CITY & COUNTY
News from Austin, Bee Cave, Travis County & West Lake Hills
Bee Cave City Council will meet Sept. 12 and 26 at 6 p.m. 512-767-6600 www.beecavetexas.gov Lakeway City Council will meet Sept. 4, 11 and 18 at 6:30 p.m. 512-314-7500 • www.lakeway-tx.gov Rollingwood City Council will meet Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. 512-327-1838 www.rollingwoodtx.gov West Lake Hills City Council will meet Aug. 23 and Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. 512-327-3628 www.westlakehills.org Travis County Commissioners Court will meet Aug. 29 and Sept. 7, 12 and 19 at 9 a.m. 512-854-4722 www.traviscountytx.gov MEETINGS WE COVER NUMBER TO KNOW adopted an ordinance July 19 to adjust the speed limit to 25 miles per hour for all roads in the city. The only road that is the exception to this ordinance is Bee Caves Road. 25 MPH Rollingwood City Council HIGHLIGHTS AUSTIN The city’s homestead exemption for senior and disabled residents will increase by $11,000. The exemption allows eligible homeowners to lower the taxable value of their house for some property tax relief. LAKEWAY City Council approved a purchase of police radios Aug. 7 in the amount of $485,000. The Greater Austin Travis County Regional Radio System announced local agencies will need to upgrade their radios to continue operations in the new system, according to agenda documents. The funds for the new radios will come from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds account. TRAVIS COUNTY With an increased wildfire risk across Central Texas due to dry and hot conditions, the county joined several of its neighbors and Austin in issuing a burn ban July 18. The ban applied for any fires outside of an enclosure. The Commissioners Court extended the burn ban Aug. 14, through Sept. 20, as wildfires continued through the region during the initial burn ban period. TRAVIS COUNTY Austin data shows COVID-19 cases increased in June and July, according to Austin Public Health. The data shows roughly 340,000 cases in the county and an estimated 1,851 deaths since 2020. Hospitalization rates are still low, which doctors attributed to the vaccine; boosters are available and encouraged for those who are at risk.
Increased tax rate on horizon for West Lake Hills WEST LAKE HILLS As part of its required budget process and sched- ule, West Lake Hills City Council discussed the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2023-24 on July 26. BY ZARA FLORES said police Chief Scott Gerdes will be asking for a revision of the West Lake Hills Police Department’s BUDGET BREAKDOWN The majority of West Lake Hills’ fiscal year 2023-24 budget revenue is slated to come from taxes. REVENUE
salary matrix to remain competitive in the job market and retain officers, which will be a “sizable request.” “We do not have a matrix or a guaranteed salary increase for our administrative staff; we do for [the police department],” Anthony said. “It’s an unequal and unfair situation.” Anthony added she’d like for there to be something similar in place for administrative staff to ensure retention and competitiveness. She said no administrative or police staff live in West Lake Hills, meaning there are sizable commutes for employees. What’s next?: There will be public hearings Sept. 6 and 13 for resident input on the budget. The West Lake Hills City Council will vote on the budget Sept. 13.
Taxes: $7.47M Interest, miscellaneous: $687K Permits: $332K Fines, warrants: $157K Fees: $509K
What you need to know : The pro- posed property tax rate for FY 2023- 24 is $0.1577 per $100 valuation, an increase from the previous budget’s rate of $0.1504. This would mean an almost $500,000, or 10.76%, increase in property tax revenue, according to agenda documents. While market values have decreased over the last year, this could still mean an increase in property taxes for residents. Total general fund revenue for FY 2023-24 is slated at $9.16 million with total expenses set at $8.4 mil- lion for a surplus of $753,741, according to the proposal.
Total: $9.16M
EXPENDITURES
Police: $2.69M
Planning & development: $1.06M Public works: $856K Administration: $1.2M Municipal court: $370K Capital outlay: $2.3M
Total: $8.4M
Tree fund: $19K
SOURCE: WEST LAKE HILLS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
What else?: Mayor Linda Anthony
Local entities undergo drought restrictions
Development moves forward despite traffic concerns
What the county is saying : Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea said the county was “handcuffed” as the Texas Legislature has limited the county’s power when approving projects. “The county doesn’t have zoning powers. So when a certain development meets all state laws, we are basically required to approve them,” Commissioner Margaret Gomez said at the meeting. “If we don’t approve them, we get sued. And to tell you the truth, I don’t like to use public money for lawsuits.”
BY ZARA FLORES
AUSTIN, BEE CAVE Travis County Water Control Improvement District No. 17 and the Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District issued increased drought restrictions July 11 and Aug. 2, respectively. The approach: The GCD implemented the following measures: • Residents can water lawns, trees and shrubs once every five to seven days from 8 p.m.-midnight with a hose, an automatic shut-off nozzle or an automatic timer. WATER CONTROL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT RESTRICTIONS Mon. & Thu. Residence addresses ending in 0-3 Tue. & Fri. Residence addresses ending in 4-6, commercial properties
BY KATY MCAFEE
TRAVIS COUNTY The Commis- sioners Court approved the final plat for the first phase of Travis Club on July 18. The specifics: The county’s approval allows for 53 single-fam- ily homes and four multifamily lots containing 68 villas, 497 single-family homes, three golf courses and a marina. What residents are saying: How- ever, residents are concerned the project will cause traffic conges- tion, water shortages and harm to the endangered golden-cheeked warbler. “The main concern we have at this point is that there is a single entrance to the entire develop- ment,” resident Kent Radford said July 18. “We think we need sub- stantially more work done there. We need multiple entrances.”
BEE CREEK RD.
TRAVIS CLUB DEVELOPMENT AREA
Wed. & Sat.
Residence addresses ending in 7-9
SIESTA SHORES DR.
Sun.
None allowed
COLORADO RIVER
N
SOURCE: TRAVIS COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT LAKE TRAVIS - WESTLAKE EDITION • AUGUST 2023
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