City of Decorah 2013-2014 budget gets approved with no public comment

A public hearing on the City of Decorah's $9 million budget for 2013-2014 attracted not a single public comment on Monday night.

The Decorah City County unanimously approved the budget after the brief public hearing.

Next year's proposed budget would hold the city's property tax rate unchanged at $12.54 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.  The overall valuation of property within the city limits is increasing, so $3,586,841 in property taxes would be collected--an increase of $126,776 from this year's property tax collections for city purposes.  The City expects to bring in another $5,646,806 in other revenues, bringing the total revenue to $9,233,647.

City Administrator Chad Bird praised the work of city department heads in keeping the budget within limits.  City Finance Committee chair Paul Wanless praised the work of the City Clerk's Office and department heads.