City Council votes to keep millage rates at current levels for 2023 fiscal year

During its latest session, Mountain Home City Council voted to keep the city’s taxes at their current levels following a request from Baxter County for the city to notify the county of what it would like its annual millage to be for 2023 to be in preparation for November’s Quorum Court Session.

Mountain Home currently has a millage rate of two mills, with all members of the council voting to keep the rate the same for next year. Mountain Home’s millage rate is allowed to go as high as six mills by law.

The Baxter County Quorum Court will vote to levy all taxes throughout the county on Nov. 1.

In other city news, city council officially voted to file liens on properties that have been repeat offenders to City Ordinance 2020-20. That ordinance states that owners of lots and other real property within city limits are required to cut weeds, remove garbage, rubbish and other unsightly and unsanitary articles on the property.

Each property currently facing a lien has been cited multiple times since the passing of the council’s ordinance, and each property has also been cleaned up at cost to the city, thanks to efforts from city work crews. The city is now seeking reimbursement for its efforts in maintaining these properties on behalf of their owners. The city will be issuing new liens on a monthly basis from this point forward.

The following properties currently have liens against them.

1. Owner’s Name and Address:  Truhome Solutions LLC- 9601 Legler, Lenexa, KS, 66219
   Property Address: 606 Dixie, Mountain Home, AR 72653
   Parcel No. 007-03202-000 
   Date: 6-9-2021 to 8-14-2022
   Expense Incurred: $1,058.04  
2. Owner’s Name and Address:  Mary L. Elumbaugh Estate
   Property Address: 1209 Mark Dr., Mountain Home, AR 72653
   Parcel No. 007-01055-000
   Date: 4-28-2021 to 7-15-2022
   Expense Incurred: $555.93
3. Owner’s Name and Address: Dale Lakin
   Property Address: 1706 Lilac, Mountain Home, AR 72653
   Parcel No. 007-02606-084 
   Date: 6-3-2022
   Expense Incurred: $206.86
4. Owner’s Name and Address:  William L. Hindman- 2010 E State HwyKK, Springfield, MO, 65803
   Property Address: 1417 Hallmark Circle, Mountain Home, AR 72653
   Parcel No. 007-01046-000
   Date: 9-7-2021 to 6-15-2022
   Expense Incurred: $345.00
5. Owner’s Name and Address:  United States of America- C/O Judge Issac C Parker Federal Building, 30 South 6^th Street Room 243, Fort Smith, AR, 72901
   Property Address: 607 Hickory Hollow Dr., Mountain Home, AR 72653
   Parcel No. 007-03246-045 
   Date: 5-25-2021 to 7-5-2022
   Expense Incurred: $781.91  

Following its decision to file liens against certain properties, City Council approved an ordinance that will allow the city’s Street Department to add a new crew to its line up in preparation for an increased workload throughout the city, including bridge work on 9^th Street.

The decision allows those currently working for the city to be bumped up to new positions while making way for new employees currently seeking job opportunities with the Street Department.

Director of Streets Arnold Knox said that he’s picked up a good working crew that has stuck with him throughout the summer and noted that hiring throughout the city has begun to see an uptick, with people looking to return to the work force following the severe hiring dip following the 2020 pandemic.

To help with the addition of the new crew, City Council also voted to approve the purchase of one-ton and half-ton Dodge trucks for the Street, Water and Sewer Departments.

The city is currently seeking to add six one-ton trucks to its fleet for a sum up to $360,000, along with seven new half-ton trucks with a sum up to $350,000. The last time the city invested in its fleet of trucks was three years ago.

Knox said that the search for trucks has been a difficult one thanks to supply chain issues. The city has been shot down several times during its bidding process, causing frustration among its various departments. Knox said he even tried purchasing trucks in person at dealerships but was ultimately unable to procure what the city needed.

The city currently has a line on the trucks it needs, though there is a chance that they may pull up short in the end. The majority of the trucks will be going to the Street Department, with the remaining vehicles going to the Water and Sewer Departments.

In its last ordinance of the night, the council voted to approve an ordinance allowing billboard owners that have been installed with wooden structures within the city limits to upgrade their billboards to a single engineered mono pole design so long as the height, square footage, and number of signs on the billboard remains the same. Owners should submit stamped engineered drawings to the city for approval before making the upgrade.