City Manager Randy Tweet says the property tax rate will actually go down slightly, but the city's tax levy will go up 6.6 per cent, or nearly 900,000 dollars.
"The majority of that is due to the fact that the properties in the downtown were previously in the downtown tif (tax increment financing district), where they've been for 37 years, so those are now coming into the general fund. Starting this year it goes to all the taxing bodies including the city."
Tweet says Rock Island will receive 26.5 million federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan, but the city council has not yet discussed how to spend it. The city has already received half, with the second half due next year.