GOVERNMENT
Katy City Council approved a scal year 2022-23 budget in September, which includes increased revenues over the last year. Expenditures for the public safety budget also make up 54% of the general fund balance.
BALANCING A BUDGET
FY 2022 23 REVENUE
FY 2022 23 GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES
Public safety* $21.75M
Permits- Inspections Department $1.97M
Hotel occupancy $1.5M
General fund $40.08M
All other departments $9.15M Street department $3.3M
Debt service $3.42M
Enterprise fund (water, sewer and
Total $40.08M
Total $54.88M
Administrative department $1.52M
utilities) $9.88M
Debt service $2.39M
*INCLUDES POLICE, FIRE AND ANIMAL CONTROL
SOURCE: CITY OF KATY COMMUNITY IMPACT
Katy approves $54.88M FY 2022 23 budget Katy City Council approved a $40.08 million general fund budget for scal year 2022-23 in September with 54% of funds dedicated to public safety departments. Still, the city projects a total tax levy on both residential and commercial properties of $18.99 million, an 8.8%, or $1.28 million, increase from last year’s budget. This estimate is based on the larger average taxable value of properties, which grew from BY ASIA ARMOUR
ranges and step structure of eligible city employ- ees, e ective Oct. 10. Public safety—which includes the police, re and animal control departments—claims a com- bined $21.75 million of the $40.08 million general fund expenditures. The police department has the highest share with $11.85 million. In addition, the budget projects increased revenues in its hotel occupancy and general funds from last year. Hotel occupancy
During a Sept. 26 meeting, Katy City Council unanimously approved the FY 2022-23 budget of $54.88 million and a property tax rate of $0.44 per $100 valuation. The tax rate includes $0.077688 for debt service and $0.362312 for maintenance and operation expenditures. This tax rate is lower than last year’s rate of $0.447168 but greater than the no-new-revenue rate of $0.430733, which would have raised roughly the same amount of property tax revenue as it did the previous year. Finance sta ’s goals coming out of the pan- demic were to slowly restore the budget to pre- COVID-19 conditions and present a structurally balanced budget in which expenditures do not exceed revenues, City Administrator Byron Hebert wrote in a memo to City Council, which was included in budget documents. Citing “a looming economic recession and consequences of instabil- ity in Europe due to war,” Hebert said nance sta kept sales tax projections conservative.
$352,650 in FY 2021-22 to $393,773 in FY 2022-23—causing the aver- age tax collected per property to rise from $1,577 to $1,733. O cials plan for increased revenues from this year’s budget to restore levels of service to areas that were deferred during the pandemic. “This budget makes invest- ments in drainage projects and street repairs and public safety
“THIS BUDGET MAKES INVESTMENTS IN DRAINAGE PROJECTS AND STREET REPAIRS AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT.” CHRIS HARRIS, MAYOR PRO TEM
increased by $71,900, while the general fund increased by $4.56 million. Meanwhile, revenues from the enterprise fund decreased by $1.64 million. The enterprise fund comprises the city’s water, sewer and utility departments. Hebert commended city sta for their dedicated service to the community, which remained
and our parks department, among many other items,” Mayor Pro Tem Chris Harris said during the Sept. 26 meeting. “It’s a good budget.” The budget provides for investments in safety, mobility, infrastructure, high-performance man- agement and continuous quality development, Hebert wrote in the memo. With the budget, Katy will invest a 1.5% increase to the salary grades,
steadfast through storms and economic downturns, he wrote in the memo. Ultimately, he said, sta stayed committed to their nancial principles. “Our nancial philosophy has always been ‘revenue is reality,’ which we will keep and hold the property tax to a minimum,” he said. “With that, sta has become more agile, resilient and data driven.”
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KATY EDITION • OCTOBER 2022
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