Decorah City Council approves 2014-2015 budget

The Decorah City Council has unanimously approved a 2014-2015 city budget that will increase the property tax rate for city purposes in order to pay for a sewer and water project and for a new fire truck.

Under the terms of the city budget, a property tax rate of $13.79 per $1,000 of assessed valuation has been set--up from the current year's levy of $12.54 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.  Of the $13.79 mill rate, $1.30 will pay for the Highway 9 utility project and the purchase of the new fire truck.

Following approval of the budget, the city council also approved seeking bids on a $4.7 million bond issue.  That figure breaks down to slightly over $3 million for the Highway 9 utility project; $526,000 in engineering costs and $530,000 in reimbursements and contingencies, and another $425,000 to refinance a 2008 bond issue to take advantage of lower interest rates.  The $4.7 million total is a "not to exceed" amount that will be finalized after bids are opened on the Highway 9 utility project.