The East Ridge City Council on Thursday dropped the city’s property tax rate by about a penny.

The council set the city’s new tax rate appraisal at $1.1227 per $100 of assessed value. That represents a decrease of 0.0107 cents from the certified tax rate of $1.1334, which the Hamilton County Property Assessor had set during this year’s property tax reappraisal.

The city is collecting $10,000 to $15,000 less in property taxes than it did last year, which is not a significant difference, considering that the nation is in a recession, said City Manager William R. Whitson.

“This would fulfill the council’s desire to roll taxes back,” Mr. Whitson said.

And, sales tax collections last month were within about $1,000 of July 2008 levels, he said.

Also, landlord Bob Jackson spoke against a new city ordinance that imposes a cleanup fee for bulk trash pickup. Mr. Jackson, who owns an apartment complex, said that the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office told him that he could not haul off items removed from an evicted tenant’s apartment. East Ridge workers did not remove the items, and neighbors began throwing out their items next to the evicted items, Mr. Jackson said.

Mr. Whitson apologized for the confusion and said that city workers would remove the items. However, Mr. Whitson said the city passed the ordinance to pass along the costs of picking up a large amount of trash.

The city will impose a fee of at least $100 on property owners to pick up large amounts of discarded items after receiving complaints about the trash.

Bulk trash pickup is a burden on taxpayers, Mayor Mike Steele said.
“It’s not fair to them to bear the cost when someone moves out,” the mayor said.

The ordinance does not apply to items such as old couches or refrigerators placed on the curb for disposal, Mr. Whitson said.

The city council also gave Mr. Whitson the authority to approve temporary beer permits for events held during times when the beer board cannot meet. The city manager cannot approve permits for events held on property owned or controlled by the city.

In other business:

* Vice Mayor Tom Card was announced the winner of East Ridge’s flag design contest. Vice Mayor Card’s flag won with just more than 60 percent of votes cast in an online contest judging 18 entries, said auditor Julie Davis of the CPA firm Johnson, Hickey and Murchison.

The flag features a blue field, stars, and orange, red, white and blue stripes. A replica of the design will be created and raised during a ceremony in the fall, Mr. Whitson said.

* Council members approved a motion to outsource city payroll operations to BB&T. Workers will be paid on a bi-weekly basis starting in January. Workers will receive their pay via direct deposit or a payroll card.

* Mr. Whitson received authority to make purchases up to $10,000.

* Stringfellow Inc. of Nashville won a $9,266 bid to provide lifts for the city’s old garbage trucks. The old trucks are being refitted with the lifts until December or January, when the city will start using new automated garbage trucks, Mr. Whitson said.

* Commissioners said the Breakfast Connections event will be held from 9-10:30 a.m. on Saturday at South Seminole Baptist Church. Residents can meet with the mayor, city council, police offices and fire fighters to talk about such issues as code enforcements and the new garbage pickup system.