The Charleston City Council will vote on whether to approve the annual tax levy ordinance for the fiscal year. The ordinance will set the amount of money the city will plan to levy for taxes from May 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009.

“This is step one in a long process of establishing how much money we will be working with next year,” said Mayor John Inyart. “We are going to do it a little differently than we did in years past.”

The council will also vote on a resolution to approve the execution of loan documents with First Neighbor Bank. The city will borrow $119,066.95 to purchase a new ambulance for the Charleston Fire Department. The loan will be paid during a five-year period with an interest rate of 3.9 percent annually.

Then it will vote to approve the resolution to sell the old ambulance that is being replaced. The old ambulance is a Ford F350 that was purchased in October 1999, and has 110,921 miles on it.

“It’s been a good vehicle for us, but 110,000 miles on an ambulance is a lot of wear and tear,” Inyart said. “So we’ve replaced it with a brand-new, shiny red one.”

Also, as of now, Murphy Oil is on the property that Wal-Mart owns. The council will vote to approve a minor subdivision where the property will be divided among the two businesses.

“There will be no change in zoning and no change in use,” Inyart said. “It’s just a technicality really.”

In addition, the council will vote on a resolution granting tourism funds for expenses related to the Christmas in the Heart of Charleston festivities. If approved, the Charleston Tourism Advisory Board will be reimbursed $1,500. The money will come out of the hotel/motel tax.

The council will also vote on a rescheduling of the Jan. 1 City Council meeting.

“We are going to be moving our Jan. 1 meeting to Jan. 2 so we can take a holiday like everybody else,” Inyart said.

City Council meetings are held the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 7:30 p.m. and are open the public.

Charleston City Hall is located at 520 Jackson Ave.