Council could raise tax rate nearly 3 cents

Construction on the city's Public Safety Operations and Training Center broke ground Aug. 15.

Voters approved the $29.5 million bond package in May 2011 to finance the center's construction. At the time, Georgetown Chief Financial Officer Micki Rundell said the project could cause a 5 cent increase to the city's property tax rate.

After issuing the remaining portions of the bond in 2013 to take advantage of lower interest rates, which is expected to save the city about $5 million in interest, the total impact of the bond on the tax rate this year has been about 3 cents, she said.

"We did our best to keep the tax increase as minimal as possible," Rundell said. "When you issue $30 million in basically 18 months, that's a lot of bonds, and that is the driving factor for this budget."

The 76,000-square-foot facility, located next to Fire Station No. 5 on D.B. Wood Road, will be home to the Georgetown Police Department headquarters and will include property and evidence storage, a physical agility training room, a defensive tactics and arrest control training room and locker rooms.

The building will also include the fire department's administration offices as well as the city's emergency communications center, the emergency operations center, a secured interview suite, training classrooms and a volunteer staff workspace.

"[This project] has been a conscious and calculated effort towards aligning the right spaces and resources in order to fully develop the potential of our officers," Police Chief Wayne Nero said in a statement.

Tax increase

City Council approved the first reading of the tax rate—$0.4395 per $100 of property valuation—at its Aug. 27 meeting with a 5-1 vote, and as of press time Sept. 6 was expected to approve the rate at its second reading Sept. 10.

Councilman Tommy Gonzalez voted against the tax increase and the proposed budget.

"I think [the tax rate is] too high. I think we still probably might need an increase to support the voter-approved bonds, but I don't think 3 cents is it," Gonzalez said. "I think we need to start having fiscal control again. Just because things are looking better doesn't mean we need to start spending freely."

City Council approved the $0.4395 per $100 of property valuation as the maximum rate at its July 23 meeting.

Rundell said the city's property tax value, which includes an added $124 million in new value through annexation and construction, increased 4.1 percent over the previous year's values. Property taxes fund 21 percent of the 2013–14 general fund budget, she said.

The average home value increased to $190,802, about a 3 percent increase from the average home value of $185,562 in 2012–13. The higher tax rate and increased home values would increase the average property tax bill by $77.77, Rundell said.

Rundell said the city also saw an approximately 10 percent increase in sales tax revenue, which funds about 21 percent of the general fund. The general fund also receives revenue from environmental services, service charges and return on investments from the city owned utilities, she said.

City of Excellence

City Manager Paul Brandenburg presented the $220.7 million budget, which is about 9 percent higher than the previous year's budget. Included in that proposed budget is a $48 million general fund budget—up about 10 percent from the previous year, Rundell said.

In September 2012, City Council established the City of Excellence plan, with five focus areas, including economic development, signature destination, public safety, transportation and utilities, to create a "premier community in Central Texas."

Brandenburg said the budget is the first time the city will begin implementing the five-year business model, which is based on priorities expressed by council.

The budget includes 19 new positions, $350,000 for a new parking lot at MLK Jr. and Eighth streets, sidewalk projects and $715,000 to implement the final stages and maintenance of the city's compensation plan.

"[This budget is a] good strategic planning business model that staff has come up with. It meets the expectations of council and those out in the community," Brandenburg said. "This is the first year that links into the next four years. Council adopts [the budget] one year [at a time] but sees the ripple effect down the road."

Williamson County 2013–14 budget includes increases in staff, salary

By Audrey Spencer

Williamson County's nearly $236 million total 2013–14 fiscal year budget was approved at the Aug. 27 Commissioners Court meeting.

Including $6.3 million for capital projects from the county's reserve fund, the county's general fund budget totals $145 million. In addition, the road and bridge fund budget is $21.8 million, including $1.8 million pulled from the fund's cash ending reserve. Debt service totals $69 million.

During two days of budget modification discussions Aug. 19 and 20, salaries and staffing were repeated concerns that added about $4 million to the original proposed budget presented by County Budget Officer Ashlie Koenig on Aug. 6.

The county employee compensation discussion was sparked by a July 23 presentation on the findings of an employee study prepared by Tallahassee, Fla.–based Evergreen Solutions LLC.

The Evergreen study found that many county employees were earning salaries below market medians for their positions, particularly in the county's law enforcement offices.

The commissioners agreed to increase the sheriff's department and constables' pay about 10 percent higher than the median pay for that field based on the Evergreen study, which required an extra $2.5 million in the budget, Koenig said.

"The two departments had different problems [because of salaries]," Koenig said. "The sheriff's department couldn't recruit anybody new, and the constables couldn't retain anybody at their highest ranks."

The other portion of the compensation increases will go to civilian employees.

Koenig said in order to manage the large raise, sheriff's deputies and constables will see raises in their paychecks at a later date than civilian county employees.

Commissioners also added 14 new positions in the budget.

At its Aug. 27 meeting, Commissioners Court agreed to maintain the county's current property tax rate of $0.489029 per $100 of valuation, which is higher than the effective tax rate of $0.481839 cents per $100 of valuation. The effective rate would have raised the same amount of property tax revenue as the previous fiscal year.

Because the proposed rate is higher than the effective rate, two public hearings must be held before the rate is approved. The first hearing was held Sept. 10, and the second will take place at 10 a.m. Sept. 17 during the regularly scheduled Commissioners Court meeting at the County Courthouse.