In a brisk, 11-minute meeting, the Leander City Council took action on several items. The council voted unanimously to raise the speed limit from 40 miles per hour to 45 miles per hour on several stretches of road in the city and to do away with the Hotel Occupancy Tax in the city's extraterritorial jurisdiiction.
After conducting a speed study, city staff recommended the council raise the speed limit from 40 to 45 mph on East Crystal Falls Parkway from Horizon Park Boulevard to Ronald W. Reagan Boulevard. The council also approved making the speed limit on all portions of Bagdad Road within city limits 45 mph, which meant two portions of the road were raised from 40 to 45 mph.
The council then did away with the HOT tax in the extraterritorial jurisdiction because there is only one establishment the tax applies to. Since the city began collecting taxes from the bed and breakfast in 2010, the city has collected $416. Only cities with fewer than 35,000 residents may collect HOT taxes from their ETJ.
"It can be re-established in the future if the need arises," Leander Finance Director Robert Powers said.