Norris OKs budget and social media policy
Norris residents will pay a property tax of $1.5439 per $100 of assessed value in the fiscal year beginning July 1, the same rate as the current year, in the budget passed on final reading by the City Council on Monday night.
The council also narrowly approved a social media policy aimed at managing city accounts on sites such as Facebook.
The operating budget – which does not include water and sewer – calls for spending $2.47 million during the 2024-25 fiscal year against projected revenues of $2.07 million. The spending includes capital expenditures that would be offset by grant money.
Total local tax revenues are projected to be $1.2 million, including $708,000 in real property tax collections, and $78,000 in personal property taxes.
Other money for the budget will come from “intergovernmental revenue” of $497,205, $182,556 in charges for administrative services, $14,250 from licenses and permits, $2,650 from fines and penalties, and $169,450 in miscellaneous revenue, which includes such items as interest income ($75,000) and cell tower rent ($29,000).
Water works expenses (water and sewer) are expected to total $3.4 million against revenues of $3.24 million. This does not include capital projects and debt-service principal payments.
The interest revenue comes from the city’s move this past year to put its cash into interest-bearing bank accounts, rather than the past practice of having millions of dollars sitting in accounts while earning no interest.
Councilwoman Loretta Painter said Monday night that she would like to see the city staff figure out more ways to earn interest on the city’s cash reserves.
Although the tax rate remains the same, the council has already approved a total of $1.10 a month increase in the residential trash-collection fee, which is added to each resident’s water/sewer bill.
That increase will come in two separate 55-cent additions to the monthly utility bills – one on July 1 and another on Jan. 1.
City Manager Adam Ledford said the higher rates are necessary to cover the city’s growing expenses to have Waste Connections operate the city’s refuse service.
Starting July 1, residents will pay $17.55 a month, up from $17, for trash pickup. That will rise to $18.10 a month beginning Jan. 1.
Commercial trash customers will see even higher increases, including paying more in monthly dumpster rental costs and trash pickups.
Also, the council Monday night approved a resolution on a 3-2 vote that sets the city’s official policy on control and management of social media accounts, including Facebook accounts already in operation by three city departments.
Under the policy, Ledford would oversee social media accounts and would be allowed to delegate the work.
Mayor Chris Mitchell made the motion to approve the policy, and it was seconded by Councilman Chuck Nicholson, who brought up the idea earlier this year.
Mitchell, Nicholson and Councilman Will Grinder voted “yes” on the measure; Painter and Councilman Bill Grieve voted “no.”
Grieve and Painter said they were concerned about putting more work on city staff, and both suggested that dealing with social media accounts could be a time-consuming task. They also said they were not in favor of the city setting up a new Facebook account for general city government announcements.
But the mayor said the policy was necessary to bring the current social media accounts under control of the city manager, and stressed that the measure does not mandate the creation of any new accounts.
“I believe this provides the structure needed for the present [Facebook] sites,” Mitchell said.
Anyone managing city social media accounts – including volunteers – will have to sign an agreement to abide by the city’s rules for operating such accounts as laid out in the policy approved by the resolution.