After a public hearing was held Monday night prior to the start of the Washington City Council and Board of Public Works and Safety meetings, the city will move forward with the process to re-establish the cumulative capital development fund rate.
City Clerk-Treasurer Beth McGookey said over a period of time the rate of the fund decreases and the only way to fix that is to raise it.
"The last time it was raised was 2012," said McGookey. The current rate is 4.61 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. "We want to bring that back up to a nickel. On a home that's $200,000 that would mean you'd see a tax increase of $7.80 more per year."
A first reading of the new ordinance re-establishing the fund rate was read at the council meeting.
"A second reading will be held at the May 22 meeting," she said. "If it's approved, a notice of adoption would be in the paper around May 26, then taxpayers would have 30 days to contest and voice their objections to the county auditor."
Mayor Joe Wellman said the money from the fund is used for long-term capital projects like street paving.
"This year's money is budgeted for street paving and sidewalk replacements," he said, adding last year a portion of the money was used for the Piankeshaw project, among others. "The rate declines a little each year so every so often, you need to move it back to a nickel."
Five cents is the highest the rate can be.