Preliminary budget mills nearly double
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
Washburn taxpayers could be in for a shock when next year’s property taxes arrive, as the city’s preliminary budget was approved Monday with an 85 percent mill levy increase.
The total number of mills levied in the preliminary Washburn City budget grew from 54.74 last year to 104 this year, as Washburn City Commissioners reluctantly approved the figures during Monday’s meeting.
The increase in mills means an approximate $230,000 in additional taxes for Washburn property owners, though commissioners are hoping to bring that number down.
“There is still the option to change, not increasing but lowering,” City Commission President Larry Thomas said Monday.
Thomas explained that the increased levy was attributed mainly to an additional 44 mills being used to cover a deficit in the debt services fund, which is short approximately $220,000.
City Auditor Ranie Price is reportedly working to identify the cause of the deficit and remedy the situation in order to bring the mill levy down before the city’s final 2020 budget is due on Oct. 7.
