The $418.7 million proposal is approximately $26 million less than the FY 2019-20 budget as adopted in September 2019. The adopted budget was later amended in May as the effects of the coronavirus began to impact city revenue sources.
“Next year will be a really tough, tight year,” said Susan Morgan, the city’s chief financial officer. “There are a lot of unknowns as to what the future is going to hold,” said Brooks Bennett, Round Rock’s assistant city manager. “Our goal is to recover from a position of strength.”
What does this mean for taxpayers?
The median home value for FY 2020-21 is $256,347, according to city documents. Should the budget and tax rate be adopted as proposed, a median household would pay approximately $92 a month in city property taxes.
“Our citizens will maintain the services they’ve had,” Mayor Craig Morgan said. “But really this is a tight budget—it’s going to be new no services, no new positions.” Under the budget as proposed July 21, the median annual tax bill is expected to be approximately $1,110.
The proposed tax rate is $0.429 per $100 taxable value. This represents a $0.006 increase above the estimated No New Revenue Tax Rate. The No New Revenue Tax Rate generates the same property tax revenue as the prior year based on the new year’s total value of taxable property, as defined by state law. The rate is estimated at this time because certified taxable values have not yet been released by area appraisal districts, Susan Morgan said.
For a median-valued home, the proposed tax rate increase amounts to $15.38 annually, or $1.28 per month, per city documents.
Next steps
Round Rock City Council will meet multiple times over the coming weeks to finalize and approve the budget.
- Aug. 13: approval of a maximum tax rate
- Aug. 20: tax rate public hearing
- Aug. 27: budget public hearing
- Sept. 10: adoption of tax rate, budget
