Milton council to approve budget Sept. 9

Milton Town Council will vote to adopt the town’s $2.1 million budget Monday, Sept. 9, but not before rejecting a last-minute proposal for a 3 percent property tax increase.

The budget was first presented by Town Manager Kristy Rogers in July, and was debated by council Aug. 5, where a public hearing was set up for Aug. 20. Prior to the public hearing, the budget was reviewed by the city’s finance committee, which came back with a series of recommendations including a 3 percent property tax increase. The previous drafts of the budget presented by Rogers said there would be no tax or fee increases this year.

Councilman Rich Baty, chair of the finance committee, said the recommendation, intended to provoke discussion among council, would help the town offset rising costs for things like employee insurance, and get ahead of potential declines in real estate transfer tax. 

“It’s not a huge amount of money, but it would have been enough to take care of operational expenses that we have,” Baty said. 

A 3 percent increase would raise an additional $33,000 in revenue. Rogers said the town does not require the increase to balance the budget this year, but it would allow the town to save additional money for capital improvements. She said property taxes have not been raised since 2015. In her July presentation, Rogers advised council to consider a property tax increase in the future to offset any slowdowns in the real estate market. The current property tax rate is 24 cents per $100 of assessed value. 

Councilmen Sam Garde and Emory West, along with Mayor Ted Kanakos, rejected incorporating the tax increase.

Garde said he understood the rationale, but it was not right to enact an increase now after two previous meetings where no increase was mentioned. 

“Personally, I think it would lack transparency if at a meeting with four residents, after all that, we come up with a tax increase,” Garde said. “While it is not unusual to make changes to the budget at this meeting, I feel that the 3 percent increase in property taxes is inappropriate at this time.”

Garde suggested a 5 percent increase for 2021 to backdate the 3 percent for this year. Rogers said a 5 percent increase would raise $55,000 in revenue. 

Kanakos said, “We couldn’t sneak this in at the last minute. We’d look foolish. I agree we are probably going to have to have one next year.”

Council agreed to further discuss potential tax and fee increases at their six-month budget review with an eye toward incorporating the increases in the fiscal year 2021 budget.