Plymouth City Council Approves Reduced Preliminary Tax Levy

The Plymouth City Council approved a preliminary tax levy, one that is higher than in recent years due to debt payments for the Plymouth Community Center expansion and fire station improvements.

The city council approved a proposed 2022 tax levy increase of 7 percent by a 5-2 vote on Sept. 28. That’s less than the 7.92 percent increase initially proposed by city staff, which the council voted down by a 4-3 vote.

“After I don’t know how many hours we’ve spent quote ‘studying the budget,’ we haven’t reduced it a dime,” said Plymouth City Council member Jim Willis, who was one of the four initial no votes, joining council members Jim Prom, Nick Roehl and Alise McGregor.

According to Plymouth City Manager Dave Callister, the 0.92 percent reduction trims the total levy by $382,000 to $44.3 million.

“This last year has really been quite horrible for those of us in the private sector,” said Prom in explaining why he proposed trimming the levy increase to 7 percent.

Under the vote made last week, the Plymouth City Council cannot increase the tax levy by more than 7 percent. However, it could still decrease the levy.

According to city officials, about 3.5 percent of the 2022 preliminary tax levy increase would pay for new debt. That includes payments for the Plymouth Community Center expansion and fire station station improvements. City staff also accounted for a nearly 4.5 percent increase, which factors in increases for wages and employees.

The city council and staff must now figure out how to account for the 0.92 percent reduction. The final budget vote is scheduled for Dec. 14.

You can watch the full budget discussion here.

This graphic shows what homeowners could see in 2022 city property taxes. For example, a $300,000 home, which increased by 6.40% in value over 2021, could expect to see a $49.80 increase in city taxes.

Plymouth