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WEIMAR — Weimar City Council adopted the 2025-2026 fiscal year budget and tax rate, welcomed three new city employees and discussed other business during its meeting, Thursday, Sept. 11.
Budget and water system The council adopted the proposed property tax rate of $0.253835 per $100 valuation, a 0.29% decrease from the previous fiscal year. The city will collect $55,612 more in property taxes this year, an 8.6% increase from last year.
The overall water and sewer budget increased by around $485,000 to improve water quality throughout the city. The budget includes money for chemicals, distribution system improvements, new vehicle leases and repayment to the equipment fund for equipment purchased in this concluding fiscal year.
“Thirty loops are proposed to loop the dead ends into the flowing water system,” City Manager Don Dixson said. “When you connect the two lines, it’s one loop at that point. There are 28 dead ends that remain to be looped together.”
Dixson said the city intends to use contractors to complete the work to save the city money. Having contractors close the loops will cost the city $10,000. Contractors are currently working on the Barta Loop and will be doing their final tests during the week of Sept. 14. Dixson named the two remaining “hot targeted” areas: Franklin Street and Converse Street.
Dixson introduced possible future costs for the city’s water system. The proposed cost of replacing the old lines with PVC is around $19.2 million. The proposed cost of repairing or replacing the water filtering system at one of the water treatment facilities is $1.5 million. The filtering system would filter all of the water in the city. Dixson plans to bring both of the topics back to future city councils for further discussion.
For employees, the budget added $100,000 to police department salaries as requested by the city council. According to Finance Director David Mason, the addition aims to keep the department “competitive and to recruit the best officers.”
New staff
The council welcomed John Kelly, Michael Galabeas and Travis Kleppel as new city staff.
Kelly was sworn in as a sergeant for the Weimar Police Department by former Interim Police Chief Joshua Jones on Aug. 11. Galabeas and Kleppel work as public works laborers.
“It’s been amazing the last few weeks I’ve been here,” Kelly said. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of our citizens…Everybody has been absolutely incredible and welcoming.”
Other updates
Dixson said Well No. 9 is still disconnected from the city’s water lines due to large amounts of dirty water. He said the city plans to flush the well for 30 minutes every Monday and Thursday until the water runs clear before reconnecting it.
The council approved the 2025-2026 budgets for capital improvements and the Economic Development Committee.
Rock the Block, hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 27, from 5:30-9:30 p.m. The police department will close the 100th block of East Jackson Street for National Night Out from 4-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7. The city also approved to set Oct. 18 from 8 a.m. to noon as the Fall City-Wide Cleanup Day.
