Friendswood City Council approved the tax rate 6-0, absent Council Member John Scott, at its Sept. 12 meeting.
The combined tax rate of $0.487314 per $100 valuation results in no change from last year’s rate but exceeds the no-new revenue tax rate of $0.4574. The rate includes $0.098754 per $100 valuation for debt service and a $0.388560 per $100 valuation rate for maintenance and operation expenditures.
Owners of a home with the average value of $435,000 will see an increase of $149 in city taxes over the year, according to City Manager Morad Kabiri.
“I, too, will be supporting keeping the rate the same, because I know that just maintaining your current living standard ... is going to cost more going forward. We would be very, very shortsighted if we weren’t looking at that,” Council Member Sally Branson said at the Aug. 29 special meeting.
The city adopted its fiscal year 2022-23 budget 6-0, absent Scott, at a special meeting Aug. 29. The budget includes $114.2M in revenue and $114.2M in expenditures across all funds.
The approved budget included updated expenditures on public safety from its last overview at an Aug. 1 council meeting, with a net change in expenditures of $0. Three part-time public safety officer positions were eliminated and replaced with the addition of one full-time peace officer position and funding for police vehicle replacements.
“I think this budget is extremely responsible for what we have to do as a city to provide for our people and to keep our employees, which are hugely qualified, and also to be able to provide these services with less people,” Council Member Steve Rockey said at the Aug. 29 special meeting.
