By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
The City of Decatur’s budget for 2025 is showing only a slight rise from the current one, due mainly to two factors, including one which is quite positive.
The budget passed on two readings by city council Tuesday night – with one more required for approval – is established at $13,554.395.
That’s an increase of just $39,536 over the current number of $13,514.859.
If given final approval and eventually gaining state okay, the tax rate for next year would be $1.1961 per each $100 of assessed valuation – a slight drop from the current $1.212.
Before any final approval, however, council will hold a public hearing to allow time for comments, for or against.
One factor in the small increase is that the current budget contains $696,050 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. ARPA funds were sent out all over the country to aid relief efforts in the wake of the pandemic.
Decatur received approximately $1.2 million and currently has the nearly $700,000 unspent.
Local governments must return any grant funds not obligated to the U.S. Department of Treasury by the end of 2024; thus, Decatur’s money was placed in the current budget. It has to be allocated in 2025.
Meanwhile, an immensely positive sign is the city’s large jump in assessed valuation: $28 million!
“That’s a fairly big jump,” Clerk-Treasurer Kevin Hackman said. Thus, the slight dip in the tax rate for next year.
Mayor Dan Rickord offered some words of praise for Hackman and his staff. The ’25 budget is the first one Hackman has prepared in his initial year in the office.
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