LIVE OAK — The City of Live Oak’s millage rate will increase in Fiscal Year 2018-19, but only to the rollback rate.

The Live Oak City Council approved the rollback rate of 9.1771 mills for the upcoming fiscal year by a 4-1 vote at Tuesday’s meeting with councilman Mark Stewart voting against.

The city’s current millage rate is 8.9132.

City Manager Ron Williams told the council in July when it set the maximum possible millage rate that while property values have increased in the city, there are fewer properties to tax which led to the increase in the rollback rate, which is the tax rate that will provide the same amount of tax revenue as the previous year’s rate.

Stewart told the rest of the council Tuesday he would prefer to leave the millage rate at the current rate, even though that would mean less revenue being brought in.

“Being in the second year of a rate increase on our utilities and we have another one next year, the residents are really getting double whammied on taxes going up,” Stewart said. “There’s also the fire assessment from two years ago, so they’ve really had three rate increases as far as taxes, fire assessment and the millage rate.

“I just wish that we would consider using the same rate as last year.”

The council, though, approved the rollback rate.

The final budget hearing for the city is Sept. 25 at 5:30 p.m.

Stewart also was the lone dissenting vote on the city’s tentative $28.3 million budget. That budget is around $3 million larger than the current budget but Williams addressed resident Erica Williams’ concern though by saying the increase is due to expected grant funding that would allow for additional infrastructure improvements.

“We’re programming that in with the hope that it comes through,” Ron Williams said. “If it does not, it will not be expended.”

Ron Williams told the council the balanced budget proposed to them also included a 1 percent cost of living raise for city employees as well as the renewed evaluation process that could lead to an additional 1.5 percent increase as well as working on improving the city’s infrastructure and average fleet of age.

“We’re making one bite at a time progress,” he said.

Ron Williams said the city’s health insurance rates also went up 8 percent and the city worked with its insurance carrier to offer different options for employees while also helping on the city’s budget.

Proclamations

Mayor Frank Davis also issued a pair of proclamations at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The first was to declare September as Adult Education and Family Literacy Month in Live Oak. Representatives from RIVEROAK Technical College were on hand with a couple of the school’s adult education students for the proclamation.

His second proclamation declared that Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, be known as Captain Charley Ford Day in the City of Live Oak. Ford was tragically killed in a training exercise while serving in the U.S. Army in 1969. Ford would turn 74 on Wednesday.

In addition to Wednesday being named in his honor, a marker will be placed in the city’s Veterans Memorial Park in downtown at 6 p.m. Wednesday by the Ford family.