With a unanimous vote Tuesday, the Georgetown City Council gave final approval of the city's fiscal year 2017-18 budget, which will take effect Oct. 1.
Council members adopted a budget that was unchanged from a draft version presented in July by Georgetown City Manager David Morgan.
Here are four things to know:
- Council members adopted a property tax rate for FY 2017-18 of $0.42 per $100 property valuation, which is a decrease from a rate of $0.424 per $100 valuation from FY 2016-17. However, city officials estimate the average Georgetown property tax bill will increase by about $47 next year due to the city's average taxable home value increasing by 5.35 percent in 2017.
- The budget funds a variety of capital projects, including Georgetown's future Downtown West municipal office development, the operation of Garey Park that is expected to open in 2018, and continued construction of the Southwest Bypass roadway that will eventually link Hwy. 29 and I-35.
- City projections show Georgetown could bring in $14.1 million in sales tax revenue during FY 2017-18, which would be an increase from $13.1 million during the previous fiscal year.
- Georgetown's new budget adds more than 20 city staff positions, including a part-time arts and culture coordinator, a city open-records processor, and additional police resources to work with Georgetown ISD.
More information is available on the city's website:
https://finance.georgetown.org/