Proposed city $134.2 million budget does not include tax rate increase, but does increase water, wastewater and trash rates

City Manager Scott Sellers will propose the city council enact a $134.2 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year that includes a 10 percent increase in water and wastewater service rates and a 2.5 percent hike for trash collection services, according to material posted on the city’s web site. The language contained in the agenda item for Saturday’s council budget workshop says Sellers’s proposed budget includes “no increase in proposed ad valorem tax rate,” which is somewhat cagey because it leaves open the notion that the tax rate actually might have to be reduced to comply with state law.

“If a proposed ad valorem tax rate exceeds the no-new-revenue tax rate or the voter-approval tax rate, whichever is lower, the taxing unit's governing body must approve a resolution or ordinance, as appropriate, to record vote to place a proposal on the agenda of a future meeting as an action item to adopt the ad valorem tax rate” according to the language posted with Saturday’s workshop agenda. “This record vote is required to be published in the ‘Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Increase’ before the public hearing. This vote must be recorded to show how each member of the governing body voted on the resolution or ordinance to place a proposal on the agenda of a future meeting as an action item to adopt the ad valorem tax rate.  If the resolution or ordinance passes, then the governing body must hold a public hearing on the ad valorem tax proposal before adopting the tax.”

The Kyle Report has also learned through informed sources that the propose budget will raise a middle finger to the Black Lives Matters movement with a significant increase in the Police Department’s budget at a time when many cities, in deference to the movement, are reducing Police Department budgets while simultaneously and proportionately increasing funding for social services. It is worth noting, Kyle does not budget for any recognized “social services” initiatives. The closest thing I could find for something resembling one is a line item for “Community Health Support,” but as far as I can tell no money has ever been allocated for this item.

The budget also calls for the addition of 25 new positions and, from what The Kyle Report has learned, 15 of those will be in the Public Works Department, five (including one code enforcement officer and one code enforcement supervisor) will be connected to the Police Department and four — two parks maintenance technicians and two trails maintenance technicians — will be assigned to the Parks Department. Eleven of the 25 new positions, we have learned, will be directly assigned to activities involving streets.

It is believed the proposed budget does not call for any merit salary increases for city employees but does recommend the city spend close to $3.6 million over the course of the next fiscal year on new equipment.

Even with the water and wastewater rate increase, total water department expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year appear to be in the range of $6.6 million more than total revenue and total wastewater expenditures will be in the neighborhood of $.79 million over total income during the same time. The trash rate increase is needed to fulfill the obligations of the latest contract the city signed with Texas Disposal Services.