Lamar approves 2027 budget, adopts 13.239-mill property-tax levy

The Lamar City Council approved the city’s 2027 budget on second reading and adopted a 13.239-mill property-tax levy for general operating expenses at its Oct. 26 meeting, as recorded in the council meeting.

The levy equals $13.239 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value under the city levy. It is the city’s share of property taxes, not a combined rate for all taxing authorities. An unchanged mill rate does not guarantee an unchanged city tax amount because the bill also depends on a property’s assessed value.

The mayor said the levy marks the 39th consecutive year the city has operated without increasing its property-tax mill levy. The council adopted the levy for 2027 based on the city’s 2026 assessed valuation of taxable property. The budget ordinance covers the city’s general, utility, public-safety, airport and other funds.

The council also heard staff’s presentation on a proposed 2027 rates-and-fees schedule. Staff said proposed water-department increases followed a previously adopted rate study. Proposed parks and recreation changes included increases of a few dollars to daily rates, rounding some $49 prices to $50, and defining senior citizens as age 55 and older. Staff said hourly gazebo rentals could allow multiple bookings in a day, while dividing the corporate fitness package into four tiers would give businesses with 10 or fewer employees an option. The recording ends with an intelligible statement that the schedule was tabled for a future meeting, but the vote passage is unclear, so its final status is not established.