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Universal City council voted 4-2 on Aug. 19 to establish a proposed property tax rate increase for fiscal year 2025-26.
The council established a previously discussed $0.0156 increase from the current tax rate, going up to $0.53 per $100 valuation for FY 2025-26.
How we got here
According to previous reporting by Community Impact, the proposed rate would bring in approximately $312,000 in extra revenue for the city.
Finance Director Christine Green previously said the higher rate could take care of items like increased demand for staffing and the sunsetting of American Rescue Plan funds for police and fire.
The proposed rate increase comes after several years of Universal City dropping the rate by $0.087 between FY 2019-20 and FY 2024-25, according to previous reporting. The increase results in a change of $0.83 per month on a homeowner bill per $100,000 in taxable value.
What the council is saying
Council member Lori Putt said an approximately $30-$45 increase in an annual tax bill is worth doing to keep city services afloat.
“So for those dollars a month, I’m getting the best fire department, best police department, I’m getting the best public works who is on call all the time. ... This is the biggest bang for my buck. I don’t want to see any of those services go down,” Putt said.
Council member Phil Vaughan called for a vote on a rate of $0.5225 per $100 valuation, saying he found it “really hard” to ask for more money out of residents. He said previous tax rate cuts did not lead to less revenue because of rising property values.
“I just think we have a way to ... not have to cut services, and there’d be a way to pay for that without having to change much in the budget. I’m hoping we can take that seriously,” Vaughan said.
Vaughan’s motion failed 2-4. Council member Bernard Rubal was the second affirmative vote.
What else?
Council also held a public hearing on the FY 2025-26 proposed budget. As of Aug. 19, the general fund budget is balanced with total revenues and expenditures both equaling $20.53 million.
According to a presentation by Green, seven city departments will see expenditure increases, while four departments will have decreases. The largest department increase is a health insurance coverage increase for nondepartmental staff, totaling $364,375.
Next steps
The FY 2025-26 budget and tax rate will be adopted at the Sept. 2 City Council meeting.
