West Lake Hills City Council set the city's proposed ad valorem tax rate for the 2017-18 fiscal year at $0.065 per $100 valuation Wednesday, an increase from the current tax rate of $0.0572 per $100 valuation.

The proposed tax rate will serve as a ceiling throughout the remainder of budget talks, and City Council could choose to approve a rate at or below $0.065 per $100 valuation at its  Sept. 27 meeting, City Administrator Robert Wood said.

“We did not raise the tax rate last year, and we raised it a nominal amount in 2015 for the first time in eight years,” Mayor Linda Anthony said. “I think in the interest of not only public safety, but in keeping the city aesthetic and good fiscal planning, we need to go ahead and raise the tax rate [this fiscal year].”

She said studies of the city’s infrastructure reflect West Lake Hills will have to start spending money in the future to maintain and upgrade its services.

“West Lake Hills enjoys one of the absolute lowest tax rates in the state,” Anthony said. “We owe it to our residents to continue offering the services and maintain the city in a way they expect us to maintain it.”

Wood said a city does not need to call an election to approve a tax rate increase when it stays below the rollback rate, or an 8 percent increase from the city's effective tax rate. However, proposed legislation in the Senate could require an election for an increase of more than 4 percent.

“There’s a good chance the city’s hands will be tied in the future and we should look ahead for that,” Council Member Brian Plunkett said. “The issue [at the legislature] isn’t going away.”

West Lake Hill's rollback rate is $0.0652 per $100 valuation, Wood said. The city’s effective tax rate, or the rate that would allow the city to bring in the same amount of tax revenue as fiscal year 2016-17, is $0.0543 per $100 valuation, he said.