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Council passes revenue measures
Pullman City Council voted to increase tax revenue in order to benefit city services.
Published 11/16/2011
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The Pullman City Council passed three measures at their Tuesday meeting to increase revenue.

The measures were an ordinance to increase revenue from property taxes by 1.48 percent, an ordinance increasing the revenue from the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) tax by 1.48 percent and a resolution increasing the fees for parks and recreations programs in Pullman by various amounts.

According to the meeting agenda, the EMS tax revenue will be $543,975, an increase of $7,934. That increase in part is a result of the addition of new construction and improvements to property. Although the ordinance was passed unanimously, Councilmember Barney Waldrop said the increases in revenue are far less than those of other cities.

City Supervisor John Sherman said state revenues for cities and towns are decreasing, and the city of Pullman could see major hits in the upcoming Nov. 28 special session. He said the city is cognizant of the coming cuts and said some potential benefits may come to the city.

“The drastic change is evident,” Sherman said.

In addition to the ordinance, a resolution was passed to allow the Public Services Department to change fees for several recreation programs. These fees will include a $20 increase for pool rental, a $15 to $25 fee for special event permits and a $5 increase for some youth sports programs.

Recreation Superintendent Kurt Dahmen discussed the changes at the meeting. He said fees were last raised in 2006 and the increases average about 25 percent.

Councilmember Bill Paul said the city is “way, way overdue” in increasing the fees.

Also, the property tax ordinance will result in an estimated $3,914,881 for the city’s general fund in 2012, a $57,000 increase.

In addition to the revenue ordinances, the council had its final 2012 public budget hearing. According to the agenda, the 2012 Budget Ordinance is set to be voted on Dec. 6. The council also passed an ordinance to rename a portion of Larry Street to Greyhound Way, heard public feedback on the benefits of single-stream recycling and heard a Pullman 2020 presentation from the Pullman School District.

According to the agenda, the Nov. 21 council meeting has been cancelled.

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