By Seth Schmidt
The City of Tracy’s property tax levy will increase 3.4% next year.
The levy increase, finalized by the city council Monday, is pared back from the 12.67% increase that was certified in September. The 12.67% preliminary levy increase was used to calculate proposed 2018 real estate taxes that were mailed by Lyon County in November. The council’s Monday action means that 2018 property taxes will be less than what was listed on the county statements.
The city’s 2018 property tax levy of $1,133,085 has four parts: General Fund, $625,812; Permanent Improvement, $50,000; Debt Service, $403,513; and Infrastructure Replacement Fund, $53,760.
The infrastructure fund levy is new for 2018. Spread equally over all parcels of property in Tracy, the infrastructure levy is meant to raise additional revenue for future sewer and water improvements.
The 2018 Debt Service levy of $403,513 is a 15.9% increase from the 2017 debt service levy of $348,205. Debt Service is the principal and interest payments needed to pay off bonded indebtedness. The city has taken on new bonded indebtedness in recent years to pay for wastewater, sewer, and water improvement projects.
For more on this article, see this week’s Headlight-Herald.