Round Rock to operate on $420.2M budget in fiscal year 2020-21

On Sept. 10, Round Rock City Council adopted a $420.2 million budget for fiscal year 2020-21.

Budget highlights include approximately $192 million earmarked for improvements to area roads, utilities, parks and trails and a new public library, which is expected to break ground by the end of next year. Additionally, the budget stipulates $25 million to operate parks and recreation programs and the city's sports tourism program; $59 million to support police and fire services; and $30 million for water and wastewater services.

“We will maintain our core services, because Round Rock is still growing," said Susan Morgan, chief financial officer for the city. "We’re still expecting our population to grow by several thousand this year.”

The FY 2020-21 budget represents a $25 million decrease from this year's adopted budget. Morgan attributed these cuts to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are focusing on recovering from a position of strength," she said. "We’ve made targeted reductions across departments.”

Council also approved a property tax rate of $0.439000 per $100 valuation. While the tax rate is the same as the one adopted for FY 2019-20, the owner of a median-value home—currently calculated at $256,347—will pay approximately $3 more per month next year on the city portion of their property tax bill.

This increase is due to rising property values, Morgan said. The adopted tax rate is 3.2% above the no-new-revenue tax rate of $0.42555, which factors in previous property values.

New property valued at $294 million has been added to the property tax roll since last year, according to a city news release. This new value will generate $1.3 million in additional property tax revenue, per the release.