During a meeting Tuesday, Aug. 8, Magnolia City Council members voted unanimously to raise the city's property tax rate for fiscal year 2017-18, which begins Oct. 1. Here are five things to note from Tuesday's meeting. 1. Magnolia city officials recommended the council vote to increase the city's property tax rate from $0.4629 to $0.4709 per $100 valuation for the upcoming fiscal year. The higher tax rate aligns with the effective tax rate recommended by the Montgomery County Appraisal District, Magnolia City Administrator Paul Mendes said. The effective tax rate is the rate at which the city will receive the same amount of revenue as the current fiscal year. Therefore, although the city is raising the tax rate, the city will collect no more money from property taxes than it has during the current fiscal year, city officials said. Mendes said the city would have more than a $16,000 deficit at the start of FY 2017-18 if the tax rate does not increase. According to city budget documents, Magnolia last raised property taxes in FY 2007-08 from $0.4847 to $0.4914. However, the city has decreased its tax rate in the years since.
Because the city will not collect additional money with the tax rate increase, no public hearing is required. If the proposed tax rate was higher than the effective rate, the proposed rate would be taken to the public for consideration, officials said. 2. Magnolia City Council and the Magnolia Police Department also facilitated a presentation Tuesday during which dog tags were returned to the family of David Freed, a U.S. Marine killed in action nearly 50 years ago during the Vietnam War. Vietnam veteran Eddie Neas, a resident of New Jersey, flew to Magnolia to present the dog tags he found during a recent trip to Vietnam to Brian Freed, a Magnolia resident and David's younger brother.
3. The Hwy. 249 extension is set to get underway in Magnolia in October, Mendes said. Williams Brothers Construction, which was awarded the bid for the project, is expected to begin clearing land in Magnolia for Hwy. 249 this fall. 4. Northern lanes of the Texas Department of Transportation overpass at FM 1488 and FM 149 in Magnolia are delayed from opening later this month due to a delay in materials, Mendes said. However, crews are working to get the project back on track, he said. 5. In a 3-2 vote, council members approved a new recycling program available to city residents. Council members John Bramlett and Jonny Williams voted to oppose the program. Council members were split as to whether the recycling program would discourage residents from donating to local nonprofit organizations like Society of Samaritans. The Simple Recycling Program allows curbside recycling services to residents for clothing and small household goods in an effort to decrease waste. The program is free to the city and its residents, and items collected are sorted and resold or processed for raw materials. The program also compensates the city with $20 per ton of materials collected, according to a representative with Simple Recycling. In the Greater Houston area, Simple Recycling also works with the cities of Pearland, Sugar Land and Rosenberg as well as The Woodlands, Magnolia Economic Development Coordinator Tana Ross said. Video from ABC 13