News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Monterey Aldermen met Monday and failed to agree on terms for a new budget.
Vice Mayor Starlett Wessels said she’s against the proposed three-cent property tax increase.
“Property values in Monterey are going to increase with all the building and expansion going on,” Wessels said. “Therefore, Monterey is going to have more money to operate on. I am not for a tax increase. We need to live within our means.”
Alderman Nathan Walker said the $1.36 tax rate is a marginal increase that would help Monterey maintain investments such as Meadow Creek Lake Park and Bee Rock.
“All these things we are doing now to try to increase future revenues, we’re going to have to continually invest and protect,” Walker said. “Our costs will always rise. That’s how business works, so we either start charging more or we have to start cutting services. That’s really the only two options you’ve got.”
Most of the board agreed that a new budget could not be approved until the completion of a new agreement with the Standing Stone Health Care Board. Walker said the health care board wants to change how they manage revenue received from the local health facilities.
“We are looking to solidify where that money goes and who is in charge of it,” Walker said. “We’re meeting with them tomorrow night to put together a plan, possibly a new resolution that will be beneficial to everybody.”
The Standing Stone Health Care Board will meet Tuesday at 7 p.m. to discuss the issue.
The board of aldermen approved the new fiscal year budget on first and second reading in May. They voted against the new spending plan on third and final reading in June.
Walker said it may take several more meetings before his colleagues can agree on the new budget.
