STANFORD – Stanford City Council members gave their final approval of the 2018-19 real and personal property tax rates last Monday night, which are lower than last year’s rates but are expected to generate more revenue.

Stanford City Council heard a first reading of the property tax rates at a special-called meeting Aug. 23.

On Monday, council members unanimously passed a second reading setting the rates at 13 cents per $100 of real property value, which is expected to generate $253,641.76 in revenue, and 9.2 cents per $100 of personal property value, which is estimated to generate $25,303 in revenue.

The new rate for real property is two cents lower than the previous year (13.2 cents per $100 of assessed value) and the rate for personal property is four cents lower than last year’s rate (9.6 cents per $100 of assessed value). Both are expected to generate more revenue than the previous year, however, which is a good sign, according to Property Valuation Administrator David Gambrel.

Gambrel said he did not reassess properties in Stanford this year, which means the lowered rates are indicative of economic growth in the city.

“If they’ve gotten more money with a lower rate, that means values have gone up,” Gambrel said. “And that is true, things have sold well in Stanford. I didn’t reassess Stanford this year so that’s all going to be reflective of the growth in Stanford.”

People paid more for their property than what it was assessed for, Gambrel said.

“That’s a good sign of economic growth in Stanford,” he said.

All taxes paid before Nov. 30 will receive a two-percent discount, according to the ordinance, and a penalty will be applied for all taxes paid after Dec. 31.

The 2018-19 tax rate for motor vehicles and watercraft is 14 cents per $100 of the assessed property and is expected to generate $25,237.10 in revenue from motor vehicles and $670.08 from watercraft.

The new rates took effect Sept. 1.