Getting a break from citizen complaints during the monthly meeting, the Purdy City Council set its property tax levy for the upcoming tax cycle and heard reports from police and public works on Aug. 13.

The city’s real estate property tax levy dropped from .4087 per $100 of assessed property to .4026 because assessed valuation rose by 4.5 percent to more than $6 million. The tax rate projected revenues of $24,165, up $701 from the previous year. Purdy has no personal property tax.

Police Chief Jackie Lowe reported a series of vandalism incidents around town involving spray painting a design that resembled gang graffiti, though he was unable to translate its message or identify a specific gang.

The symbol appeared at the old city lagoon, on a trailer by the farm center, and on a tree at a residence. Public works crews painted over the symbol and no more had appeared in the past month.

Lowe reported William Dickerson, 25, was arrested in the 500 block of Fourth Street on July 10 by representatives of both the Barry and Lawrence County sheriff’s office on warrants for alleged statutory rape and statutory sodomy with a minor in Lawrence County. Dickerson remains incarcerated in the Lawrence County jail, denied bond.

A man who became angry at his phone threw it onto the roof of First State Bank, which public works retrieved. Lowe noted cases of a homeless person reportedly abandoned in Purdy and a dementia patient who was located and returned to family members.

Lowe reviewed a series of incidents involving unmowed lawns, stacked tires and loose dogs. In an incident on July 22, a teenage boy riding his scooter in the 200 block of West Jefferson St. was bitten by a blue heeler. The owner, who produced a rabies vaccination document, received a ticket for not keeping his dog under control and confined.

Public works foreman Kevin Cook added he has helped Lowe attempt to capture two dogs that have proven elusive.

Cook reported the amount of water reaching meters dropped to 77 percent in July. He attributed the decline to disconnecting an old meter on a four-inch main that resulted in an unknown amount of spillage. Water mains appeared to be holding steady, avoiding other summer breaks.

Council members agreed to hold fall clean-up week in October, either starting on Oct. 13 or 20, depending on the availability of staff.

The council approved hiring Joe’s Tree Service in Pierce City, at a cost of $2,350, to remove a tree at the southwest corner of the city park that had died. The bid, including stump grinding, was accepted without a second quote due to satisfaction with Joe’s Tree Service from past experience.

City Clerk Meranda Juarez discussed putting ordinance changes up online. In May, the council revised its water and sewer service rates and deposit amounts.

The next meeting was slated for Sept. 10.