FORKS — Forks City Council members have voted unanimously against taking the state-permitted 1 percent property tax increase for residents inside the city limits.
Voting against the tax increase Monday were council members John Hillcar, Bill Brager, Ken Ayers and Juanita Weissenfel. Councilman Jon Preston was absent.
Hillcar said he voted against the increase because he felt it was unfair to residents and businesses that own property.
Prior to the council meeting, the council received its first draft of the city’s budget for 2018. Monday was the first budget workshop. Staff gave presentations about capital projects.
The street budget is proposed to be $372,000, down from the $385,000 of the 2017 budget. The overall budget is proposed at $6,709,500. A copy of the preliminary budget can be requested from the clerk’s office at Forks City Hall, 500 E. Division St., Forks.
Another workshop Nov. 27 will focus on lodging tax applications. The last workshop/hearing will be Dec. 4, in which council members will meet to discuss a final budget. At that time, citizens can present oral or written comments for or against any part of the budget. A council budget vote is set for Dec. 11.
