With new projects, community amenities and a conservative outlook for the next fiscal year, The Woodlands Township approved a $118 million budget Aug. 23. The township held budget workshops in mid-August to determine the property tax rate as well as expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year.
As The Woodlands approaches residential build-out, township staff said the area is projecting a slowdown in property tax revenue. The township saw an increase in property tax revenue from the past year, largely due to new properties; however, Monique Sharp, assistant general manager of finance and administration, said overall property valuations have decreased by 0.2 percent in the past year.
“That is the first time I have seen a negative revaluation in the 25 years that I have been doing this, so that was a pretty significant thing. It’s not hugely negative, but it is negative,” Sharp said. “We are now leveling out, and in terms of residential growth we only have a few units left out in the Village of Creekside Park and then we will be built out residentially.”
However, while property tax revenue has slowed, the township approved a tax rate of 23 cents per $100 valuation, the same as the previous two years and still lower than the township’s all-time high of 32.8 cents in 2010, Sharp said. The tax rate is also below the effective tax rate of 23.1 cents—which is the rate the township would have to pass to collect enough taxes to match last year’s overall revenue.
