Butler City Council does not have to make drastic adjustments to their 2020 budget after a significant decline in assessment values was determined to have been the result of a coding error.
Recent figures put out by Butler County reflected a drastic decrease in assessed property values which would have greatly reduced expected city revenue for the upcoming year. Although a 2.5% reduction in assessed property value did result in an expected decline in revenue, a check revealed that number to not be as low as first indicated.
The total budget currently sits at just under $9.5 million with an even tax rate from last year at 43.25 mils. $10,000 originally set aside for the Butler Downtown organization has been reallocated with $4,000 going to kids swimming and basketball programs and the other $6,000 for maintenance of city police and fire vehicles. The 2020 budget does not include any city money for a fireworks display. This budget also includes raises for non-union city employees comparable to years past.
The budget is now available to the public for 30 days before a vote for final approval sometime before the end of December.
