The action taken
City officials unanimously approved a maximum property tax rate of $0.353152 per $100 valuation for next fiscal year.
“This is not necessarily setting the tax rate for next year,” Georgetown Budget Manager Mayra Cantu said at the meeting. “This is setting the upper limit threshold of what we can adopt.”
What residents should know
City Manager David Morgan presented a FY 2025-26 draft budget update and tax rate proposal during a City Council workshop earlier that day.
According to Morgan’s presentation, a no-new-revenue tax rate of $0.340269 per $100 valuation would generate the same amount of revenue this year as the city received last year, assuming the same properties are taxed.
Georgetown’s FY 2025-26 voter-approval rate, or the maximum rate local governments can approve without calling an election, is $0.353152 per $100 valuation.
While council members adopted the voter-approval rate as the maximum tax rate, Morgan proposed setting a tax rate of $0.353 per $100 valuation for FY 2025-26.
Since the average homestead values in Georgetown are increasing, he still expects homeowners to see an increase on their tax bill of about $14 annually with the proposed tax rate.
According to data from the Williamson Central Appraisal District, the average median home values in Georgetown increased from $384,248 to $402,442 within the past year.
Diving in deeper
The $1.3 billion proposed FY 2025-26 budget includes $703.1 million for capital improvements, with $512.88 million of that set aside for water and wastewater projects.
The proposed budget also includes water and wastewater rate increases of 9% and 12%, respectively. According to city data, a resident using 6,000 gallons per month would see a $144 annual increase to their bill, while a resident using 10,000 gallons per month would see a $160.80 annual increase.
Out of the $122.4 million proposed general fund, 54% of expenses would go toward public safety, Morgan said.
Growth beyond Georgetown’s city limits is increasing service demands without proportional revenue, per Morgan’s presentation. To help recover costs, Morgan’s proposed budget includes plans to charge nonresidents with higher fees for parks, recreation and library services.
Looking ahead
A public hearing for the property tax rate and the first reading of the FY 2025-26 budget will be held at 6 p.m. Aug. 26 at 510 W. Ninth St., Georgetown.
The second reading of the budget and tax rate is scheduled for Sept. 9, and the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. A draft of the FY 2025-26 budget workbook can be found here.
