LOCAL

Round Rock City Council votes yes on first reading for budget, tax rate

Sarah Asch
sasch@statesman.com
The Round Rock City Council met for a packet briefing on Tuesday to discuss Thursday's meeting agenda, which includes the first vote on the city's budget and property tax rate

The Round Rock City Council unanimously voted in favor of the city’s proposed budget and tax rate Thursday night. This was the first of two required votes, and the second vote will occur at the council’s next regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 10.

The $420.2 million proposed budget is lower than what the city adopted last year because of ongoing pandemic-related economic hardships, according to the city’s Chief Financial Officer Susan Morgan. She said the city achieved these reductions through hiring freezes and other targeted cuts.

The council also approved the proposed property tax rate of 43.9 cent per $100 of valuation, which is the same as the city’s current tax rate. However, because home values in Round Rock are rising, this rate would add about three dollars a month to the median homeowner’s property taxes.

The increase in funding will allow the city to budget $3 million to fund neighborhood street maintenance next year. The additional funds would help the city get back on track after the council, as part of coronavirus-related budget cuts, pulled the plug on $4.3 million that had been set aside for street maintenance this year.

The city has spent $37.1 million on the neighborhood street program since 2012. Round Rock spokesman Will Hampton said that if the city falls behind its future maintenance plan, costs will only grow.

The 43.9-cent maximum tax rate is slightly above the “no new revenue rate” of 42.6 cents, which would keep the city’s property tax revenue the same as the current fiscal year. It is below the “voter approval rate” of 46.1 cents, which is the rate the city cannot exceed without sending the decision to a vote by residents.

During the public hearing portions of the meeting, no residents spoke about the tax rate or the budget.

The council also voted to extend the city’s emergency ordinance requiring face coverings in businesses and other locations to curb the spread of COVID-19. Mayor Craig Morgan spoke in favor of renewing the mask requirements, especially with Labor Day weekend coming up and schools opening soon.

“Since we’ve implemented this mask ordinances it does seem that hospitalizations are leveling off and new cases are decreasing,” he said.

The council also approved two construction contracts for paving projects and a contract for a Lake Georgetown chemical feed system. The system will pump small amounts of the chemical sodium permanganate into the pipeline to kill any zebra mussels that get past the new metal screens, which council also recently approved. The chemical will help prevent the creatures from attaching to the inside of the pipes and reducing the water flow capacity.

The council also voted to approve a $5.2 million five-year contract with Star Shuttle to provide paratransit bus services. These services supplement the city’s fixed-route public transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. A portion of the contract will be covered by federal funding, including funding from the CARES Act.