What’s News in The Hill Council to Vote on 2020 Tax Dec rease At press time, we await City Council’s decision to officially approve the city’s property tax decrease for the second year in a row. Mayor Rick Hall shared with us that he is 99 percent certain of a “Yes” vote, but it is not a guarantee. Residents are invited to participate in the public hearing on the city budget and tax cut, scheduled for September 14. After the hearing—at 6:30pm— council will vote to approve both. City Finance Director Becky Wilkins explains the Council took its first look at the proposed $1.491 million 2020/2021 operating budget, which includes a recommendation for a 4 cent property tax rate reduction on August 24. They took a roll call vote and unanimously approved the proposed decreased rate of $0.454559.
WHAT IT IS
Tax bills are based on the city’s annually adopted tax rate and the certified value of an individual property, as established by the Williamson County Appraisal District. Tax rates are assigned to every $100 in value for a property; e.g., a home appraised at $200,000 with a tax rate of 5 percent will receive a tax bill for $100. Becky says, “Even with the tax decrease, the new budget will raise an additional $300,879 from property taxes; 93 percent of that revenue will be from new properties.” In the aggregate, new properties have increased the taxable value of the city overall by 18 percent; the total for 2020 is $410,244,123.
“NO” VOTE IMPACT
Tax rates are subject to a ceiling, so if Council has to revisit the plan, the rates can only go lower. Becky explains, “We were very conservative with the budget planning due to COVID. We wanted to make sure we left room for flexibility if residents were unable to pay their taxes on time. The impact might only be a delay in creating new positions or acquiring new equipment, but there will be no decrease in services.”
“YES” VOTE IMPACT
While the property tax bill goes down, sales tax in Liberty Hill is growing faster than in many other municipalities. Tax revenues have previously been very dependent on “rooftop” tax, but with several new businesses opening, sales tax will make up that difference. Becky explains, “Sales tax reporting is about two months behind actual, and during the shutdown, we kept expecting a bad month, which never came. We are up 34 percent this year, mostly thanks to the people who live here. Everyone stayed home, then shopped and ate locally, which not only supported our business owners, but our tax base as well. For their part, our local businesses adapted quickly to curbside and home delivery, so recovery was ongoing rather than an event after the fact. Looking forward, as more businesses come to town, we can look at reducing taxes on homes even more, which is good for homeowners.” The public hearing will be September 14 at 6pm at 2801 Ranch Rd, 1869. Citizens’ comments regarding the proposed Annual Budget are welcome. SEPTEMBER 2020 LIBERTY HILL DIGEST
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