Southlake City Council on Sept. 15 adopted its $86.9 million fiscal year 2016 budget and the same tax rate of $0.462 per $100 of property value for the 13th straight year. The new tax rate exceeded the $0.430 per $100 of property value effective rate—the rate that would generate the same property tax as the previous year. That means that while the tax rate remains the same, more tax dollars are coming to the city because of increased property valuation. The new budget includes an increase in the homestead exemption from 10 percent to 12 percent. For the average home in Southlake the 12 percent homestead exemption will provide $66,900 in property value reduction. Southlake has been increasing its homestead exemptions throughout the past several years. “It is important to note that Council’s tax relief strategies since 2009 have been focused on lowering the tax burden on residential property taxpayers by offering homestead exemptions, rather than through a tax reduction,” City Manager Shana Yelverton said in her transmittal letter to the council regarding the FY 2016 budget.