The Salem City Council Tuesday night gave first reading approval to the 2023 tax levy for the 2024 property tax bills.
Finance Director Kelli Roth says the $1,816,280 levy is 2.4 percent higher than last year. The increase is spread across most of the funds, with a $19,000 decrease in the fund to pay off bonds and a $2,600 decrease in the library social security fund because too much had been collected in past years.
Mayor Nic Farley commended the city staff on keeping the increase below what could have been sought and noted the 2.4-percent increase most likely would just capture new construction without raising the city’s property tax on existing property.
The council also gave first-reading approval to an upgraded Investment Policy. Roth said the old policy gave little guidance and was just one page long. The new policy is taken from the policies of other cities. It outlines what types of instruments can be used for municipal funds and the requirement for the deposits to be federally insured or collateralized among other things.
The council also approved two budgeted replacement projects for the wastewater treatment system. They include four variable frequency drives that slowly bring up the speed of the pumps to save wear and tear and to replace a crane hoist. The variable frequency drives will be purchased from WD Automation at a cost of $11,315. The crane hoist from Illinois Electric Works is for $9,949.
