Discussion on the city budget for the 2025 fiscal year including the millage rate for property owners,, the city budget, the paving of more streets in Hart, a garage sale were highligted during the the Hart City Council meeting May 28.
Truth in Taxation
The city is proposing no increase in the milage rate, Splane said.
“The city council is not proposing any new or increased millage,” he said. “There are ongoing discussions if the city should seek to renew the street millage which expires in 2024. No decision on that has been made yet.”
In compliance with state regulations, a form is completed that indicates the levels of taxation with specific calculations. This is submitted to the county and the state for review. If approved, the proposed millage rate will become the rate at which property owners will be taxed in the City of Hart.
The Truth in Taxation Act requires taxing entities to hold a public hearing in order to levy the tax.
Fiscal year budget
The budget that is proposed totals $18,300,878. This includes revenue sources consisting of tax revenue, revenue from the major operating funds — Hydro Fund, Water Fund, Sewer Fund and the General Fund.
In the packet of budget information provided to the council, Splane explained, “Property taxes are increasing slightly and constitute the largest funding source.”
The addition of several new properties are coming onto the tax rolls and will help increase revenue significantly, he said. These new properties are the Seneca Foods expansion and a parcel annexation into the city of 26 properties identified in the 1997 425 agreement but had not been transferred. It is expected that these properties will add $50,000 in revenue.
Paving projects
An item discused at the meeting was the paving on Plum Street. It was mentioned in the meeting because of the Safe Routes to Schools Grant performing work on that street.
Hart City Manager Rob Splane said, “The city does have a handful of other dirt roads that were not discussed.”
According to Splane, the money for the repaving of Plum Street could be available in 2026.
Splane also said that the city is focusing on large street projects that are currently in progress.
“This fall, we plan to resurface West Main Street,” Splane said. “East Main Street will likely be done the following year, pending budget approval next summer.”
But Splane said that the city is always looking for additional grants to support their road-work efforts but that there is no clear grant available to cover this work. He also said that these kind of opportunities come and go often.
Yard Sale
Also talked about at the meeting was the upcoming garage sale, scheduled for June 29.
Applications are being taken and a virtual map will be created for the general public. If rain or other bad weather prevents the event from taking place, the alternate date is July 13, but it could also be cancelled.
The event is being sponsored by the Hart Economic and Redevelopment Team.
The Creek Project
During the public comment period, a Hart resident, Richard Huntington, voiced his displeasure over when the subdivision he’s in, The Creek, can get moving again on converting quad-and-triplex buildings into duplexes, which, according to Huntington, will sell much better.
Huntington said the big reason for the snag is that the out-of-town attorneys the city works with haven’t been able to work on language that will allow the project to move forward and is frustrated that the process has been dragged out for around six months.
According to Huntington, he and the city had an agreement on doing this project, but it needs to be amended to make the changes that he’s seeking, which is being held up by the city’s attorneys.
In expressing his frustration, Huntington said, “If this were happening somewhere else, I think action would have been taken much sooner than this.
“If there’s any transparency here at all, it’s failed to register with me and with the homeowner’s association,” Huntington said. “We negotiated with you; we accepted and agreed on a plan.” “We would just like to see this thing finished,” Huntington said.
However, city manager Rob Splane said this, “The city has been working on restarting development in the Creeks subdivision for three years with good success. A master deed amendment is currently being drafted by the city attorney for approval in the near future. This amendment will allow for the construction of 14 additional duplexes on the site.”
Huntington is the head of the Homeowners Association in that subdivision.
