No Tax Hike For Baxter Residents

Despite revenue loss due to the pandemic, the City of Baxter’s budget does not include a tax increase.

Baxter officials met Thursday night to discuss the city’s budget. Mayor John Martin said he’s confident in their $1.8 million proposal.

“From everyone that we’ve talked to as far as the businesses in Baxter, we feel pretty good at it,” Martin said. “I know some of the businesses are down some, but the others are way up. We’re pretty comfortable with our budget.”

The only businesses shut down from the pandemic were Huddle House and the Whistle Stop. Martin said the pandemic did not severely damage the city’s revenue.

“We work very hard to take care of our employees, I think that’s the main focal point for our city,” Martin said. “They do a wonderful job, we’ve always felt like they should be rewarded.”

A dollar an hour raise has been added in past budgets, but Martin said that will be postponed this year for city employees.

Included in the proposal is a grant request for a new police car. A separate resolution for two rezoning requests was discussed, but the timeline is uncertain. Martin said the rezoning requests are for a 70 townhouse development and a 77 residential home plot.

Officials will meet May 21 for the rezoning resolutions. Budget finalization will take place in June. Martin said changes to the budget were minimal.