Government
BY ZARA FLORES & ERIC WEILBACHER
City budget focuses on competitive staffing, pay New Braunfels City Council adopted the city’s operating budget Sept. 11, which focuses on employee compensation, public safety and capital improvement projects. The tax rate was approved Sept. 25. While the tax rate continues a downward trend— the rate was nearly 8 cents higher in 2020—city officials estimate the taxes will effectively raise by 8.6% due to rising values of property appraisals. The tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year is set to be $0.4089 per $100 valuation. The details Earlier this year, the city’s executive leadership team and City Council outlined the following goals and priorities for the fiscal year 2023-24 budget: • Develop competitive compensation packages • Invest in technology and equipment that reduces the need for other resources • Invest in aging infrastructure • Maintain strong financial reserves The takeaway Improving employee compensation for city staff has been a work in progress since 2015, Assistant City Manager Jared Werner said, when the city lagged behind other surrounding cities in compen- sation by almost 25%. Now 32 new positions have been created, mainly in public safety, he said. Other notable highlights from the new budget include capital funding to complete projects from the 2019 bond and a fourth consecutive tax rate decrease. This year’s proposal is a balanced budget with
Comal County adopts $167.85M budget While conceding taxes will be slightly higher in the coming year, the Comal County Commissioners Court unanimously passed a $167.85 million budget for fiscal year 2023-24 and a property tax rate of $0.27515 per $100 valuation Sept. 7. That new rate is almost a penny less than the FY 2022-23 rate of $0.284715 per $100 valuation. However, due to rising home and commercial property values, the adopted tax rate will still translate to higher taxes for the average home owner. The background The preliminary proposal for the new tax rate linked to the budget was for the rate to remain at the current level, but in the budget amending process, commissioners removed some items to lower the rate some. Commissioner Scott Haag and Commis- sioner Donna Eccleston brought up amend- ments to add county positions into the budget that were approved unanimously— one for adding an assistant road superinten- dent to the county engineer’s office and one to add an additional clerk to the Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 office. What they’re saying Commissioner Kevin Webb proposed reducing the tax rate by putting a “pause” on some road projects. “It’ll reduce that line item by [$2.5 mil- lion] dollars and then the tax rate by about nine-tenths of a cent,” Webb said.
New Braunfels tax rate history
The city has gradually lowered its tax rate each fiscal year since FY 2019-20. Rates shown are per $100 of valuation.
Maintenance and operations rate Interest and sinking rate
Taxes in cents
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Fiscal year
SOURCE: CITY OF NEW BRAUNFELS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
equal revenue and expenditures, both slated at $419.55 million with a 19.1% increase in revenue from last year. Revenues include the city’s sales and property taxes, permitting fees and unspent funds from prior budgets. The revenues are broken down as follows: • Revenue: $198.07 million • Beginning capital reserves: $151.25 million • Beginning fund reserves: $70.23 million
Grant could make way for downtown improvements
E. SAN ANTONIO ST.
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The downtown TIRZ is around 180 acres. About the program Grant funding can be sought for the following types of projects within the TIRZ: • Renovation of a building’s exterior • Public infrastructure • Streetscapes • Conversion of property from residential to commercial
New Braunfels officials are looking ahead at the state of its downtown to make improvements with the proposed Business Improvement and Preservation Grant Program. If approved, funding will come from the city’s downtown tax increment reinvestment zone. Terms to know A tax increment reinvestment zone, also known as TIRZ, is a type of taxing district utilized by cities to fund projects within the bounds of the zone.
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NEW BRAUNFELS EDITION
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