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If City Council members approve the proposed 2007 budget next month, Gaylord property owners will notice a 6% tax increase.

According to the preliminary budget, the City is proposing a tax levy of $592,104. That is approximately $34,000 more than what Gaylord levied in property taxes in 2006. The proposed total budget for 2007 is $1,241,157, an increase of approximately $107,000 from a year ago.

Increases in the parks and street departments budgets highlight the proposed changes for 2007. The City is budgeting $123,839 for parks in 2007, an increase of $36,007 from 2006.

According to City Administrator Lonny Johnson, the City is focusing on improving the park area in preparation for the 2009 state amateur baseball tournament.

The City is budgeting for several improvements to Walsh Field. $20,000 of the park department budget is earmarked for new play equipment in the south Gaylord park. Upgrades are also planned for the community bathrooms in the park and the bandshell.

If approved, Gaylord’s street department budget would be $224,904, an increase of $22,974. A large portion of this budget will be used for patching and repairing streets. The City will be bonding for the street and utility reconstruction project scheduled for 2007, according to Johnson.

The City of Gaylord’s Truth-in-Taxation Public Hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, December 6th (7:30) p.m. at City Hall. A notice of that meeting is published in this week’s edition of The Gaylord Hub.