GREENFIELD — The City of Greenfield is filing an appeal for excessive property tax levy from the state to partially fund the city’s rising health insurance costs.
The Greenfield City Council approved the appeal on Wednesday, when members voted on first readings of 2019 city budget ordinances.
The council will vote to adopt next year’s budget on Oct. 24. The city’s 2019 general fund is estimated at about $10.4 million, while all city funds total to about $22 million.
Clerk-Treasurer Lori Elmore said the city has appealed to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance over the past three years to permanently increase Greenfield’s maximum property tax levy. The city can appeal for the excessive levy, Elmore said, because of the city’s high assessed value growth rate.
According to Indiana Department of Local Government Finance reports, Greenfield’s adjusted net assessed value has risen from about $868 million in budget year 2017 to about $950 million in budget year 2019.
This year, the council will appeal for an additional $65,000 worth of revenue to partially fund a 15 percent increase in employee insurance premiums. Elmore said premiums haven’t before increased by double digits.
The city council appealed for $100,000 excessive levies in 2016 and 2017, but the city only received $21,619 and $22,117, respectively.
The city’s growth rate is 3.14 percent, and the state requires a 2 percent three-year average. Elmore said the city could appeal next year due to growth, but probably not in 2020.
