NUMBER TO KNOW virus as of Sept. 1. Austin Public Health reported receiving 5,154 vials of the Jynneos vaccine to distribute to county health providers. 134 The number of confirmed cases of the monkeypox CITY HIGHLIGHTS LAKEWAY Effective Oct.1, regular City Council meetings will start at 6 p.m. every third Monday of the month instead of the usually scheduled time of 6:30 p.m. Special meetings do not have a required start time. TRAVIS COUNTY Commissioners met with public defenders Aug. 23 to discuss a solution to reinstate a pilot program that gave legal counsel to arrestees at first appearance. The proposal from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office includes installing electronic tablets throughout the central booking facility to replace in- person attorney-client meetings and renovating its old magistrate courtroom. The renovation project is estimated to cost $650,000 and will take 10-11 months to complete. TRAVIS COUNTY The board of managers for Central Health, Travis County’s taxing health district, approved its fiscal year 2022-23 budget at $300.75 million. This is an increase of over $20 million from the last year, in part due to an increase in property tax revenue and a tobacco litigation settlement, which together brought in $286.1 million. Central Health will lower its property tax rate to $0.09868 per $100 property value—down from $0.11181 in FY 2021-22. Bee Cave City Council Meets Sept. 27 and Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. 512-767-6600 www.beecavetexas.gov Lakeway City Council Meets Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m., Oct. 3 and 17 at 6 p.m. 512-314-7500 www.lakeway-tx.gov Rollingwood City Council Meets Sept. 21 at 6 p.m., Sept. 27 at 6 p.m., Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. 512-327-1838 www.cityofrollingwood.com Travis County Commissioners Court Meets Sept. 20 and 27 and Oct. 4 and 18 at 9 a.m. 700 Lavaca St., Austin www.traviscountytx.gov West Lake Hills City Council Meets Sept. 28 and Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. 512-327-3628 www.westlakehills.org Instructions for meeting attendance are at each entity’s website. MEETINGS WE COVER
Lakeway to approve new tax rate
TAX FACTS
The city of Lakeway will have a lower tax rate in the next scal year because of rising property values.
BY TAYLOR CRIPE
TAX RATE
LAKEWAY City Council will adopt a new proposed tax rate of $0.129 per $100 property value Sept. 19 after approving it on first reading Aug. 15. This is a $0.0255 reduction per $100 property value from the tax rate adopted by council for the 2021-22 fiscal year. With the new rate imple- mented, the average homeowner will see a reduction of $40 in their overall tax bill, despite rising property values, according to the city. City Manager Julie Oakley said the tax rate was based on property values that grew 23.7% from 2021 to 2022. The taxable value, which was approximately $5.73 billion in 2021, grew to $7.09 billion in 2022. Out of that 23.7%, most of that growth, 19.7%, or $6.8 billion, is from an increase in the values of the properties that were already on the property roll in Lakeway for FY 2021- 22, Oakley said. The other 4% is from
$0.1545
FY 2021-22
19.7% came from growth in existing property 4% came from growth of new property
-$0.0255
$0.129
FY 2022-23
TAXABLE PROPERTY VALUE
2021
$5.73 billion
+23.7%
$7.09 billion
2022
SOURCE: CITY OF LAKEWAY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
approximately $230 million of growth added onto the roll this past year. “The new growth [properties] is the highest Lakeway has ever seen,” she said. As property values go up, the tax rate must come down to offset any increase in tax levy, which is the amount everyone is going to pay, Oakley said. “The city has been very judicious
in doing that,” she said. “They haven’t, historically, kept the tax rate the same as the appraised values have risen. They offset those values by dropping that tax rate.” Since the $0.129 tax rate has been officially proposed by council as the maximum tax rate, the rate can be lowered if recommended by council; however, the rate cannot be higher than $0.129.
Bee Cave proposes $8.8M budget
West Lake Hills approves $6.6M budget, tax rate
CITY EXPENSES Police spending and administrative costs comprise most of the city’s spending.
$2.49M (37.72%): Police $1.15M (17.4%): Administration $941,951 (14.27%): Planning & Development $890,550 (13.49%): Public Works $780,325 (11.82%): Capital Improvements
BY TAYLOR CRIPE
BEE CAVE The city is continuing to conservatively budget sales tax rev- enue after another year of healthy business recovery. More growth is projected for fiscal year 2022-23, which begins Oct. 1. Bee Cave City Council is proposing an $8.8 million general fund budget for FY 2022-23, which is a 19% decrease compared to the previous year’s budget of $10.92 million. While the budget is smaller, sales tax revenue is expected to increase nearly 20%, totaling $10.5 million. The proposed budget for FY 2022- 23 forecasts $11.8 million in general fund revenue, including sales tax revenue, mixed drink taxes and fees. For the third year in a row, the property tax rate is expected to stay at $0.02 per $100 valuation, Bee Cave City Manager Clint Garza said. The budget will be voted on Sept. 13 with a possible extension to Sept. 27.
BY GRACE DICKENS
WEST LAKE HILLS City Council approved its $6.6 million budget and new tax rate for fiscal year 2022-23 on Aug. 16. The adopted property tax rate is $0.1504, up from $0.0786 the previous year, which is expected to raise $2.5 million more in property tax revenue than the previous fiscal year. Voters approved the tax raise in the November election, which abolished the city’s 0.5% tax rate used for property tax relief and instead instated a 0.5% sales tax for the maintenance and repair of streets. The city’s total revenue is estimated at $7.7 million, while its expenditures are $6.6 million. The largest source of revenue for the city is taxes, followed by fees and permits, while almost 40%
$330,217 (5%): Municipal Court
$19,250 (0.3%): Tree Fund Total: $6.6M
SOURCE: CITY OF WEST LAKE HILLS/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
of the city’s expenditures fund the police department. As part of the city’s ongoing road maintenance plans, the city allocated $415,325 from its street maintenance fund for capital improvements in FY 2022-23.
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LAKE TRAVIS - WESTLAKE EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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