Public hearing on budgets for Wimberley and New Braunfels

Tomorrow the City of Wimberley will have its preliminary discussions for adopting its 2024-2025 Fiscal Year budget, and the City of New Braunfels has released its proposed 2024-2025 FY budget.

Right now, our local taxing entities are in the process of drafting and adopting their new budgets. Because of the ever-rising cost of living, every penny counts, and any tax relief even more so! People are concerned about their rising valuations. I committed to encouraging all of the local taxing entities in HD 73 to adopt the No New Revenue rate, a tax rate that would produce the same revenue as the previous year, resulting in a lowered rate to offset the increased revenue caused by inflated home appraisals.

This Thursday, August 15th, the City of Wimberley will have its monthly city council meeting. On the agenda is the preliminary discussions for the adoption of their proposed 2024-2025 FY Budget (you can view this here. I encourage all of you to attend this meeting and urge your elected officials to adopt the No New Revenue Rate to maintain lower tax rates for Wimberley residents. The meeting will take place at 6pm at the Wimberley City Hall, 221 Stillwater Rd., Wimberley, TX 78676.

Additionally, the City of New Braunfels has released its 2024-2025 FY budget, which you can view here, and it is not looking good for taxpayers. Previously, from FY 2023 to FY 2024, city planners intended to maintain the same total tax rate, i.e. $0.408936 per $100 of value. The overall mix of M&O vs. I&S will change, but the proposed total tax rate will remain unchanged. "This rate remains effectively flat compared to the previous fiscal year, with a shift of half a penny from the debt service portion to the general fund portion." The proposed tax rate is above the no-new-revenue tax rate ($0.3982/$100 value) but below the voter-approval tax rate ($0.4180/$100 value). 

Now, the average homestead taxable value is estimated to have increased by 4.95% from 2023 to 2024. The pairing of a flat tax rate (i.e. $0.408936/$100 value) + the increase in property values (+4.95%) means the average homeowner should expect a 5% increase in their property tax bill. The city estimates it will increase from $1,096 to $1,150. If the city adopts the proposed total tax rate, then it anticipates reaping an additional 6.41% in property tax revenues. All-in-all, it's a tax increase and the public should not be fooled by any talk of keeping the tax rate the same. New Braunfels City Council intends to hold a public hearing to consider adoption of this budget on September 5, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. We must make our voices heard and push for the tax relief Texans need. 

In the following weeks, I will continue to urge local taxing entities to combat rising property taxes and support transparency throughout their budgeting processes and update you all on upcoming meetings.