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Home My WebLink AboutMIN 08.20.2007 CC-WThe City Council of the City of Georgetown, Texas, met in Special Session on the above date with Mayor Gary Nelon presiding. Council Present. Council Absent, Patty Eason, Gabe Sansing, Keith Brainard, Bill Farley Snell, Ben Oliver Sattler, Pat Berryman . Staff Present: Paul E. Brandenburg, City Manager; Micki Rundell, Director of Finance and Administration; Patricia E. Carls, City Attorney; Jessica Hamilton, Deputy City Secretary; Leticia Zavala, Controller; Anthony Lincoln, Fire Chief; Jim Briggs, Assistant City Manager for Utility Operations '• 11 pallrel7plypp'11111�111111111111111 Ill -• •• • •iiiiiiiiii Ill 1 1111111 •'ilill i'� tl1W J1 Public Hearing on the proposed 2007 Property Tax Rate included in the 2007/08 Annual Operating Plan -- Micki Rundell, Director Finance & Administration Mayor welcomed the audience and introduced Micki Rundell, who gave a presentation on the proposed tax rate. Rundell gave an overview of property taxes. She said ad valorem taxes are in proportion to value, which is the taxable value of a person's home and personal property. She added this value is determined by an outside agency known as the Williamson Central Appraisal District. She said WCAD determines the "market value" of the property within the City Limits, and the City's property tax rate is set by the Council. She noted the taxes fund the on-going General Fund operations as well as debt for general government improvements. Rundell said the calculation for the City tax levy is based on the tax rate, multiplied by the taxable value, divided by one hundred dollars. She said the City allows property tax exemptions such as the $5,000 general homestead exemption, an additional $12,000 homestead exemption if the homeowner is over the age of 65, and a $40,000 exemption for the disabled; saying the City freezes taxes for those who are over 65 and disabled. Rundell said this year's General Fund budget totals slightly more than $33.5 million, which is a 19% increase from the 2006/07 budget. She said it includes increased Contingency Reserve Funds totaling $5.85 million. Rundell reviewed the key General Fund programs such as the creation of the Community Project Manager, the Transportation Services Division, the Transit System Master Plan, and the continuing implementation of the Downtown Master Plan. She said public safety is a big part of this budget, and noted the City will continue to improve public safety and response services such as the squad program in Fire; a Computer Aided Dispatch System replacement; the "IMPACT" team in the Police Department; the implementation of Phase I of the Digital Video Management System; and the expansion of the warrant collection program. She said there will be 22.5 new positions in Public Safety. Rundell detailed the Parks and Recreation programs including the playground replacement plan; upgrading the baseball field at San Gabriel Park; developing the City skate park; major repairs at River Ridge pool; and the completion of funding for the expansion of the Recreation Center. She said other programs include the implementation of Phase 2 of the GIS plan; continuing the next phase of the Comprehensive Plan Update; developing a housing element for the Comprehensive Plan; and a part time video producer position. She said the total cost of the new General Fund programs is $1.7 million. She spoke about the allocation of funds to police, fire, community development, transportation, and other departments. She said other General Fund increases include social services, children's programming, public art funding, and employee compensation. Rundell said there are many one-time funding projects that are included in this budget. She said one-time projects are usually funded with the 06/07 year-end excess money, the funds remaining after expenses are met. She said the key one-time projects include the renovation of city offices for Municipal Court; River Ridge pool repairs; baseball field upgrades in San Gabriel Park; and various Police equipment upgrades. City Council Meeting Minutes/August 20, 2007 Page 1 of 2 Pages Rundell explained the "four legged stool," or the four sources of funding for the General Fund. She spoke about return on investment, property taxes, charges for service, and sales tax. She showed Council a graph of General Fund comparisons from the past six years and noted the revenue has increased consistently. She spoke about the 2006/07 tax supported debt. She said there will be $4.3 million of tax supported debt, including $2.1 million for public safety vehicles and equipment; $1.6 million for general capital projects; and $618,000 for streets. She said the debt per capita continues to be relatively high compared to previous years. She said the $1,105 debt per capita includes all of the tax -supported debt that was related to the 2004 bond issue. Rundell went over the 2007/08 tax highlights. She said the 2007 assessed valuation is slightly more than $3.6 billion. She added this is net of $89 million in TIF districts, including $336 million in new and annexed property. She said it also includes $722 million in frozen property. She said the increase is more in the commercial areas than frozen value. She said the City has more than tripled its valuation in ten years and noted the City's assessed valuation per capita continues to be exceptionally strong at $76,261. She spoke about the taxable value by property class saying the commerical property value represents 23%, the personal property value represents 7%, and the residential property value represents 70% of the total taxable value. She said the components of the tax rate are Operations and Maintenance (O&M), which funds the General Fund portion; and the Interest and Sinking (I&S), which funds tax supported debt payments. Rundell defined the effective rate and said it is $0.34216. She said the proposed 2007 tax rate is $0.35659, which includes $0.032 sales tax for property tax relief. Rundell noted the rollback rate is $0.37527. She said it is the calculated maximum rate allowed by law without voter approval. She said the 2007/08 proposed tax rate is $0.35659, which is a 4.2% increase over the effective rate. She added it is a 0% increase in the O&M rate and a 4.2% increase in I&S. She compared last year's tax rate components with this year's components. She noted last year's total proposed tax rate was $0.36728 and this year's is $0.35659, which is a 2.9% actual tax rate decrease. She showed Council a graph comparing Georgetown's property tax rate with other tax rates in the area. She said Georgetown has the lowest proposed tax rate of any city in this area. Brainard asked and Rundell confirmed that we have the highest assessed valuation per capita in the County. She said this does not mean that we have the lowest tax bill, but the City does have the lowest tax rate. She added tax bills are based upon the assessed valuation of the home itself and Georgetown has the highest assessed valuation in the area. Rundell said the average home values have increased substantially. She said this is the taxable value before exemptions, and the 2007 average home value is $183,970. She added this is a 9.7% increase over the prior year average of $167,557. She showed Council a graph of the average home value and said the City had the largest increase in home value over the past five years. She said this creates a 6.9% increase or a difference of $41.15 a year in property tax annually. Rundell explained the tax rate adoption process. She said the City is required to hold two public hearings. She added the Council will then vote on levying the tax rate saying the first reading will be on August 30 and the second will be on September 11. She noted the fiscal year begins on October 1 and the taxes will be levied at that time. Public Hearing was opened at 4:19 pm. Speaker, Keith Peshak, shared his opinion on the City's purchase of police squad cars; the amount of taxes that go toward medical costs for City employees and fire department training; the cost associated with the airport control tower and the Wolf Ranch shopping center. Speaker, Maurice Greenburg, said he recently sat down the with tax assessor to go over his tax bill. He asked Council if they knew how much an acre of land costs. He said an acre of land along Williams Dr. can cost anywhere from $90,000 to $130,000 depending on the relation of the land to Georgetown proper. He said the tax assessor priced an acre of land in Sun City at an average of $420,000. He questioned the validity of this assessment and believes this is one of the reasons the tax rate has gone up. Mayor said there will be a second public hearing on this topic on August 27. Public Hearing was closed at 4:24pm The meeting was adjourned at 04:25 PM. City Council Meeting Minutes/August 20, 2007 Page 2 of 2 Pages Attest: - Cit ecretary , s ic"amilton v