Palmer city council sets taxes at 3 mils

PALMER -- The Palmer City Council passed a resolution adopting a $5.3 million budget, and set its property tax rate at 3 mils in a meeting Tuesday, Dec. 11.

"Normal operation and maintenance are similar to prior years," finance director Allen Ossakow said.

Palmer will be adding two employees this year, a sign of the city's financial health and growth. Ossakow said Palmer hasn't added any new positions in the 16 years he has worked there.

One new position is for an accounting clerk, and the other will be a meter reader for the city water system.

Currently water meters are read by the customer and bills are paid through mail or dropped off at city hall, where the clerks enter them into computers. It is an old system, and it is labor intensive for city hall.

The meter-reader position will be filled by a person who does more than just read meters and enter data, as Palmer will also be replacing water meters starting next year. The new full-time employee will help install this system. Public works director Rick Koch has been researching new water meter systems and giving regular reports to the city council.

On another financial front, Ossakow and City Manager Tom Healy are asking the council to approve a new money-management plan for the city.

"We have asked them to hire an investment firm," Ossakow said.

Palmer currently has all of its funds in a private bank, and the money does earn interest, but not at the rates that an investment firm could. Palmer also has funds in the Alaska Municipal League Investment Pool (AMLIP). The administration is proposing that some of the money stay with AMLIP, but much of it be moved to a new account by an investment firm, which would manage the money for a fee, according to Ossakow.

"They'll have a real person who's sitting there with a laptop and watching it full time," Ossakow said.

Ossakow said his main concern in finding a firm is that the investments are safe, and he added that it was up to the council to decide how to choose a firm for the city. It is likely a request for proposals will be issued next year. The talk of a new money-management plan is another sign of Palmer's financial health.

"We didn't really have the money to do that a few years ago," Ossakow said.

The approval of a sales-tax increase from 2 percent to 3 percent in 1996 -- a move that was combined with a lower property tax rate -- was the main reason Palmer is doing well, according to Ossakow.

"That's basically what's made this general fund sound," he said.