Two public hearings have been scheduled for citizens to share their thoughts on the proposed fiscal year 2016-17 property tax rate, which Austin City Council plans to adopt at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 12. Council members set the maximum proposed tax rate at $0.4418 per $100 of valuation, the highest rate the city can adopt without facing voter approval, at a budget work session Aug. 10. The proposed FY 2016-17 budget calls for a tax rate of $0.412 cents per $100 of taxable value, a decrease from the FY 2015-16 tax rate of $0.4589 per $100 of taxable value. Despite the proposed decrease in the rate, most homeowners are set to see a hike in their tax bill because of rising property valuations, city officials said. An Austin homeowner who is not eligible for senior citizen property tax relief and who owns a $278,741 home—the city’s median value—would face a city tax bill hike from $1,087 in FY 2015-16 to $1,131 in FY 2016-17, an increase of $43.99, according to city documents. “I feel like as we talk about affordability it’s important for us to keep our tax bills affordable, and the likelihood of me supporting a budget that moves to this direction and to this extent is probably very unlikely,” District 10 Council Member Sheri Gallo said of the maximum proposed tax rate. Public hearings are scheduled for 4 p.m. Aug. 18 and Sept. 1 at Austin City Hall Council Chambers, 301 W. Second St., Austin.