2017 budget approved, continues focus on city services, infrastructure needs

The City Council approved a $1.65 billion budget on Tuesday that continues to focus on sustainable solutions while decreasing the property tax rate. For the second consecutive year, the city’s economic outlook is bright – from improvements in local job growth and sales tax collections to increases in residential and commercial building permits. Along with this growth have come increased demands on city services and infrastructure and, ultimately, the requests for city dollars. The new budget represents the city’s plan to meet the responsibility for appropriate infrastructure investment and maintenance and quality levels of service.