Town Council Meeting - Special Called Millage Meeting

TYRONE TOWN COUNCIL MEETING - SPECIAL CALLED MILLAGE MEETING MINUTES August 10, 2023 at 9:00 AM Eric Dial, Mayor Gloria Furr, Mayor Pro Tem, Post 4 Linda Howard, Post 1 Brandon Perkins, Town Manager Melissa Hill, Post 2 Dee Baker, Town Clerk Billy Campbell, Post 3 Dennis Davenport, Town Attorney Mr. Davenport was absent. Also present: Brandon Perkins, Town Manager Phillip Trocquet, Assistant Town Manager Sandy Beach, Finance/HR Manager Bridget Smith, Accounting Specialist I. CALL TO ORDER II. INVOCATION III. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IV. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Comments are limited to three (3) minutes. Please state your name & address. Comments that require a response may not be answered during this time. The Council or staff may respond at a later date. V. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion was made to approve the agenda. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Hill. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Furr. VI. CONSENT AGENDA: All matters listed under this item are considered to be routine by the Town Council and will be enacted by one motion. There will not be separate discussion of these items. If discussion is desired, that item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered separately. VII. PRESENTATIONS VIII. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Consideration to set the 2023 millage rate for the Town of Tyrone. Town Council Meeting - Special Called Millage Meeting Page 1 of 4 August 10, 2023  Ms. Beach informed everyone that today was the first of several public hearings. The next public hearing would be held on Tuesday, August 15th at 5:00 pm, the final would be on Thursday, August 17th at 6:30 pm preceding the regularly scheduled Council meeting where the millage rate would be adopted. Ms. Beach added that every year in August, the Town assessed the millage rate which determined what your property tax bill would be also including the value of your home from Fayette County. Mayor Dial shared that the Town’s millage rate has stayed the same for the past sixteen years. Mayor Dial opened the public hearing for anyone that wished to speak in support of the item. No one spoke. Mayor Dial opened the public hearing for anyone that wished to speak in opposition to the item. No one spoke. The public hearing was closed. IX. OLD BUSINESS X. NEW BUSINESS XI. PUBLIC COMMENTS: The second public comment period is for any issue. Comments are limited to three (3) minutes. Please state your name & address. Comments that require a response may not be answered during this time. The Council or staff may respond at a later date. Mr. Jim McKnight who lives in the Southfork subdivision asked questions regarding the homestead act and the millage rate process as it pertained to Tyrone. Mayor Dial explained that Tyrone’s millage rate was a percentage of what Fayette County establishes as property taxes. That could change from year to year, however, the Town’s millage rate has remained the same. Mr. McKnight stated that when they bought their home from the original owners, the taxes increased after they closed on the house. Mayor Dial invited the McKnights to meet with staff after the meeting to discuss his concerns. Mr. Dia Hunter who lives on O’Connell Street shared that he had lived in Tyrone for ten years and was happy that the millage rate had not increased for sixteen years. He added that Fayette County continued to increase its taxes, and he asked what measures the citizens could take to ensure that taxes did not continue to increase. He shared that he had also continued to file for an exemption. He stated that Tyrone had one of the lowest millage rates in the state and by lowering the millage rate would not be fiscally responsible. He asked what the citizens could do at the County level for them to lower our property taxes. Ms. Beach shared that Tyrone citizens could attend and speak out at the Fayette County Board meetings, their millage public hearings. Mayor Dial agreed regarding attending the County public hearings and voicing your opinions and going through an appeal process. Council Member Hill shared that for the homestead exemption, after a certain age, the County takes away the school tax which would lower your taxes. Page 2 of 4  Mayor Dial shared that the big picture was that our property taxes were high because people wanted to live here for the schools and low crime and other reasons. If you wished to sell your property would be worth more, so we pay more. Mr. Glenn Green who lives in the River Oaks subdivision spoke regarding the millage rate. He clarified that Tyrone was operating under a surplus, yet the Town was increasing the millage rate. What amenities would the River Oaks subdivision and others along the north end of Hwy 74 see from that increase? He added that his subdivision did not have fiberoptics which was a problem. He also asked where geographically would those increases be seen, and added that his neighborhood paid more taxes than anyone. Mayor Dial stated that public comments were not meant for back and forth, however, due to the informal nature of the meeting place he would answer some questions. He reiterated that the millage rate was not increasing and that it had stayed the same for sixteen years. The property taxes were increasing, and the millage rate as a percentage pulls a higher number of dollars. He added that taxes were increasing but what Tyrone controlled was staying the same. The Town was mindful of residents to the north on Hwy 74 and explained that there were plans to add cart paths for the north end residents to be able to connect to other paths. A recent developer was asked to include a cart path as part of their development. Mayor Dial stated that he would be happy to meet with anyone after the meeting to go over any further questions anyone may have. He added that Council listened to citizen feedback and what they wanted was to first improve our downtown corridor. We carry out those wishes, we are also looking at Hwy 74 North and how the truck traffic would impact that area. We do not ignore the fact that other neighborhoods are on the north end. Mr. Green shared his concerns for more beautification along the Hwy 74 north end and that the grass was not cut as often as it should be. He thanked Council for the red light change at Sandy Creek, it was an improvement. He also mentioned that his neighborhood was unable to tie into the sewer which was on the north-end of 74. He did not understand why they could not get sewer nor see the other benefits. Mr. Perkins stated that acquiring fiberoptics was not something that the Town would provide. XII. STAFF COMMENTS XIII. COUNCIL COMMENTS XIV. EXECUTIVE SESSION Page 3 of 4 XV. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn. Motion made by Council Member Campbell, Seconded by Council Member Furr. Voting Yea: Council Member Howard, Council Member Hill. The meeting adjourned at 9:24 am. By: Attest: Eric Dial, Mayor Dee Baker, Town Clerk Page 4 of 4