City Manager Tom Bonfield said this morning that the city administration does not expect a hike in the tax rate next year.
So far.
"There is nothing being contemplated at this point," he said. "I'm not saying it's not a possibility."
County Manager Mike Ruffin told the county commissioners yesterday that an increase in the county's property-tax rate will probably be required in light of projections for falling revenue and rising expenses.
The city has not started its budget process for 2010-11 yet, Bonfield said. He expects a report on first-quarter income and spending "in a couple of weeks." Those figures will give a basis for preliminary projections and starting to plan ahead.
Bonfield is introducing three-year financial planning at City Hall, replacing the conventional process of budgeting year by year. Preliminary work on a plan for 2010-13 should be done by the end of 2009, he said.
