024.
In the water and sewer fund, the city is projected to finish next year (2025-26) in the plus column by only $2,914. A year ago, actual water and sewer revenues exceeded expenditures by $530,625 as of June 30, 2024.
The 2025-26 budget includes the following in new spending:
CAPITAL OUTLAY:
*Public Works: mower trailer-$5,000; steam cleaner-$5,000; backhoe thumb kit-$5,300 (funded 50% from the general fund or $2,650 and 50% from the water and sewer budget $2,650)
*Fire Protection: 2 tri band filters for radios-$7,000; 10 batteries for radios-$3,800; training site equipment-$15,000; loose fire equipment-$25,000; new hydrants-$50,000
*Street Department: Paving-$100,000
Police Department: 2025 Tahoe-$52,143, 2025 Tahoe equipment-$8,554; 2025 Durango-$45,060, 2025 Durango equipment-$10,925, and tasers-$58,592.
*Financial Administration: G-5 software upgrade- $27,600 (funded 50% from the general fund or $13,800 and 50% from the water and sewer fund $13,800); backhoe thumb kit-$5,300 (funded 50% from the general fund or $2,650 and 50% from the water and sewer budget $2,650)
WATER AND SEWER FUND FIXED ASSET ADDITIONS:
*Fixed Asset additions: wastewater treatment plant air piping project- $130,000; G-5 software upgrade-$27,600 (funded 50% from the general fund or $13,800 and 50% from the water and sewer fund $13,800).