On Tuesday, June 6th, the Rochester City Council adopted the FY24 budget.
The City Manager’s original proposed budget, inclusive of City, County, and Schools, was $3,414,376 below the tax cap and represented an estimated $1.85 tax rate increase, however, a contingency of City Councilors expressed interest in making further cuts in order to lower the $1.85 increase.
According to staff, Mayor Paul Callaghan challenged the Finance Department to explore additional ways to lower the tax rate.
In response, the Finance Department suggested adjustments that included $1,328,000 in cuts to City cash CIP projects, $350,000 in cuts to the operating budget, which includes a $250,000 bottom line reduction to the School budget, and increasing non-property tax revenues by $490,000.
The Chief Assessor also updated the 2023 Preliminary Net Assessed Valuation since the City Manager’s budget was presented, which included an additional $30 million in assessed value and contributed to some of the reduction to the tax rate impact.
The adopted budget is $5,548,945 below the tax cap, with an estimated tax rate increase of $0.82. For a $223,000 home (without changes to other factors such as the property’s assessment), that increase would amount to an approximate total tax bill increase of $180.
First issue property tax bills are scheduled to be mailed on June 13th with a due date of July 13th, 2023.