Kyle City Council Approves 2013-2014 City Budget

The Kyle City Council approved the City’s Budget for Fiscal-Year 2013-14 at their Special Called meeting on September 4, 2013. The $45.36 million budget allows for all City programs and services to continue at their current levels and includes a new street maintenance program, but does not provide for any new employees or facilities.

“I am very pleased with the work of the council and city staff in the development of this budget,” said Kyle Mayor Lucy Johnson. “We’ve come a long way in terms of getting our fiscal house in order over the past couple of years and I think this budget provides a great value of services for our citizens.”

The approved budget does not raise the Maintenance & Operations portion of the property tax rate that funds the operations of the city. The portion on the property tax that funds debt payments will increase from $0.2541 per $100 of assessed taxable valuations to $0.2780.

The increase in property taxes will raise approximately $349,000 to cover debt obligations for the fiscal year. These debt obligations include the first series of six bonds contemplated for the $36 million road bond package approved by Kyle voters in the May general election.

“We worked very hard to be able to present a budget with no increase in the operations portion of the property tax rate,” said Kyle City Manager Lanny Lambert. “Our city continues to grow and generate new revenue through that growth, which is a key factor in allowing us to be able to keep our property tax rates steady.”

The total property tax rate in the approved budget will increase from $0.5244 per $100 of taxable valuation to $0.5483, an increase of $0.0239. The increase in property taxes is expected to cost the average homeowner in Kyle $30.15 per year, or $2.51 per month.

The proposed budget also includes a 20% increase in water rates and a 10% increase in wastewater rates. These rate increases represent the third year of a three-year plan to bring revenues from the City’s water and wastewater utility into balance with the utility’s expenses. Other rates that the city charges for various services will also increase approximately 5% in order to keep up with rising costs for those services.

The City Council conducted a total of 5 budget workshops that included public hearings where citizens were able to communicate their concerns about the budget to the council. The council also heard presentations from City staff on each department’s proposed budgets.

“Approving a city budget that is responsive to the needs and expectations of our citizens is probably the most important job of the city council,” said Johnson.  “By making this budget process as open and transparent as possible, I think we were able to achieve that goal.”

The City of Kyle Budget for FY 2013-2014 will be available on the city’s website at CityofKyle.com and can also be viewed at the Kyle City Hall and Public Library.