Richland City Council members voted Tuesday against collecting an additional 1 percent in property tax revenues for 2010.
The council adopted the annual property tax ordinance without taking the increase allowed by state law, although the council did preserve the right to take the
1 percent increase if needed in the future.
Richland's property tax rate for 2010 will be $3.15 per $1,000 of home value. For a $200,000 home, that would amount to $630 per year.
The rate is up about 1 cent from the 2009 rate of $3.14. City Manager Cindy Johnson said the penny increase was because of a change in valuation by Benton County.
Also Tuesday, the council held a public hearing on the 2010 budget, which preserves spending at 2009 levels.
The general fund budget increases by 5.7 percent, from $51.1 million to $54 million, but senior staff members found reductions elsewhere for a net overall budget reduction of 5.4 percent.
That brings the 2010 budget down to $239.1 million from 2009's $252.7 million.
The city will have a town hall meeting about the budget from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the city shops, 2700 Duportail.
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Proposed Pasco budget maintains services, jobs
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Discussions among Richland City Council members Tuesday were all about money -- whether to contribute money toward a proposed museum, how much to bring in to pay for new parks and how much the council can expect to budget for next year.
The 2012 budget was the easiest of those conversations, with newly retired Administrative Services Director Ron Musson making a final appearance before the council to show members a balanced $248.4 million budget.
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As the Richland City Council works its way toward adopting its 2012 budget, one member Tuesday questioned whether the time is right to spend money beautifying the city's streets.
Councilman David Rose said he would rather not spend $100,000 hiring a consultant to write a plan for the city's streetscapes during a time when the economy is fraught with uncertainty.
"In good times when the taxes are flowing, I can see spending money like this," Rose said. "Actually, I can't -- but I can understand it."
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