Round Rock City Council approves FY23 proposed budget, tax rate on first reading

The Round Rock City Council voted 7-0 Thursday, Aug. 25, on first reading to approve a $555.5 million budget for fiscal year 2023, which begins Oct. 1. The FY23 tax rate was also unanimously approved on first reading. A second reading on both items will take place at the Sept. 8 City Council meeting.

The proposed budget includes the following highlights:

Public Safety

• Construction of a new Fire Station # 1 will start in 2023 with estimated completion in 2024 to improve response times​
• Six additional firefighters and equipment for a new squad to improve city response​
• Thirteen additional police officers and one Crisis Response Unit communications position to keep Round Rock one of the safest cities in the nation​
• Along with support staff including two additional public safety mechanics and one additional custodian for the PSTC​

Parks and Recreation

• Significant work and funding for the City’s trail system, including Heritage Trail East, Lake Creek Trail and Heritage Trail West  ​
• Continue popular family-friendly events such as Fourth of July parade and celebration at OSP, Light up the Lake, Hometown Holiday Lights and more​
• Freeman Park, Skate Park, High Country Park, Bowman Park and Yonders Point at Old Settlers Park will all see improvements​
• Eighteen new positions for recreation programs, to maintain trails, and to keep the park and trail system safe​

Transportation and Utilities

• $4.3 million for neighborhood street maintenance (Round Rock has committed $37 million to neighborhood streets since 2015)​
• Completion of University Blvd and University East widening and segments of the Kenney Fort Blvd extension​
• Construction starting to widen and improve Greenlawn Boulevard, County Road 112, Red Bud Lane, and segments of Gattis School Road​
• Significant engineering and staff work to prepare for upcoming road improvement projects – including Wyoming Springs Extension and next segment of Gattis School Road​
• Complete construction of the Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater System Expansion project in Summer 2023​

Downtown and Round Rock Public Library

• New 60,000 square foot public library opens January 2023  ​
• New 300-space downtown parking garage opens January 2023​
• Transportation and utility infrastructure improvements in northeast downtown will be complete​
• Planning and design to repurpose existing library for Arts, Go Round Rock, the Round Rock Chamber and public space​

On Aug. 11, City Council voted to set a maximum proposed property tax rate of 34.2 cents per $100 of valuation for Fiscal Year 2023.

At the proposed rate, the owner of a median taxable value home of $369,169 would, on average, pay $1,263 next year in City taxes, which an increase of $5 per month over the current rate. However, many homeowners with homestead caps, which limit taxable values from rising above 10% each year, may actually see a decrease in taxes paid to the City this year due to commercial and non-homesteaded properties paying a significantly larger share of property taxes due to rising valuations and growth. 

This proposed tax rate is lower than in previous years, and it’s the lowest proposed among cities in our area; however, the Fiscal Year 2023 proposed rate is higher than the “no new revenue” rate of 32.6 cents, which would raise the same amount of revenue as last year on existing property based on this year’s property valuations. The additional 1.6 cents is needed to pay for the final $21.7 million in bonds for the new Library approved by voters in 2013, as well as increased resources for public safety, including 13 new police officers and six new employees for the Fire Department.

More information about local entities’ property tax rates, including how much you would owe each taxing entity under their proposed tax rates, can be found at williamsonpropertytaxes.org for Williamson County residents and travistaxes.com for Travis County residents. 

There are no utility rate or fee increases in the budget.

Learn more about the City of Round Rock’s proposed FY 2023 budget at roundrocktexas.gov/budget.

The post Round Rock City Council approves FY23 proposed budget, tax rate on first reading appeared first on City of Round Rock.

Source: City of Round Rock