The Spring Valley City Council met in regular session on Monday, December 12, 2016, with all members present (Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Bill Bires, Jeff Vehrenkamp and city administrator Deb Zimmer. No visitors had signed up to address the council.
The meeting opened with the annual Truth in Taxation portion. Two citizens each asked why the valuation of their homes had increased so much (and therefore their taxes, too). The first citizen said, “The amount that my city taxes are going up is $315.58, and to me that seems a rather substantial amount for a one year jump…I understand them going up, but I think that’s an unfair burden, so I would ask for a re-evaluation.” She also noted that the increase is a 24.5% hike in her taxes. Mayor Struzyk explained, “Usually when your valuation goes up, it’s house sales in your area.” He added that most homeowners had an increase in their valuation. Deb Zimmer shared that, “We can’t change her valuation right now. To reduce the tax, we’d have to reduce the levy,” and that this would mean the city would not have the revenues to meet the budgetary needs for the coming year.
The second homeowner then asked a similar question, stating, “I can’t imagine why mine would go up…I haven’t been doing anything on my house.” She also said the large maple tree that was removed (due to the street project) will decrease her home’s value. Council members said she’ll be notified in the spring when replacement trees are available, and she’ll get a choice of what type of tree to plant. Mayor Struzyk pointed out that anyone who disputes their home’s valuation should address that in April, at the Board of Review.
The council then opened the regular meeting. Deb Zimmer shared a “cheat sheet” which highlighted a few changes to the 2017 budget. One item that was discussed was the squad car and snow plow purchases planned. It was explained that since the squad car is at 100,000 miles, it will probably start needing a fair amount of maintenance if not replaced. The snow plow is 35 to 40 years old, and replacement parts are no longer available. Todd Jones asked if the state might have used plows for sale, but Mayor Struzyk said he’d already looked into that, and the problem is that used snow plows generally have a great deal of rust problems, due to the salt they carry. So he said it’s better to buy a new plow. The council unanimously approved Resolution 2016-35, certifying the property tax levy and final 2017 budget.
The council considered Resolution 2016-36, adjusting the payscale. The increase included in the resolution is 2.5%. Zimmer shared that for employees on insurance, the insurance cost is going up about 25% to 28%. The council OK’d the resolution as submitted.
Zimmer brought up a proposal to increase the “call rates” for the ambulance crew. She said, “When we did the call rate for the ambulance, we went to a flat $2.50 an hour. The problem is still going to be holidays. Some holidays are a little more difficult to cover. I’d suggest $5 an hour for those holidays, and then $4 an hour for the others.” She explained that it tends to be the same crew members working holidays, and the toughest holidays to fill include Christmas, Thanksgiving and Independence Day. The council agreed to the proposal.
Zimmer informed the council that the next Fire Board meeting will be January 11 at 7 p.m. The council will meet briefly during the last week of December just to approve payment of bills. The next regular meeting will be Monday, January 9 at 6 p.m.
Spring Valley Truth in Taxation
