Oxford Village residents will be paying the same millage rate as last year to finance the 2003-04 village budget adopted by council May 27.
For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003 and ending June 30, 2004, council unanimously approved a $4,768,820 budget supported by a 12.62-mill property tax levy, which breaks down to 11.28 mills for village operations and 1.34 mills for fire/EMS services.
A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.
The new millage rate is the exact same rate village property owners paid to support the 2002-03 budget.
‘One of the main reasons we held the line and kept the millage rate at the same rate that it was last year is that we are anticipating a drop in revenue sharing (funds) from the state,? said village President Steve Allen.
Council noted that the village millage rate has been steadily decreasing since the 1999-2000 fiscal year when it was 14.42 mills. The rate dropped to 13.5284 mills in 2000-01 and 13.1869 mills in 2001-02.
‘We would have liked to continue the slow, downward push of the millage rate, but the times, unfortunately, weren’t with us on that one,? Allen said.
The millage rate could have decreased to 12.46 mills for upcoming fiscal year due to the Headlee Amendment, however, village officials chose to override the rollback and keep it at 12.62 mills.
‘I believe the (village) administration would not have asked to override the Headlee (Amendment) if revenue sharing hadn’t fallen so low,? said village Clerk Rose Bejma.
Bejma told this reporter that the village lost $51,034 in revenue sharing funds from the state during the 2002-03 fiscal year. The clerk said she’s projecting a loss of $60,000 in revenue sharing for the 2003-2004 fiscal year.
Thirty-six percent of the village’s 2003-04 budget is comprised of the $2,170,779 general fund.
The general fund breaks down as follows:
nCouncil ? $9,648
nManager ? $101,292
nElection ? $1,400
nAttorney ? $70,000
nClerk ? $213,714
nTreasurer ? $68,773
nBuilding Maintenance ? $63,258
nOxford Beautification ? $4,095
nBuilding Department ? $61,889
nPlanning ? $26,000
nBoard of Appeals ? $500
nDepartment of Public Works ?$105,858
nTree Replacement Program ? $7,618
nDowntown Maintenance ? $59,054
n Parking Lot Maintenance ?$35,254
nLighting ? $37,020
nEngineering Fees ? $5,000
nRubbish Contracts ? $192,800
nParks ? $63,519
nInter-Local Government Contracts ? $18,558
nInsurance ? $11,353
nDebt Service ? $11,200
nContingency ? $3,303
nPublic Relations ? $11,000
nMiscellaneous (i.e. funds to OPFEC, Municipal Streets, police and fire departments, Building Authority) ? $988,673
The rest of the village budget breaks down as follows:
nMajor Streets ? $313,930 (5 percent)
nLocal Streets ? $63,495 (1 percent)
nOCDA ? $767,000 (12 percent)
nOxford Building Authority ? $43,665 (1 percent)
nFire Department ? $148,177 (2 percent)
nPolice Department ? $491,124 (11 percent)
nDispatch Center ? $242,176 (4 percent)
nSewer Fund ? $579,667 (9 percent)
nWater Fund ? $778,685 (14 percent)
nMotor Equipment (DPW) ? $213,526 (3 percent)
nNortheast Parking Lot Debt ? $21,222 (less than 1 percent)