One day after county officials voted down a tax hike, the city of Smithville made good on its tax increase with aldermen voting 3-2 to pump up the municipal property tax by a quarter.

The vote, which was a second reading of the tax hike and budget for 2019-20, stayed unchanged from when it first passed two weeks ago. Aldermen Gayla Hendrix, Danny Washer and Shawn Jacobs voted for the tax increase while the two freshmen aldermen, Brandon Cox and Donnie Crook voted against it. No one spoke for or against the increase during a public feedback time where residents were invited to voice their concerns before a final vote was taken. There was also no discussion amongst the board and the meeting was adjourned moments after the vote.

The increase means city property owners will be paying 89 cents per $100 of assessed value as opposed to 64 cents before. The increase, which went into effect July 1, is supposed to raise about $350,000 in extra revenue. Had the increase not passed, the city of Smithville would have been in the red by almost $300,000, the tax hike only slightly keeping Smithville’s fiscal head above water.

The increase will also help fund plans for big ticket items coming this year, the biggest of which will be a new police station.

With city residents feeling it in their wallets, they could still take a double hit when the county commission convenes to try to hammer out the coming year’s budget. While the 29 cent tax hike for the county (which also includes city property owners) failed, there is a chance the same bill could be considered again once the budget committee meets on July 10. While the county tax measure failed five to six, with eight yes votes needed to pass, there were three members of the commission absent. Although it is not officially known how they would have or will vote on the 29 cent tax increase, if all three were to vote yes on the measure then the 29 cent tax increase that failed Monday could pass next month.