(KLZA)-- The Falls City Council approved the budget proposed for Fiscal Year 2019-20 following a public hearing drawing no public comment Wednesday evening. 

The Total property tax requirement for the budget will be $736,105 with a levy of 47.86-cents per $100 of assessed valuation.  The levy includes 2.9-cents for various interlocal agreements.

City Administrator Gary Jorn said the city valuation  increased approximately $4-million, up about 2.7 percent from the previous years.  Of that total, about $500-thousand dollars was from growth, the rest coming through reassessment of properties.  

The property tax request from the previous year will be about a 14 percent increase.  With the increase in the valuation, the levy decreased one percent. Jorn said city revenues do not keep pace with the increase in expenditures. .

While quite a few proposed expenditures were cut from the budget, Jorn said some were approved including a new vehicle for the Police Department and a new radio system.  A new mower with bagger for the cemetery, a security system or the library and upgrades to the tennis court at Grandview Park. 

One increase noted in the budget was a 5-percent increase in health insurance premiums for city employees and an estimated 2.5 percent wage increase for employees.