On Sept. 10, commissioners approved the more than $416.4 million budget—a 5.14% increase from the previous fiscal year that officials largely attribute to investments in the growing county’s workforce to help attract and retain talent.
“Non-essential expenditures ... were kept to a minimum with priority being placed on workforce investment,” said Denton County Budget Officer Alejandro Moreno in a summary of the budget.
What you need to know
While the size of Denton County’s budget is increasing, the tax rate will be slightly lower in FY 2024-25 at $0.187869 per $100 valuation. The new tax rate marks a nearly 0.9% decrease from the previous fiscal year, which Moreno said is the lowest it has been since at least 1986.
Although the tax rate is declining, the average home value in the county is increasing by 8.9%, according to county documents.
In FY 2024-25, county officials expect to raise more than $18.7 million in additional tax revenue from the previous fiscal year, or a nearly 6.3% increase. Of that, nearly $15.8 million is expected to come from new property added to the tax roll in the coming year.
“Due to the notable rise in property values, Denton County has been decreasing the tax rate in recent years to battle rising appraisals,” Moreno wrote. “We can balance the budget while decreasing the tax rate partly due to the remarkable growth of new construction in Denton County.”
What else?
Officials attributed the growing budget in part to the rapid expansion of the population in Denton County—which has increased by about more than 30,000, or about 3%, to nearly 1.04 million in the last year—leading to the need to provide more services.
As part of the FY 2024-25 budget, Denton County officials are planning to increase pay scale raises for employees and a 2% salary adjustment increase. In addition, the budget includes plans to hire for 37 new positions.
“Denton County’s rapid population growth continues to be an ever-present challenge ... as one has to consider the many factors that come with a vigorously growing community,” Moreno wrote. “The swift growth in population inevitably results in additional resources that need to be allocated to meet growing demands placed on county resources.”
