City will hold budget hearing March 6

Tax rate expected to drop

A public hearing will be held Monday, March 6, on the proposed 2018 municipal budget.  Under the plan, local taxpayers will see the city’s portion of their tax bill drop for a second straight year.

The proposed tax rate for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1 and ends on June 30, 2018, is $9.80 per $1,000 of assessed taxable valuation.

For fiscal year 2017 the tax rate was decreased by nearly 50-cents per $1,000, from $10.54 to $10.04 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.

City Administrator Scott Flory reviewed the budget proposal with the City Council Monday night, saying the taxable valuation for the 2018 fiscal year continues the positive trend of growth in the community.

The taxable valuation for fiscal year 2018 is $586,296,745, which is an increase of $38,580,902 (6.5 percent) from fiscal year 2017.

The proposed fiscal year 2018 budget reflects total expenditures among various programs of slightly over $14 million, of which $8 million is directed toward operations and maintenance, $5.4 million is directed toward capital, and $635,000 to debt service.

The projected ending cash balance for June 30, 2018 in the General Fund is $3.4 million, which is roughly 52 percent of the general fund operating budget.

Flory noted the City’s debt limit for fiscal year 2018 is $46.8 million and the City currently has used only $2.3 million, or 5 percent, of its General Obligation debt borrowing capacity. That level of indebtedness is considered to be one of the lowest in the nation for a city of Clear Lake’s size, said Flory.

After the March 6 hearing the Council is expected to approve the budget and submit it to the County Auditor by the March 15 deadline.