CITY & COUNTY
News from Pearland & Friendswood
QUOTE OF NOTE
City Council pauses on increasing homestead exemption PEARLAND City Council did not reach a consensus on whether to move forward with a potential home- stead increase for Pearland residents at a June 5 workshop. BY RACHEL LELAND Long story short : According to the city’s presentation, because residents would be required to pay less in Council voted to keep the homestead exemption rate at 2.5% because increasing it would save homeowners little and raise businesses’ tax bills. STAYING THE COURSE
Pearland City Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. July 24 for a regular meeting at 3519 Liberty Drive, Pearland. Meetings can be streamed on the city’s official YouTube page. Friendswood City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Aug. 7 at 910 S. Friendswood Drive, Friendswood. Meeting recordings are posted to the city’s YouTube channel. MEETINGS WE COVER HIGHLIGHTS PEARLAND Former Pearland Mayor Emeritus Tom Reid died June 24, according to a post on the city of Pearland’s Facebook page. He was 97. Reid served the city for over 44 years, and during his tenure he expanded public services, developed new public facilities and saw the creation of new job opportunities. Mayor Kevin Cole said Reid was an “inspiration and friend” he will miss dearly. Cole said Reid’s legacy will always be an important part of Pearland and that Cole hopes he can build upon it. Reid’s celebration of life service was held July 1 at First Church, 1850 Broadway St., Pearland. “THE ONLY WAY ORGA- NIZATIONS CAN SURVIVE OFF OF THE NO-NEW-REV- ENUE RATE IS IF THEY’RE HAVING A HIGH-GROWTH AREA. UNFORTUNATELY WE’RE NOT SEEING NEW VALUES BEING ADDED TO GROUND IN TERMS OF NEW CONSTRUCTION FAST ENOUGH TO KEEP UP WITH THE INCREASES IN DEBT SERVICES AND THE INCREASES IN INFLATION.” MORAD KABIRI, CITY MANAGER
taxes, the tax rate would need to be increased, thus making businesses that are not eligible for the exemp- tion pay more. Officials estimated the city has about 30,000 taxable homesteads in the city. According to the presentation, with a 20% homestead exemption, on average, homeowners would save approximately $38 annually, whereas businesses could experience annual impacts ranging from $197 to $65,300. Quote of note : “If you went to 20%, it has a significant impact on the budget, and you would need to adjust your tax rate accordingly, [and] then it would shift burden to the busi- nesses,” Mayor Kevin Cole said. “So the real question is, how do you this, when do you do it and what’s the
Average residential tax bill Average restaurant tax bill
Two-minute impact: Homestead exemptions are tax breaks that apply to homes by exempting part of the home’s value from taxation. The workshop aimed to understand the potential impact of raising the homestead exemption from 2.5% to 20% on residents, businesses and the city’s budget. To understand the impact of rais- ing the homestead exemption, city officials presented a table showing the tax implications for residents, small and large businesses, hotels, and restaurants at the current homestead exemption rate of 2.5% and at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%.
$1,731
$17,874
20%
$16,941
$1,743
15%
$16,100
$1,754
10%
$15,338
$1,764
5%
$14,984
$1,769
2.5%
SOURCE: CITY OF PEARLAND/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
long-term implications to do it?” Cole also added he hoped any change made would have the backing of the majority of City Council.
Tax rate increase in FY 2023-24 a possibility for Friendswood residents
Friendswood’s projected fiscal year 2023-24 budget totals $37.2 million and includes a projected tax rate of $0.5294 per $100 valuation. BUDGET BREAKDOWN
BY RENEE FARMER
increase to the tax rate.
Franchise taxes: $2.08M Nontax revenue: $5.61M Sales taxes: $8.94M Property taxes: $20.57M
FRIENDSWOOD A preliminary look at the city of Friendswood’s bud- get shows the potential for an 8.6% tax rate increase. The gist: Director of Administrative Services Katina Hampton presented a preliminary fiscal year 2023-24 budget to Friendswood City Council during its June 5 meeting. The $37.2 million budget would require a $0.04
The breakdown: The tax rate has sat at $0.4873 per $100 valuation since 2021. Factors contributing to the need for an increase include the issuance of bonds, paying emergency man- agement services and maintenance expenses for new projects, according to agenda documents. Staff anticipate the need for a tax rate increase to $0.5294.
SOURCE: CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
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PEARLAND - FRIENDSWOOD EDITION • JULY 2023
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