By Shannon McFarlin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–At a short and sweet special meeting Tuesday morning, the Paris City Commission approved the current property tax raate and approved a 2023 budget which includes an 8 percent cost of living raise for all employees and a 10 percent increase in healthcare premiums.
The city’s current property rate rate is $.80 per $100 of assessed value and will remain at that rate.
Commissioner John Etheridge said, “I’m proud of our budget and I hope citizens feel like they get value for their tax dollars.”
The Items of interest in the 2023 budget that was approved on second reading were:
• An 8% COLA for all employees.
• A 10% increase in the cost of healthcare premiums.
• An increase of $500,000 to the paving budget to bring it to $1,200,000. City Manager Kim Foster noted that this amount was increased by $200,000 to compensate for higher than anticipated costs. “We had anticipated it high to begin with, but it came in even higher than that,” she said.
• The receipt of the second half of the Federally funded ARPA – State & Local Fiscal Recovery Fund in the amount of $1,491,875.
• Two new full-time positions, a second Codes Enforcement Officer and another Equipment Operator II.
• Seven different grant projects including the completion of sidewalks along Wilson & Patriot Streets, new signalization in downtown (2 grants), replacement of the Rison Street bridge, a home repair/replace program, downtown building improvements, and a signalization & sidewalk project along Tyson/Mineral Wells. Total matching dollars for these grants are $145,000.
The city has “a safe and healthy fund balance in the amount of $5,335,404”, and a planned surplus at the landfill of $56,045, she said.
“There is a significant budgeted deficit in the Sanitation Fund of $552,898 due to two sanitation trucks to be purchased,” she said, but the Sanitation Fund “has a very healthy fund balance.”
In other business:
A request from Julia Puckett of Maple Street to acquire an undeveloped alley off of Maple St. was approved. The request had been recommended for approval by the planning commission.