Monticello aldermen Tuesday continued to struggle with a budgetfor the 2007 fiscal year that would not include a property taxincrease.

However, Mayor David Nichols said during a meeting of the boardthe town may have to face the grim reality that an increase isunavoidable. He cited an effort sponsored by Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck lastyear to increase cigarette taxes and eliminate sales taxes ongroceries as a central concern for municipalities statewide.

“The sales tax issue will not go away,” Nichols said. “Let’sface it, it will be one of the first things (the legislature) takesup.”

Tuck has stated she will reintroduce a retooled version of thebill next session that is supposed to have less of an effect onmunicipalities, which derive a large chunk of their revenue fromsales taxes.

The town earns approximately $31,000 per month in total salestaxes, Nichols said. A three-mill increase in property taxes wouldoffset approximately one month of sales tax revenue.

“If the town doesn’t increase property taxes and the sales taxgoes, we could be facing some very hard choices,” the mayorsaid.

With no property tax increase, the town would receive anadditional $5,000 in growth for the 2007 budget, for a total ofapproximately $310,000 in property taxes, he said.

“We’ve already spent more than that in gas this year,” Nicholssaid.

Other areas of the budget have not fluctuated significantlyenough to have more than a minor impact on the town’s financing,the mayor said.

However, the town is supplementing $53,000 to the newly-createdParks Department, which gained oversight of the Lincoln CountySportsplex and Atwood Water Park during the present fiscalyear.

“I think it’s a great thing we can offer those services to ourcitizens, but right now we have to pay for it,” Nichols said.

He estimated it would be from three to five years before thedepartment would be able to completely fund itself. The amount ofsupplemental income from the town, however, should decrease eachyear as more programs become available.