Columbus Adopts 2019 Budget

(Columbus) The Columbus Common Council adopted their 2019 operating budget this week. The approved budget includes expenditures of $3.89-million dollars and a carryover from the 2018 budget of $105,770. The tax levy is $3,067,601, an increase of just over $40,000. The mill rate is up 12-cents to $8.16-per-one-thousand dollars of assessed value, the first increase to the mill rate the city has seen since 2013. City Finance Director Kim Manley says that the increase does not necessarily equate to a higher tax bill. She tells us that most home owners should see a similar tax bill as last year, unless their homes assessed value has increased.  She says it won’t be a savings of hundreds, but it should be lower than residents saw last year. The approved budget includes continued dollars spent towards street improvements throughout the city, as well as the purchase of a new squad vehicle for the Columbus Police Department.