FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Springfield City Council will meet at 1 p.m. today in Historic City Hall Council Chambers for a first reading of a bill to put a measure on the Nov. 7 ballot.
The measure would ask voters whether or not to continue a current level of property tax. The continuation would not increase taxes but will allow the City to continue to use funds generated for general municipal purposes, such as construction, maintenance and improvement of facilities and staffing.
The City has levied the property tax of 27 cents per one hundred dollars of assessed value for many years. Voters have renewed this investment in 1999, 2001 and 2004.
Some of the projects previously funded by level property tax dollars include major public safety projects, such as police and fire facilities and equipment, stormwater infrastructure improvements and construction of the fairgrounds E-Plex. Public safety would again be a priority for any future use of the ongoing tax, and the City has a long list of identified needs that it currently does not have a funding source for.
Should Council decide to move forward with putting the continuation on the ballot, a second reading and anticipated vote will be scheduled for Aug. 29.