Georgetown Edition | August 2024

The e-edition is an exact replica of the newspaper with interactive and searchable articles from all your favorite sections.

Government

Georgetown officials work to develop budget Georgetown city staff presented a draft of the fiscal year 2024-25 budget and Capital Improve- ment Plan during a July 9 City Council workshop. In the proposal, expenditures outpace fore- casted revenues in the general fund. The overview The city is projecting revenues of $108.31 mil- lion, which is a 9.7% increase over the prior year, while expenditures are projected to increase by 5.3%, or $5.59 million, to $111.73 million, according to city budget documents. This projected $3.42 million shortfall would negatively impact the city’s fund balance for the general fund, bringing it from $32.23 million at the end of FY 2023-24 to $28.82 million at the end of FY 2024-25. The general fund is just one of Georgetown’s nearly 20 funds. Other funds include the electric

County approves 3% increase for officials Williamson County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for elected officials during its

Keeping up with demand Across the city’s various funds, the proposed budget includes 39 new positions.

3 joint services fund 2 information technology fund 1 stormwater fund

21 water fund 8 electric fund 4 general fund

July 23 meeting. The big picture

SOURCE: CITY OF GEORGETOWN/COMMUNITY IMPACT

Commissioners also discussed the broader compensation package for the 1,904 county employees that will be submitted during the 2025 budget proposal. Director of Human Resources Rebecca Clemons said the proposed compensation package recommends a 3% COLA and a 3% merit-based increase for county employees, a 3% COLA increase for elected county officials, and a 4% merit increase for small offices with four or fewer staff members. If approved, this would increase the county’s 2024-25 budget by $1 million.

fund, the water fund, the street maintenance fund and the debt service fund. The approach According to city documents, identified pressure points within the budget include cost escalation of capital projects, moderate continued growth, water service expansions, maintaining core ser- vices, customer service, street light maintenance and the 311-like system implementation. The final approval of the FY 2024-25 budget and tax rate is scheduled for Sept. 10.

GEORGETOWN ISD WELCOMES STUDENTS

AUGUST 15TH

Scan here for: • New & returning student enrollment • School supply lists • Bus routes • Campus events & more

10

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM

BY PARKS KUGLE

Commissioners vote to increase DA pay Williamson County Commissioners Court voted to approve the pay supplements for each district judge and the district attorney at its July 30 meeting. What happened During the meeting, County Judge Bill Gravell moved to adjust the supplemental pay figure for District Attorney Shawn Dick from $18,000 to $52,000. His proposal, which went on to pass in a 3-2 vote, kept the $18,000 figure for district judges. This amendment sparked a debate among the commissioners on whether it is the county’s responsibility or the state’s to add funding to the district attorney’s salary. Gravell said he made the motion because commissioners need to make county salaries attractive to top talent.

Water usage

Current rate

Proposed rate with differential pricing

Proposed rate with 11.75% increase

Tier 1

0-7,000 gallons

$2.30 per gallon

$2.30 per gallon

$2.55 per gallon

Tier 2 7,001-15,000 gallons

$3.45 per gallon

$3.45 per gallon

$3.85 per gallon

Tier 3 15,001-25,000 gallons $6.05 per gallon

$6.05 per gallon

$6.75 per gallon

Tier 4 25,001+ gallons

$10.60 per gallon

$12.10 per gallon

$13.50 per gallon

SOURCE: CITY OF GEORGETOWN/COMMUNITY IMPACT

City considers raising rates for high water users As part of officials’ efforts to balance the rising cost of essential services with rapid growth and sharply rising demand, Georgetown staff pre- sented an update on a water and sewer rate study during the July 23 City Council workshop. The gist Matthew Garrett, Georgetown’s NewGen

management rate consultant, said the study shows base revenues for water are not keeping up with the fixed cost of service. To ease these issues, the study suggests chang- ing the rate for top-tier residential customers who use 25,001 gallons or more per month. Currently, the city’s rate design has an increase of 75% between the next highest tier and the fourth tier, which is the highest tier. The proposal would have that go up to a 100% differential. Effectively, this means the fourth tier would pay double that of the third tier, Garrett said. These changes are on top of a 11.75% increase to the base water rate effective Oct. 1.

2.75% * interest rate Welcome to your new home life. Year One

Aaachooo! New school year, new germs? No worries! Get fast, year-round urgent care for the whole family — anywhere in Texas.

High Quality Move-In Ready Homes in our Exclusive Pocket Community of Broken Oak and the Master-Planned Community of Nolina. *restrictions apply, see New Home Consultant for details

Available for select Move-in Ready homes at select Chesmar Homes communities. All applications are subject to credit approval & agency maximum seller contributions. Not all applicants will qualify. Applications must be received by CLM Mortgage, Inc. and rate locked by noon on 09/15/2024. Home must close by 10/15/2024 to qualify for promotion. Financing offered by Chesmar’s affiliated mortgage company, CLM Mortgage, Inc, NMLS #215239, an Equal Housing Lender. Above information is based on FHA APR of 6.550% and a Conventional APR of 5.988%. This is not an offer for extension of credit nor a commitment to lend. This offer cannot be com- bined with any other promotional offers and Chesmar Homes reserves the right to change or terminate the promotion at any time. This advertisement is for illustration purposes only and isn’t part of a legally binding contract. Please see a Chesmar Homes Sales Professional for full details. © August 2024 Chesmar Homes.

24/7 VIRTUAL URGENT CARE

512-995-5326

Text "IMPACT1" to 717171 for more info

NormanMD.com

11

GEORGETOWN EDITION

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22-23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44

communityimpact.com

Powered by