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Certified tax rolls were released on July 25 by Dallas and Denton County appraisal districts, giving local municipalities the final information needed to complete proposed budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.
Carrollton experienced a 3.6 increase in its tax base.
“Overall we are up in the general fund -- that is the good news,” Chief Financial Director Bob Scott said. “Almost all revenues are predicted to be higher this year.”
The weather, while taking a toll on energy and water supplies, has helped boost the economy, Scott said.
“The economy is generally strong - ironically the weather has helped,” he said. “You are probably using more [electricity] right now because of the hot weather and that has helped. Water activity is also up overall because of the hot, dry weather.”
In the preliminary budget, the city did not include any adjustment in the current tax rate, but it did show a small increase of $0.29 in the solid waste contract. The council will make changes and decide on the final budget before September.
“New construction in Carrollton is at $130 million, that is lower than in the past several years, yet with a fairly low level of increase in tax we managed to go up 3.6 percent,” Scott said. “We are not growing by leaps and bounds, but this year we did fairly well. We are able to add public safety improvements to the budget this year by adding a sergeant and three police officers.”
In Coppell, the net taxable value of property in the city increased by 6.5 percent, meaning, if taxes remain at the same rate, city revenues will increase.
According to Phillips, the growth in tax base was more than projected, giving the council room to decrease tax rates if chooses to.
“We anticipate growth in our tax base very year, and we count on that because it helps us offset increases in expenses,” Phillips said. “This year we projected a 4 percent growth, so it is better than we were anticipating and our revenues will be better than anticipated so the council is contemplating lowering the tax rate.
However, the sustained increase in fuel and electricity costs, and natural inflation rates, may prompt the council to keep the unexpected revenue to cover those rising costs. The city council will discuss the issue at its Aug. 8 meeting.
“We have to pay the same increases everyone else does in their own homes and businesses,” Phillips said.
While residential sections of Coppell are nearing build-out, much of the increase in property value, Phillips said, is due to commercial expansion on the city’s west side.
“And that was by design,” he said. “What we anticipate over the next few years is for the west side of the city to continue to develop and add growth to the tax roll.”
Traditionally, city staff begins working on the budget in January or February for the next fiscal year, running from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. A preliminary budget was finalized in the last of four budget workshops on July 27.
“The city is required to hold two public hearings on the budget, and the council is expected to vote on the budget during the first council meeting in September,” Phillips said.
Phillips said there are some small changes in the budget from last year, but much of the department allocations will remain the same.
“As far as major initiatives, most of it will go into maintaining what we are doing today,” he said. “There are a few personnel changes, like we will have a few more officers for neighborhood patrol.”
In Flower Mound, the property tax base increased by 6.32 percent, and, according to city spokesperson Michael Ryan, the bulk of the increase is due to greater commercial and economic development.
“Our Economic Development efforts in the Lakeside Business District, as well as our goal of attracting quality retail development, continue to be successful,” Ryan said.
Flower Mound forecast a 5 percent increase from last year, so the number released proved to be a pleasant surprise. The city staff and council members will now move to finalize and approve the budget.
“The certified tax rolls serve an important forecasting function in our budgeting process for the next fiscal year,” he said. “We will continue to focus on our priorities of infrastructure improvements, park and recreational facility development and providing a high level of service to our residents.”
The city of Lewisville showed one of the smallest increases in its property tax base with a rise of 2.6 percent in net taxable value.
“We have given a preliminary budget, and we have no increase or decrease in tax rates based on what we expect to see this year,” Budget and Research Director Gina Thompson said.
Lewisville is also experiencing a decrease in telecommunications fees, like much of the nation, because people are abandoning traditional land lines for cell phones and the Internet, which aren’t taxed by the city.
The Lewisville City Council will decide on the final budget on Aug. 19.
