Local shopping, increased property values help prevent tax rate hikes

Shopping local is taking priority in Cedar Park and Leander, where sales tax collections have significantly surpassed last year's totals.

Cedar Park gained nearly $1 million more than forecasted during fiscal year 2012–13, or more than 12 percent in added revenue than initially anticipated. Leander also exceeded sales tax projections by more than $300,000, resulting in a 17 percent year over year spike.

Each city highlighted its positive sales tax report during this year's budget process.

Cedar Park

Cedar Park slightly reduced its property tax rate, $0.4925 per $100 valuation, down one-tenth of one penny from last year. The average Cedar Park property owner will pay $979 in city taxes in fiscal year 2013–14 under the approved budget, which goes into effect Oct. 1.

Property value increases are largely responsible for keeping both budgets stable, yet sales taxes are making up a higher portion of each city's anticipated annual revenue. Sales taxes account for 25.1 percent of Cedar Park's general fund budget revenue, a 12.4 percent increase from last fiscal year.

Stressing the benefits of shopping local, the city in August started the Got It In Cedar Park campaign that educates residents on the benefits of keeping sales tax dollars within municipal boundaries. The campaign, combined with the 2014 openings of Costco and a second Walmart, helped convince city staff to forecast a 4 percent increase in sales tax returns next fiscal year.

"For the first time at least since I've been here ... we're actually proposing increased sales tax revenues year over year based both on the sales tax trends we're seeing but also with the understanding we have two major retailers under construction," Finance Director Joseph Gonzales said during an Aug. 22 budget public hearing.

Leander

Leander intends to drop its property tax rate 0.25 cents to $0.66792—pending final approval Sept. 19, making the average Leander tax bill $1,137 during the 2013–14 fiscal year.

Leander has also benefited from significant growth, with up to 15,000 residential lots waiting to be filled in the coming years. Accordingly, sales tax dollars will make up an increased portion of the city's general fund—13.39 percent, or 0.8 percent more than last fiscal year's revised budget. The increase coincides with the city's efforts to attract more retailers by hiring recruitment consultant The Retail Coach.

"Although we are behind in sales tax per capita comparisons with other Texas cities, we believe that the way to climb up that ladder is with continued emphasis on infrastructure improvements, targeted economic development strategies and an emphasis on supporting quality growth," Leander City Manager Kent Cagle said in a budget memo.