But Council Member D.D. Adams appeared to be speaking for the other council members when she said that the city needed to hold the line on taxes, given the increase for bonds.

“I wish all of us could wave a magic wand,” Adams said. “This council committed itself to ensuring that we would not raise any of the taxes other than those for the bonds.”

With the new rate of 63.74 cents, the owner of a $150,000 property will pay $956.10 in city taxes, up $60 from the $896.10 paid under the current tax rate of 59.74 cents for every $100 of taxable property.

In other action, the city approved the purchase of four acres from Bethel United Methodist Church off Burke Mill Road as the site of a new fire station, but balked at the proposal made by the church to share use of a meeting room that would be built for training at the fire station.

The church had proposed discounting the price of the four acres by about $71,000 in exchange for using the meeting space as a fellowship hall for the church, which is right down Bethel Methodist Church Road from the site of the proposed station.

The property was appraised at about $281,000, but the city was going to get it for around $210,000 with the discount.