Government
BY SAM SCHAFFER
New Liberty Hill police chief to prioritize outreach
Liberty Hill raises tax rate by almost $0.03 Liberty Hill’s property tax rate is set to increase by $0.02847 per $100 of taxable home value. City Council approved the scal year 2024- 25 property tax rate of $0.483029 per $100 valuation during its Sept. 25 meeting. Zooming in Of the money collected, $0.317978 per $100 valuation will go toward operations and maintenance, while the rest of the money collected by the city, $0.165049 per $100 valuation, will go toward servicing the city’s debts, according to the agenda item. City documents state the two portions of the tax rate may not equal the sum due to fractional di erences in rounding. The rate change comes after council passed a $12.32 million 2024-25 budget.
Liberty Hill’s new police chief was sworn in during City Council’s Sept. 25 meeting. Chief Je Ringsta said his goal is to build strong bonds between his police force and the community it serves. Royce Graeter held the role previously, according to a city news release, but he left around two months ago. “Chief Ringsta is an experienced and proven leader that will be able to take the department to a new level of service and professionalism, while protecting and serving the Liberty Hill community,” City Manager Paul Brandenburg said in a news release. “We are honored that he will be leading the department.” Career history Ringsta said he started with the Liberty Hill Police Department as an unpaid reserve o cer in 2006, months after the department itself had formed. He was hired as a full-time patrol o cer the next year.
“If the public’s comfortable talking to the o cers, they’re going to give a lot more information about things that we need to know about to help protect the community.” JEFF RINGSTAFF, LIBERTY HILL POLICE CHIEF
The plan Ringsta said proactive policing, where o cers are present and building relationships in the community, is important for e ective policing. Ringsta said providing resources to the community and being available for people who need assistance, even if it’s not necessarily related to policing, is important to the department. Keeping up with technology is another priority for the department, he said.
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