Last night’s public hearing was the last meeting that will be held regarding the proposed budget and proposed tax rate. Council will approve its budget on Oct. 25 and then approve a tax rate that supports the budget.
The proposed tax rate is $.37411 per $100 valuation. Last year’s tax rate was $.358750.
The proposed rate is just slightly higher than the effective rate of $.37112. The effective rate is the rate the city would need to asses to raise the same amount of revenue as the previous year.
The increase in the effective rate is partially due to a decrease in property values. The average value of a home in West U is $790,986 compared to $800,585 last year.
The proposed budget will raise more total property tax revenue than last year’s budget by $232,548 or 1.6 percent. Of that amount, $111,181 is tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year.
Property taxes account for 52 percent of the city’s revenue.
The proposed general fund budget, which funds almost all city services, accounts for about $13.7 million in revenues for the city and $14.2 million in expenditures.
The entire budget estimates $34 million in revenues and plans for $39.6 million in expenditures. The city is using reserve funds to balance the budget.
Council reduced funding for the Texas Municipal Retirement System from 22.47 percent to 15.71 percent for a savings of $204,000 by eliminating the cost of living adjustment (COLA).
Council budgeted for a 3 percent merit increase for full-time employees that will take effect on anniversary dates.
This is the first full year that the city will have to fund the operation of the Recreation Center. The budgeted cost of the Rec. Center is $975,586. The total budgeted amount for Parks and Recreation is $2.4 million.
Police and Fire account for 42.5 percent or $6.04 million of the city’s expenditures.
To view the proposed budget, click here.
Mayor Pro Tem Bob Fry ran the public hearing and asked the residents to come up to the podium to address council with their comments. He said each person would have three minutes to speak.
During last week’s public hearing, residents addressed council from their seats in the audience and did not have a time limit on what they wanted to say.
Several residents addressed council last night, who wanted more details about budgeted costs and wanted council to find more ways to cut.
Alida Drewes, a Fordham Street resident, said she had a real problem with the 3 percent salary increase for employees when West U residents are facing salary cuts at their jobs.
Fred Schiller, a Vanderbilt Street resident, suggested council cut the 3 percent salary increase to 2 percent.
“We need to pay more attention to our personal budgets and our municipal budgets,” Schiller said. “You have more work to do.”
Schiller suggested council cut the technology fund by 15 percent and the replacement fund by 10 percent.
“I’m not upset with the tax rate. I think we live in a hell of a city,” Brian Hoogendam, a Talbott Street resident, said. “I know you guys don’t raise our taxes easily.”
Fry said council has looked at ways to cut the budget without affecting the citizens.
“There has been hammering and hammering and hammering on the city manager and staff,” Councilmember George Boehme said.
Council will have a special session prior to the Oct. 25 meeting to discuss some of the suggestions residents had to cut the budget.
W U Builder/Resident says
We told city management and council the first time around “No” on the then proposed Rec Center. Not taking us at our word, they used tax payer dollars and paid consultants to repackage and resell it at a more politically opportune time, basically forcing the proposal down the tax payer’s throats.
Now they want to increase tbe tax rate to help pay for operation?? That is exactly why we said NO in the first place! Here’s a much more sensible proposal from this taxpayer, and with a bit of tit for tat thrown in:
Take it out of city management’s salary, and CUT pay overall by 3%!
There is an ominous sign already at the entry to the Rec Center, read it and, if you listen carefully, you can hear the next shoe fall in advance. IOW, prepare yourself for reduced staffing and reduced hours of operation.
Even more reason why city management should eat their own dog food.
What I do not get is in a year when property appraisals have gone down and the city is thinking about increasing tax rates, how in the world do you propose a 3% merit increase? Inflation is really low and budget is tight, city employees should be happy with 1% raises. Everyone else in America has seen heir salaries frozen or lost their jobs altogether. Properties are worth less and you are asking us to pay a higher tax %? We need to get real here. If the City wants to keep 3% merit increases, cut somewhere else.
West U is certainly a great place to live but our city management seems to operate with the same mentality as our federal government. Spend, spend, spend with little accountability, like spoiled children of rich parents, cook the books whenever possible, and demonize those that raise legitimate questions about the wisdom of their proposals and actions. Until recently the taxes have been going up automatically, year after year, at the capped rate. That rate of increase is far more than the growth in the cost of doing business or the increase in most incomes. Now, in a down economy, there isn’t any other way to balance the books than to hike taxes even more??? If anything, a well run town that has this kind of growth in property values, should be able to reduce the tax rates and still have luxurious growth in revenue. Just because this is an affluent area doesn’t mean we all have money to burn or endorse frivolous spending.
Patrick Henry says
The Rec Center is going to be extremely expensive to operate, DUH! It is a white elephant. It was rammed through under false economics of the true costs by an elite group of West U residents who think they own the city. The reality is that we didn’t need it. We have the Y on Stella Link and numerous private sector health clubs available for West U residents. Now all of us get the bill.
Council refuses to cut the budget under the excuse that West U residents expect a high level of services. Bull, it is the council that refuses to make the hard choices and cut.