Hearing is Friday for City’s 2022 budget proposal

by Marianne Gasaway

The City of Clear Lake is scheduled to hold a public hearing and adopt its Fiscal Year 2021 amended and Fiscal Year 2022 budget proposal Monday, March 15.

The proposed City tax rate for the 2022 Fiscal Year, which begins on July 1, 2021 and ends on June 30, 2022, is proposed to remain unchanged from its current rate of $9.70 per $1,000 of taxable valuation.  If approved, it will be the sixth consecutive year the city has held its tax rate steady.

The proposed tax rate of $9.70 per $1,000 of taxable valuation will result in a tax bill for City government services of $786 in 2021-22 for a residential property with an assessed valuation of $150,000 (with Homestead Credit).  

City Administrator Scott Flory explains the property tax impact resulting from the proposed FY22 tax rate will be approximately $19 a year more for a residential property with an assessed valuation of $150,000 in Clear Lake.  This is attributable to the increase by the State in the residential rollback.

The taxable valuation for the 2022 fiscal year continues the positive trend of growth in the community.

The taxable valuation for FY 2022 is $728,071,665, which is a $33,256,991 increase (4.5 percent) from FY 2021.  

Total expenditures among various programs are projected at  just over $14.9 million, of which $9.7 million is directed to operations and maintenance; $4.5 million toward capital; and roughly $700,000 to debt service.  Projected ending cash balance for June 30, 2022 in the General Fund is $4,970,908, which is roughly 62 percent of the General Fund operating budget.

In Fiscal Year 2022, property taxes will represent roughly 40 percent of total revenues.

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Flory notes the City’s Constitutional debt limit for FY22 is $58,387,515 and the City currently has used only 4.8 percent ($2,788,500) of its General Obligation borrowing capacity, which is also one of the lowest levels of debt in the state.  Generally, municipal finance advisors suggest operating in the 60-70 percent range.

Clear Lake will rank among the five lowest tax rates in the state for cities with a population of greater than 4,000.

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