The proposed tax rate of $0.405 per $100 valuation is $0.05 less than FY 2019-20, according to the city.
This change would represent roughly $30 in annual savings for the average Southlake homeowner. For the city of Southlake, that translates to an annual tax bill of $2,457 for the average homeowner.
This reduction would not affect the city’s 20% homestead exemption, nor its senior exemptions, according to Chief Financial Officer Sharen Jackson.
The proposed rate would also mean roughly $388,000 less in revenue for the city when compared to last year, according to a staff-prepared presentation. The city has reduced its tax rate every year since FY 2018-19.
Public hearings for the proposed tax rate and budget for FY 2020-21 will be held Sept. 1 and 15.
Council Member John Huffman praised staff for proposing a budget with a lower tax rate at an Aug. 18 meeting.
"It would have been very politically easy to leave the rate the same. In fact, you could have raised the rate and still been at the no-new-revenue tax rate,” Huffman said at the meeting. "Instead, it was an even deeper cut."
