HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 08.31.2006 CC-SOF THE GOVERNING BODY
Thursday, August 31, 2006 — 6:00 P.M.
Georgetown City Council Chamber
101 E. 7th Street
Council Present: Mayor Gary Nelon,
Patty Eason, Mayor Pro Tem Doug Smith,
Pat Berryman, Henry Carr, Gabe Sansing
Council Absent: Ben Oliver, Farley Snell
The meeting was called to Order at 6:00 p.m.
Georgetown, Texas
Staff Present: Paul Brandenburg, City Manager,
Shirley Rinn, Deputy City Secretary, Micki Rundell,
Director of Finance and Administration, Leticia
Zavala, Acting Controller, Jim Briggs, Assistant City
Manaager
A. Public hearing on the proposed 2006/07 Property Tax Rate,
The Public Hearing was opened at 6:00 p.m.
With a slide presentation, Rundell gave an overview of the property tax rate, including a recap of the
appraised valuation, the proposed property tax rates, a comparison of rate components, a comparison of
property tax rates in cities within Central Texas, as well as the tax increase impacts on existing
homeowners.
Rundell
gave
an explanation
regarding how the frozen valuations are calculated into the effective tax
rate. She
told
the Council the
frozen valuations do drive up the effective rate.
Public Comment:
Byron Raney — He told the Council that his valuation is not frozen. He acknowledged the difficulty that
Council has doing their jobs. However, he indicated that there has been a substantial increase in
revenues, i.e. sales tax, and the new revenue from the new Emergency Service District. He said that he
would like to appeal to City Council to keep the same effective tax rate due to the increased revenues in
addition to the increased property valuations.
Joseph Carpenter— Discussed the appraisal value of his home, as well as the taxes he pays. He also
discussed the increased revenues. He went on to discuss his opinion about how the City Council and
staff can lose the community's trust over time.
Ernie Ortiz — Said that he moved here from Los Angeles. He addressed the inspection of the new homes
being built in Sun City and his concerns about the quality of the inspections on those homes. He told the
Council that several years ago the State of California passed Proposition 13, which was a homeowner tax
revolt. It passed, and now property taxes could only increase by 1% per year. He said Georgetown is
headed that direction if the taxes keep going up. He told the Council that he was a first-time speaker
Meeting Minutes
Public Hearing regarding 2006/07 proposed tax rate and budget
Page 1 of 2
before City officials. He ended with a question to Council: "Why do you need a 6% increase, what are
you spending it on?"
Bonnie Zono — She told the Council that she is new to Texas and that she probably wouldn't have moved
here from Pennsylvania if she had realized that taxes were so high. She wanted to know if there was a
cap on the tax rate. Rundell confirmed the state legislature has a $2.00 cap on city taxes. Ms. Zono
indicated that she didn't know whether moving down here for the weather was worth it or not.
The Public Hearing was closed at 6:18 p.m.
The Mayor told the audience that the tax rate would be taken up at the September 12th Council Meeting.
B. Public hearing on the 2006/07 proposed Annual Operating Plan (Budget).
The Public Hearing was opened at 6:19 p.m.
Rundell gave a summary of the proposed budget. With a slide presentation, Rundell explained the
budget of $154 million, including projected revenues and expenses, highlights of the programs in the
proposed budget, an explanation of the contingency reserves, the proposed property tax rate of $0.36728,
the property tax increase impact on homeowners, a property tax comparison with other cities within the
central Texas area, sales tax projections, utility rates, comparison of combined monthly rates (including
utilities and total taxes) with other cities in the central Texas area, highlights regarding the Utility and
General Capital Improvement Plan, as well as the proposed debt obligation in the proposed budget. She
told the Council that all council priorities have been addressed in the proposed budget.
Public Comment:
Joseph Carpenter — suggested that if the Council thought that much of Round Rock they should live
there. He also stated that if the City Council was 'for' something in the future he would be against it and
make sure that it was defeated at election time.
Byron Raney — He told the Council that he appreciates the utility service he receives from Georgetown.
However, he discussed his concerns about the debt obligation of approximately 10-11%, if you take out
the Utility. He indicated that he thought that the City is carrying a lot of debt and that as we move
forward the City should float less debt obligations in the future.
The Public Hearing was closed at 6:36 p.m.
APPROVED:
Gary
Mayor
The meeting was adjourned at 6:36 p.m.
ATTEST:
Meeting Minutes
Public Hearing regarding 2006/07 proposed tax rate and budget
Page 2 of 2
Rinn, Det.y City Secretary