Monday, May 17, 2010

No tax increase in Southport budget

If you don’t like property tax increases, and hoped you would not pay more for water, sewer and electricity next fiscal year, you’ll be pleased with Southport city manager Alan Thornton’s proposed budget for 2010-11.

His “hold-the-line” budget presented to city aldermen Thursday night keeps property taxes at 18 cents per $100 of valuation and includes no fee increases for city utilities. Maintaining those rates in a sluggish economy, Thornton explained, was no small task.

“It wasn’t done without pain,” Thornton told aldermen in his annual budget address. “But I think you’ll see this budget shares the pain with all departments. It’s one of the more difficult budgets that I’ve put together.”

Aldermen will hold a public hearing on the budget Thursday, June 10, at 6 p.m. They plan to schedule a couple of workshops before then to review Thornton’s proposal, which must be adopted prior to July 1. Copies of the proposed budget are available to view at City Hall and the Harper Library.

Overall, the total proposed general fund is $4,091,500, which is a decrease of $266,800 from last year’s budget. Of that amount, the 18-cent property tax levy is expected to generate $1,550,000 and the remainder is derived from state funds and sales tax revenues. The largest item accounted for in the $266,800 reduction is the completion of Lowe-White Park.

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Ken KeeganReal Estate Broker(910) 523-0903 mobileEmail Mewww.KenKeegan.com

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