Conroe, Montgomery add new positions in budgets
CONROE CLOSE-UP Conroe’s general fund revenue for fiscal year 2022-23 is anticipated to jump 17.4% year over year.
BY PEYTON MACKENZIE
property tax revenue increase and 18.6% sales tax revenue increase. Boothe said the city also anticipates expenses to rise 8.8% from FY 2021- 22 to $115.66 million in FY 2022-23, which he attributed to additional per- sonnel costs, including pay raises and the additional public safety staff. He said the city will balance the FY 2022- 23 budget with its reserve funds. In addition, the budget includes
tax rate. “In April the council voted to increase the homestead exemption to 20%, the maximum allowed by law,” Boothe said. “[The council also voted] to increase the exemption for those age 65 or older or disabled to $40,000.” Montgomery’s budget Montgomery is proposing its tax
The cities of Conroe and Montgom- ery are adding new positions in their fiscal year 2022-23 budgets to accom- modate growth, city officials said, including additional police officers and firefighters. “[Conroe is] one of the fast- est-growing cities in the country,” Conroe Mayor Jody Czajkoski said in an interview. “As residents move here,
REVENUE: FY 2021-22
+17.4%
$95.7M
FY 2022-23
$114.1M
EXPENDITURES:
+8.8%
FY 2021-22
$99.1M
FY 2022-23
$115.7M
rate remain flat year over year at $0.40 per $100 valuation. That rate has not changed since 2018, McCorquodale
you need more fire stations; you need more firefighters; you need more police officers; you need more sewer lines.” To prepare for the new fiscal year starting Oct. 1, Con- roe is adding 10 police officers and eight firefighters for $2.36 million, according to interim Director of Finance Collin Boothe. In addition, Con-
$500,000 for drain- age improvements, $1 million in asphalt overlay, $300,000 for the Montgomery County Veterans Memorial Park and $800,000 for the replacement of the breathing apparatus for each firefighter. To avoid having to up the city’s debt service tax rate this fiscal year, the city cut $2.6 million in projects from its capital improve-
NEW POSITIONS BUDGETED:
10 police officers
$2.36M The city of Conroe budgeted to add new positions in FY 2022-23.
“AS RESIDENTS MOVE HERE, YOU NEED MORE FIRE STATIONS; YOU NEED MORE FIREFIGHTERS; YOU NEED MORE POLICE OFFICERS; YOU NEED MORE SEWER LINES.”
8 firefighters
said; however, city documents show the proposed tax rate is $0.0829 higher than the no-new-revenue rate but $0.1674 lower than the voter-approval tax rate. Montgomery was slated to adopt its budget and tax rate Sept. 13 after press time. As a result of property tax revenue increasing by 50%, the city is projecting a 7.8% increase in general fund revenue from FY 2021-22 totaling $5.77 million in revenue for the upcoming year, accord- ing to the city budget. The budget also projects a 7.7% rise in expenses totaling $5.8 million in FY 2022-23. Additional expenses this fiscal year include more staff. McCorquodale said city officials believed there needed to be more officers on patrol to increase public safety.
2 transit coordinators
1 grant accountant
JODY CZAJKOSKI, CONROE MAYOR
1 downtown development staff
TAX RATE DIP
roe decreased its tax rate by $0.0103, and Montgomery is maintaining its tax rate at $0.04 per $100 valuation, according to the cities; however, both cities anticipate collecting more prop- erty tax revenue year over year due to rising taxable values in each city. Meanwhile, Montgomery is adding two police officers and a parks and recreation coordinator, interim City Administrator Dave McCorquodale said, for which a specific dollar amount could not be provided. McCorquodale said Montgomery offi- cials are aware of an estimated 1,200 homes to be established within the next three to five years; therefore, the city is preparing for the growth by setting aside money to accommodate future needs, such as more staff. “The decisions that we make … [are] generational decisions; we don’t get another shot at it,” McCorquodale said in an interview. “[We want] to make sure we balance the growth that’s coming in along with maintain- ing what makes this town what it is.” Conroe’s budget The city of Conroe expects general fund revenue to increase 17.4% from FY 2021-22 to $114.12 million in FY 2022-23, Boothe said. According to the budget, the additional funding largely stems from an expected 18.4%
ment projects program—which is sep- arate from the general fund—during the budget proposal process, such as postponing a fire station in the Grand Central Park area to FY 2027-28 and reducing Carl Barton Jr. Park improve- ments to $500,000 this fiscal year. The city further cut $150,000 in external audits from its FY 2022-23 budget during a Sept. 8 meeting to adopt a tax rate of $0.4272 per $100 valuation, which lowers the tax rate from $0.4375 and is $0.0008 lower than the voter-approval tax rate city officials previously said they would adopt—the maximum rate a city may set without needing voter approval. “That [lower tax rate] would give the citizens the small tax break; it would protect the extra jobs for fire and police. ... It would add money to our bottom line in the general fund. ... I feel like this would be a win-win for Conroe,” Council Member Curt Mad- dux said Sept. 8. Council members adopted the bud- get and tax rate 4-1 on Sept. 8. However, the adopted rate is $0.0699 higher than the no-new rev- enue tax rate—the rate that would produce the same amount of revenue year over year, according to the city. Boothe said the city is working to continue providing tax relief to prop- erty owners outside of lowering the
Conroe lowered its tax rate, which remains above the no-new revenue rate.
$0.4175
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23
$0.4375 $0.4375 $0.4375
$0.4272
LOOKING AT MONTGOMERY Montgomery city officials said they will balance expenses exceeding revenue through the city’s reserves.
Thus, two officer positions were added in the budget. The city also added a parks and recreation coordinator, who will be
Montgomery's tax rate has stayed consistent at per $100 valuation since 2018, which is higher than the no- new revenue rate. $0.40
REVENUE: FY 2021-22
+7.8%
$5.35M
partially funded by the city and the Montgomery Economic Development Corp., McCorquodale said. He said this position will help with events in the city as well as creating more events within the parks. “Whether it’s a summer type pro- gram for kids, ... an art class for seniors, ... we hope to get more peo- ple in the parks with some structured activities,” McCorquodale said.
FY 2022-23
$5.77M
EXPENDITURES:
+7.7%
FY 2021-22
$5.4M
$5.82M
FY 2022-23
NEW POSITIONS BUDGETED:
2 police officers
1 parks and recreation coordinator
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
SOURCES: CITY OF MONTGOMERY, CITY OF CONROE/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
27
CONROE - MONTGOMERY EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
Powered by FlippingBook