Amidst COVID Pinch, Schulenburg Council Votes to Raise the Tax Rate

The Schulenburg City Council voted to slightly raise the property tax rate at a meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8.

Next year’s rate will be $0.21 per $100 of taxable value. The current rate is $0.2087 per $100. Council could have raised the rate as high as $0.2138 without voter approval. Due to the increase in property values, they could have also lowered the rate to $0.2064 as still generate the same amount of revenue as last year.

The Council initially proposed the tax increase at a meeting on Aug. 17. At that time, City Administrator Tami Walker told the Record that the coronavirus pandemic caused revenue decreases in several areas for the City.

“We’re all affected by hotelmotel tax, mixed beverage tax,” Walker said. “Schulenburg has been fortunate that we’ve not been hit hard with sales tax. Not that fines and fees should be moneymaker, but we’re seeing impacts. So we chose to go the route of a small increase on property tax.”

Tuesday’s vote to approve the tax increase was unanimous. Two people spoke during the public hearing before the vote, residents Brian Lux and Chad Zimmermann. Both said they opposed the tax increase coming at a time when many workers in the private sector have lost jobs or had their hours cut.

Later in the meeting, Council voted unanimously to approve the tax rate increase. Walker said the new tax rate will generate about $11,000 in extra revenue for the City.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Council considered but eventually tabled a proposal to provide city employees with dental and vision benefits. Walker said the City will not give employees a cost of living raise next year.

“We understand there’s a pandemic going on,” Walker said at the meeting. “Times are tougher for some than for others.”

She recounted millions of dollars in infrastructure costs that the City plans to undertake next year.

“When it comes to the people who are behind those services, to forego raises this year, I thought I’d jump out and present to Council employer-paid insurance,” Walker said.

She said the dental and vision insurance would be free for employees, but employees would have the pay if they wished to extend coverage to their spouse or children.

Fayette County Commissioners recently extended free dental and vision coverage to County employees in lieu of raises next year.

“Other cities and counties around us provide this benefit for their employees,” Walker said. “It would be an added bonus (for employees) as well as keep us competitive with others on benefits.”

Walker said cost-of-living raises for all employees would cost about $39,000. She estimated the cost for employee dental and vision coverage at around $20,000 to $21,000 next year. The City plans to hire a few extra employees next year, bringing the total workforce to 42 employees.

Councilman Geoffrey Schiffli said the City should investigate the matter further before making a decision.

“I like the idea of doing this eventually,” Schiffli said. “But I want to take a bigger look at benefits. With what’s going on with COVID, a lot of companies are contracting, a lot of pay cuts, people aren’t getting cost-of-living raises and stuff like that. From a financial standpoint, I think it would not be prudent to take on additional costs here.”

Walker said the City has enough money in next year’s planned budget to cover the cost. Councilman Larry Veselka made a motion to offer employees dental and vision coverage. His motion failed for lack of a second.

“I’m not going to second it, I’d like to think about it more,” said Councilman Chip Bubela.

“I think its a good thing, but do y’all want to table it?” Councilman Ben Herzik asked.

“I do too, but I see Geoffery’s point,” Councilwoman Wendy Fietsam said.

Council decided to table the proposal until a later date.