Facing a drop in sales tax revenue and financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, West Lake Hills City Council has passed what Mayor Linda Anthony called a “bare-bones budget." (Community Impact staff)
Facing a drop in sales tax revenue and financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, West Lake Hills City Council has passed what Mayor Linda Anthony called a “bare-bones budget." (Community Impact staff)
Facing a drop in sales tax revenue and financial uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, West Lake Hills City Council has passed what Mayor Linda Anthony called a “bare-bones budget."
The fiscal year 2020-21 budget reflects a tax rate of $0.0786 per $100 valuation, an increase from the FY 2019-20 rate of $0.07.
Finance Officer Vonda Ragsdale estimated in August that the tax rate increase would provide the city with an additional $190,000 in revenue.
“Given the fact that we’ve taken a sizable hit to sales tax revenue, this [tax rate] makes sense,” Anthony said. “It’s not a big increase by any stretch of the imagination.”
The Texas State Comptroller's Office released June sales tax revenue data for cities Aug. 12. West Lake Hills saw a drop of 23.03% in June 2020 as compared to June 2019. During the first half of 2020, sales tax revenue saw a 12.03% year-over-year drop.
The tax rate will cost the average homeowner in West Lake Hills approximately $110 a year, according to Anthony.
Amy Rae Dadamo is the reporter for Lake Travis-Westlake, where her work focuses on city government and education. Originally from New Jersey, Amy Rae relocated to Austin after graduating from Ramapo College of New Jersey in May 2019.
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