Employee raises, cop cars and fire equipment included in Munford budget

Employees are getting raises and the police and fire departments will be receiving new equipment after the Munford Board of Mayor and Aldermen passed its 2020-21 budget Monday night.

All city employees will see their pay increase by two percent. Two new cruisers will be added to the police department’s fleet and new fire department equipment includes self-contained breathing tanks, turn-out gear and inflatable rescue bags.

The $4.155 million budget also keeps the property tax rate at $1.42.

Tipton County residents received property tax reappraisals earlier this month, most of which were higher considering county-wide appraisals had not been done since 2014.

State law does not allow counties or cities to see increased revenue from tax payers after a reappraisal. To counteract increased property value the state will issue a certified tax rate for Tipton County and its cities that will be lower than the current rate.

When that happens, Munford’s tax rate will be adjusted, meaning tax bills should not see much of an increase.

Munford Mayor Dwayne Cole said the board did take into account possible state-shared and local tax revenue decreases due to the COVID-19 pandemic when the budget was being considered.

He said the March sales tax revenues were strong, but the numbers for April, during which much of the country was under stay-at-home orders, have not been received yet.

“Those numbers should give us a pretty good indication of the effect on our local economy,” Cole said.

Cole said he’s been very encouraged how Munford’s business owners have responded to COVID-19.

“The economy is not dead by any means. I think it’s incredible. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. We got hit with COVID-19 … It’s really incredible to me to see how our business community has responded. It’s refreshing. You adapt. That’s what we do.”

In other matters:

• Cole said 67.8 percent of Munford residents have responded to the U.S. Census and encouraged citizens to fill out the appropriate forms.

• Munford will hold its municipal election on Nov. 3, the same day as the presidential election. Cole and aldermen Ray Deneka, Lonnie Glass and Bob Wilson will be running for re-election.