Property tax rate
Round Rock Property Tax Rate[/caption]Round Rock will keep its property tax rate at $0.41465 cents per $100 of valuation for fiscal year 2015-16, which will lead to about a $6 property tax bill increase per month for the average home in the city because of rising property values.
Round Rock CFO Susan Morgan said within that $6, about $4 will go toward paying down debt largely accumulated after the voter-approved bond in 2013.
Mayor Alan McGraw said at a Sept. 10 City Council meeting that the city’s debt was aimed at infrastructure improvements, not basic services for current residents.
“The debt we’re taking about, future generations will get the benefit of and future generations will help pay for because that’s long-term debt,” he said.
Morgan said the remaining $2 of the property tax bill increase per month for the average home will go toward paying for increased city services and programs.
“The average city tax bill is about $75 a month, which is much less than most of us pay for cable and phone,” Morgan said.
Morgan said city residents pay some of the lowest property taxes in the area.
Revenue and sources
Round Rock General Fund Revenue[/caption]Sales tax is the single-biggest contributor to the FY 2015-16 city budget general fund’s revenue at $48.4 million, or about half of the fund’s revenue. Sales tax revenue also supports roads and economic development by contributing to the Type B fund, which funds many of the city’s road projects.
The city has a stated goal to decrease reliance on sales tax revenue generated from Dell Inc. The non-Dell portion of sales tax revenue has grown from about half of total sales tax revenue in FY 2005-06 to about 78 percent in FY 2015-16. Total sales tax collections for the city have remained flat at about $48 million.
City services and capital improvements
Round Rock General Fund Expenditures[/caption]The general fund, which is the source of funding for police and fire departments, library and other basic services many residents depend on, is $97.4 million, a 2.1 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.
Morgan said the FY 2015-16 budget does not deviate in strategic direction from previous years but refines goals that have been set.
“[The budget] has continued to be refined every year, but what you’re seeing emphasized in roads and parks has been an ongoing strategic direction,” she said. “The staffing increases are focused on maintaining our level of service in face of the growth we’re continuing to experience.”
Included in the staffing increases are two battalion chiefs for the fire department, five new 911 call-takers and a mechanic. The general fund calls for a total of 13 new full-time positions.
Included in the total budget for FY 2015-16 are capital improvements for parks, transportation and utilities.
Included in the budget for transportation are ongoing projects such as improvements to downtown and the roads in the La Frontera development as well as projects expected to break ground in 2016, such as widening University Boulevard between Sunrise Road and I-35.
Parks and recreation projects include the addition of multipurpose fields at Old Settlers Park.
Brooks Bennet, Round Rock assistant city manager, said departments have to pitch services and projects during the budget process and explain how they fit within the city’s goals.
“The challenge in government is breaking away from silo thinking among the departments,” Bennet said. “We were able to find efficiencies in the budget by having the fire chief say, ‘We can delay [a project] a year because I understand the police department needs more vehicles right now.’”
Utilities
Residential water rates will increase about 3 percent in January under the city’s 2015-16 budget. Round Rock Utilities Director Michael Thane said raw water costs continue to rise, prompting the increase. He said utilities projects to accommodate growth also led to the increase. Thane said the city runs a cost analysis every three years to ensure a water rate increase is never too drastic for customers.
“We want to make sure it won’t be a large amount like 10 percent,” he said.
Wholesale water customers, such as municipal utility districts, will also see a rate increase. Round Rock residents still pay some of the lowest water rates in the area, Thane said.
