Kyle City Council is set for a vote Sept. 8 to adopt its budget and property tax rate for fiscal year 2015-16. Totaling $78.93 million, the city’s proposed budget would go into effect Oct. 1 upon approval by the council. On Sept. 1, Kyle City Council voted 5-2 to adopt the budget on first reading after trimming it by $826,649. Council members Diane Hervol and Daphne Tenorio voted against the measure. Kyle City Council voted 6-1 to adopt on first reading a property tax rate for the next fiscal year of $0.5848 per $100 of property valuation. Tenorio had the sole dissenting vote. The rate is a decrease from the proposed tax rate of $0.6145 per $100 property valuation. “It’s not a fun thing,” Mayor Todd Webster said. “[Voting to raise the tax rate is] not something anybody wants to do. My concern is the substantial deficiency in the quality and level of service across the board that has been provided to the city for the last half decade.” Budget casualties included $275,000 for a traffic signal at Bunton Creek Road and Dacy Lane, the entire $1.42 million in the internal service fund—which pays for the replacement of depreciating assets, such as vehicles and computer equipment—and a $75,000 reduction in the city’s funding for the Capital Area Rural Transportation System, or CARTS, a program that provides bus services. Many citizens spoke out against the tax rate hike saying it would place an undue burden on taxpayers and price residents out of the city. Kyle property owner Roy Burke said that while voters approved a bond issue in 2013 to pay for road projects, there are areas in the city’s maintenance and operations costs that can be cut. “The road bonds are set in stone,” Burke said. “But the tax rate ... I kind of see some gray areas.” The Sept. 8 meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in Kyle City Hall.