Cedar Park homeowners may see some relief when paying property tax bills in 2019.

Cedar Park City Council approved an ordinance Thursday for a local homestead exemption, which would remove a portion of a homeowner’s residential property from taxation. The exemption applies to a homeowner’s primary residence.

The decision would remove either 1 percent or $10,000, whichever is higher, off the appraised value of a property from the city’s ad valorem, or property, taxes. For example, if a local resident owned a property valued at $300,000, the new taxable value of the house would be $290,000.

According to city documents, there were 15,548 homestead properties in the city in 2018, and 99.9 percent of those would receive the $10,000 minimum exemption. The average homestead taxpayer could see a decrease in their city property taxes of around $46.

Council Member Cobby Caputo made the motion to approve the exemption, although he said he does not believe the homestead exemption is the best way to achieve tax relief and to improve affordability in the city.

“It doesn’t do anything for the business community, it doesn’t do anything for people who rent, it doesn’t do anything for people who are in apartments,” Caputo said. “But it’s the only one that’s moving at this point, so I’m going to support it.”

The lower property valuations could also affect the city’s budget by around $711,000, according to city documents.

The ordinance will affect the fiscal year 2018-19 budget, which goes into effect in October.