City of Imperial’s ‘19-20 budget gains council’s nod; tax request up 10%

    The city of Imperial’s 2019-20 budget is in the hands of state officials after council members gave 4-0 approval last week.
    The Sept. 17 meeting opened with a public hearing on the budget, which includes a tax asking of 10% above last year.
    A property tax request of $1,194,067 was approved, up from last year’s tax asking of $1,082,950
    The $111,117 in additional tax dollars approved is due to a number of factors, said Clerk/Administrator Jo Leyland.
    In the coming year, the city will expend $18,000 more in bond payments, 10% more for property coverage in their insurance policy, $25,000 for a new pool filter, $17,000 to cover a shortfall in the cemetery budget and money for fire department bunker gear and building repair.
    The increase in tax askings is reflected in the levy, which will grow from .624970 to .689070.
    Wage increases averaged about 3% across the board. Here are the increases approved for the city’s administrator and department heads:
    Clerk/Adm Leyland—from $84,405 to $86,937, 3% raise.
    Public Works Supt. Pat Davison—from $83,594 to $86,102, 3% raise.
    Comm. Dev. Director Jason Tuller—from $69,474 to $70,863, 2% raise.
    Police Chief Ryan Wisnieski—from $67,200 to $69,216, 3% raise.
    Bldg. Inspector/Zoning Officer Nick Schultz—from $19,055 to $19,626, 3% raise.
    The city’s total operating budget is up 7%.
    The city of Imperial is one of the few governmental entities in the county that experienced a valuation growth for 2019 from $172,177,938 to $173,286,735.
    That included $1.5 million in new growth, while personal property valuation dropped some, Leyland said.
    The 2019-20 budget year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.
    As part of the hearing process last week, the council also approved an additional 1% increase to its restricted funds authority. In separate action, they gave 4-0 approval to the wage ordinance that puts the new salaries in place.
Info magnets considered
    With police calls no longer being dispatched through the county’s network and all 911 calls now handled by the sheriff’s office, council members considered a way to make city phone numbers more accessible to residents.
    Clerk/Administrator Leyland showed a sample info magnet that would provide after-hours phone numbers for the Imperial Police Department and utility department, as well as the daytime office phone number.
    Currently, she said there are more than 1,200 homes and business in Imperial, and more would be ordered for newcomers.
    Plans would be to mail them out to residents who receive mailed utility bills, but Leyland is checking on those costs.
    Other options for distribution were discussed, with reports expected at the next meeting.
    The council also adopted a golf car ordinance that corrected where it will be located in the city’s code book. Nothing else was changed in the ordinance approved earlier this summer which increased the time between inspections from one year to five.