Pearland’s budget for fiscal year 2022-23, which begins Oct. 1, includes $110.26 million in general fund expenses. The tax rate to support the budget is $0.623765 per $100 valuation, meaning the owner of an average home at $313,200 will pay $1,953.63 in taxes to the city.
Council Member Alex Kamkar pointed out that a recession is likely, making passing such a large budget a struggle for him.
“I cannot support this budget as proposed,” he said.
Council Member Adrian Hernandez said he has studied the budget and failed to come up with ways to reduce the tax rate to $0.543044, which is the no-new-revenue rate, or the rate at which the city would collect about the same amount in property tax revenue as it did the previous fiscal year.
Kamkar eventually made a motion to shave the budget’s general fund expenses from $110.26 million to $106.26 million, which would reduce the tax rate by about $0.025 to $0.5988. The motion failed for a lack of a second.
Mayor Pro Tem Tony Carbone said he would not want to cut the budget in a way that would result in additional turnover. The budget includes pay raises of 5.5% for city employees—6.5% for police and fire department employees—and increases sick leave buyback from 40 hours to 60. Sick leave buyback allows employees to annually trade in unused sick time for money.
“It’s a good budget. It funds what needs to be funded,” he said.
Other council members mentioned that while they are not completely satisfied with the budget, this is the best the city can get.
“I think it’s the best that we’re going to get this year,” Council Member Layni Cade said. “The taxpayers are getting some relief. I can live with a compromise.”
Council Member Woody Owens agreed, calling it a “good budget.”
“I certainly wish we could do better,” he said.
Council Member Jeff Barry said the tax rate is a reduction and therefore a step in the right direction.
“How far down can we go?” he asked of efforts to lower the tax rate. “There is a point of diminished return.”
Mayor Kevin Cole said the budget is like a law being passed in Congress: If everyone has a small problem with it but is willing to compromise, it is probably a good budget, he said.
The alternative would be setting the tax rate at the no-new-revenue rate, which would cut $13.9 million from the budget. Cole has seen in documents what that budget would look like, he said.
“It’d be pretty bleak,” he said.
The FY 2021-22 budget was $99.62 million when originally passed, though it was amended up to $106.98 million, according to city documents. The FY 2021-22 tax rate is $0.701416, meaning the new tax rate will be an 11% decrease. Those whose homes increased in value by that amount or less, perhaps due to a homestead exemption, will see a smaller tax bill than they did in the FY 2021-22 budget, Cole said.
The budget includes hiring four new firefighters to balance shifts; hiring two telecommunications operators and one police officer; hiring new drainage maintenance crew members; updating the city’s master drainage plan; and purchasing police equipment.
The budget also includes a 13.1% increase in water rates and a 5.42% increase in trash pickup fees.
Kamkar said he received a night call Sept. 23 from a city employee who said it would be in Kamkar’s best interest to pass the budget as proposed. Kamkar said he told the employee the call was inappropriate.
“I don’t want to introduce a transparency problem here,” he said. “The citizens deserve better.”
Kamkar did not name the employee.
