Town hears sharp revenue drop estimate and tentatively adds $30 vehicle fee to budget

Finance Officer Wanda Lurvey told the Board during a work session that contested property valuations and appeals could materially reduce the town's billable property values for 2024–25 and that she estimates a total tax reduction of $1,394,310.

"I can’t paint a rosy picture of the Town," Lurvey said, urging careful use of state HB259 funds. She told the board that real and personal property reductions are expected and that Evergreen is contesting valuation, asserting obsolescence at 91 percent; Lurvey said municipal estimates will be conservative while appeals proceed.

The board debated a proposed $30 Municipal Vehicle Tax dedicated to roads. Finance Officer Walker described the fee as dedicated solely to roads and said staff would publish a capital improvement plan showing road conditions. Alderwoman Proctor, Alderman Hamlett and Alderman Shepard voiced support for adding the fee to budget preparation, citing the need for dedicated road funding. Mayor Zeb Smathers and Alderwoman Mull said they could not support the fee at this time, with Smathers saying the timing would create a perception of instability. The board ultimately reached consensus to include the $30 fee in the draft budget for further consideration.

Alderman Hamlett responded to Lurvey's financial estimates with a note of cautious optimism: "the dark clouds will pass, and we will make it because of people like Mrs. Lurvey," he said. The minutes show no final adoption of the vehicle tax; inclusion in the budget is a preparatory step and would require formal adoption in a later vote.

Key quantitative details noted in the meeting: Lurvey estimated a reduction in real property billable value of $86,787 and projected total tax reductions of about $1,394,310; some personal-property values may revert to levels comparable to 2012, according to her presentation. The minutes record that HB259 funds exist but specify no dollar amounts in the transcript for those funds beyond Lurvey's caution to use them as intended.