ROGERS -- The city found a way to lower taxes and spend more money on public safety next year, the mayor said.
Property taxes will decrease by a half mill after the City Council decided to remove one mill devoted to the former city-funded police and fire pensions and increase the general millage by a half mill. The additional half mill in the general fund will generate an estimated additional $740,000 a year for public safety, Mayor Greg Hines said.
Rogers millage
The millage rate Rogers residents paid this year for 2017 taxes was 55.4 mills, including:
w Rogers Public Schools: 41.9 mills
w County general fund: 5 mills
w Northwest Arkansas Community College: 2.6 mills
w County roads: 0.19 mills
w County ambulance service: 0.2 mills
w Rogers city general fund: 1.9 mills
w Rogers cty road: 1.71 mills
w Rogers fire pension: 0.50 mills
w Rogers police pension: 0.50 mills
w Rogers Public Library: 0.90 mills
Source: Benton County Collector’s Office
The decrease means taxpayers will pay about $10 less per $100,000 of property they own, Benton County Assessor Roderick Grieve said.
The city's millage rate will be 3.3 mills, which includes 2.4 mills for the general fund and 0.9 mills for the library. The city also collects 1.71 mills for roads. That millage is levied by the county, Finance Director Casey Wilhelm said. A mill is the rate at which property is taxed and is equal to one-tenth of a cent.
Wilhelm said no one will lose their pension, although the city is cutting the mill devoted to the pensions.
"These are closed pension systems," Hines said. "Nobody who currently works for the Fire Department or Police Department is participating in these. Everyone is retired."
Hines said the tax money dedicated to the pensions were for police officers and firefighters hired before the Arkansas Local Police and Fire Retirement System was established in the 1980s. Eighteen people are still on the old plans.
No more money is needed to pay the retired police officers' pensions who were on the old plan. Hines predicted money for the old fire pensions will run out in about 10 years and some of the retired firefighters could still be alive. The city can use the half-mill devoted to public safety to pay for the remaining pensions, if needed. Until then, the additional tax money will go toward equipment in the police and fire departments, Hines said.
Wilhelm said the additional money can be used for anything in the police and fire departments, including personnel.
Together, the police and fire budgets will cost the city about $22.8 million next year, Hines said. That's nearly half the general fund.
"Fundamentally, public safety is an expensive endeavor," Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said.
Jenkins said larger fire trucks, such as ladder trucks, costing about $1 million are on a set replacement cycle and paid for by the bond issue. Voters in August approved a $299.5 million bond issue that included $11.5 million for police and $9.5 million for fire. Smaller fire trucks, which can cost anywhere between $50,000 and $200,000, are purchased as needed, he said.
Jenkins said the department is fortunate to generally keep up with its equipment needs, but replacing vehicles and other necessary equipment is "a never-ending cycle." The department strives to purchase a new ambulance every year for about $250,000.
The Fire Department needs enough vehicles in its reserve fleet in case a vehicle wrecks or breaks down, Jenkins said. The city runs its own ambulance service, and an ambulance crashed several years ago.
The department will soon look to replace seven electronic patient-loading cots for about $250,000.
Police Chief Hayes Minor said equipment replacement cycles in the Police Department will be business as usual. The additional money for public safety could help cover unforeseen circumstances, such as if several police cars were to break down at once or if the department had the opportunity to buy a large amount of equipment at a discounted price.
The Police Department tries to replace cars after they have 80,000 miles, which generally takes about seven years, Minor said. That way, the cars have some resale value.
Cities must establish a millage rate every year. Rogers has turned in its millage rate to the county for approval, Benton County Deputy Clerk Betsy Harrell said.
Arkansas cities may levy up to 5 mills without a public vote. There's not a typical millage rate that cities levy, said Mark Hayes, executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League. It isn't unusual for cities to lower the millage rate. he said.
NW News on 10/28/2018