June 25, 1979 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Session 1223, Minutes June 25, 1979 Page 14 There was discussion about which of the bills introduced last week were to be voted on. City Clerk Poscover said there would be a second and third reading of those ordinances which are to be passed. With respect to the others, the Rules and Regulations of the Council provide that upon announcement of the second reading of any bill, if there are objections to it, the question shall be put by the Chairman "Shall the proposal be rejected?" If a majority of the Council vote in favor of re- jection, the bill shall be defeated. Mayor Mooney asked the Council if Bill Nos. 7363, 7354, 7365, 7366, 7367 and 7368 should be rejected. Ail voted Aye except Councilmen Kelley and Lieberman. Discussion moved to setting the tax for the library. Councilman Kelley spoke in favor of a 35¢ rate, rather than the requested 40¢ rate. He so moved. Councilman Metcalfe said she felt that the Library would be happy with that, as long as they have the assurance that money from the city would be available to tide them over the beginning of their fiscal year until tax monies were available to them. Mrs. Met- calfe seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Mayor Mooney then asked the Council if Bill Nos. 7342, 7346 and 7348 should be re- Jected. Ail voted Ayeo Council now embarked on a discussion of the property tax in conjunction with the tax on utilities. Councilman Kelley spoke in favor of maintaining the property tax at 55¢. His reasons are that a higher tax might discourage new construction and might also discourage the passage of a bond issue. Councilman Metcalfe concurred and add- ed that the inequities of the property tax prior to reassessment also fall very un- equally on those parts of the city which have not appreciated in value as much as others. She also said that increasing the property tax and decreasing utility taxes increases the load on non-tax-exempt taxpayers. Councilman Sabol spoke in favor of keeping the property tax at 55¢, also. Councilman Lieberman advocated an increase in the property tax by 42¢, to 97¢, to be offset by a decrease in the gross receipts tax on utilities of 2%. Mr. Lieberman said this combination would be of most benefit to the middle income taxpayer. Sen- ior citizens benefit also, since they would be paying less tax on their utility bills. There would be a total saving of $20,000 by the City, the Library and the School District, if the gross receipts tax is reduced by 2%, which is equivalent to 2¢ on the tax rate, Mr. Lieberman said. Councilman Glickert concurred with Council- man Lieberman. Councilman Metcalfe said Council might consider, if they were willing to take a chance on a smaller projected surplus, not trading off an equal amount on the prop- erty tax against the gross receipts tax. That is, lower the gross receipts tax by 2% but only raise the property tax by 21¢, or lower the gross receipts tax by 1% and leave the property tax at the current rate, 55¢. She said the revenue predictions which have been made in the recent past have been quite conservative, and she feels it may behoove Council to take this risk. Councilman Kelley said he thought Councilman Adams and the rest of the Council should consider the possible detrimental effects on the community if the property tax is al- most doubled, as one of the proposals advocates, regardless of what is done as far as the gross receipts tax is concerued.