In a quick meeting, the Liberty Lake City Council touched on a few controversial issues that will be back for more discussion as the budget moves toward approval by the end of November. An ordinance before the council Tuesday called for a 1 percent increase in property taxes in 2009, the maximum amount allowed by the state. The increase would collect an additional $16,000, said administrative services manager Jessica Platt. But since property values have been going up, the amount collected per $1,000 in assessed home value would actually drop from $1.58 to $1.54. “It’s not necessarily a property tax increase,” Platt said.
