Brownwood News – Citing the loss of two large revenue sources, the Brownwood City Council is proposing a tax rate increase for the first time since 1999. A posting on the city’s website also noted “expenses outside our control have increased dramatically.” Extensive cuts were made to the proposed budget, but cuts alone could not balance the budget.

 

“Instead of multiple fee increases, the Council is proposing a .0483 cent tax rate increase and a few small utility fee increases,” said Brownwood City Manager Emily Crawford in a recent email. “The overall monthly impact of the proposed 2017-2018 tax and fees is about $7.05 per household.  For residents with the over 65 and disabled tax freeze, they will not pay any additional property tax.”

New state mandated TCEQ wastewater treatment regulations required the City to upgrade the fifty year-old wastewater treatment plant, costing $6.5 million. Funds were issued from a Certificate of Obligation with an annual debt service payment of $338,516. In addition, the City of Early is building their own wastewater treatment facility, which will result in the reduction of revenue to the City of Brownwood of approximately $252,000 per year.

Employee health insurance rates increased 14% or $271,457. There is no cost of living raise for city employees in the proposed budget.

The drought from 2011-2014 caused significant changes in consumer buying habits and water use, which impacts the City significantly. Historically, water sales made up 21% of the city budget. That amount is now about 18%.

Increased online shopping caused several national retailers to close small market stores, including five stores in Brownwood. Sales tax revenues have historically funded 17% of the budget. With the overall reduction in sales tax revenues, the city now anticipates this to be approximately 15% which is a reduction of over $412,000.

Council considered several options to replace the revenue shortfall. One was a 5-10% increase in fees, such as water, sewer, sanitation, landfill, facility rentals, permit fees, etc. One was an increase in property tax rates only, and one was a combination of fees and taxes. The Council determined a combination of small fee increases and the first property tax increase in 18 years as the most equitable solution.

  • Property Tax – Since 1999, the property tax rate has decreased from $.7946 to the current rate of $.7463. The city council is proposing going back to the 1999 tax rate, which is an increase of 6.5%. Seniors and disabled who qualify for a tax freeze will not be impacted by the tax increase, benefiting people on a limited income.
  • Sanitation & Landfill – The fee increases proposed include a 4% increase in Sanitation rates to cover the cost of two new trash trucks and increased maintenance on an aging fleet of trash trucks. This would add .84¢ per month to a residential bill. Sanitation rates have not changed in five years. The city council is also proposing an increase in the landfill gate rate from $40 per ton to $42 to dispose of waste at the landfill. The landfill rate has not increased in nine years.
  • Water Consumption & Sewer – An increase of 1.8% on the water consumption rate will be required to cover the Brown County Water Improvement District water rate increase. That will raise the average residential water bill (10 units) by 40¢ per month. The sewer rate will go up 8.4% or 26¢ per 100 cubic foot, raising the average residential sewer payment $2.08 per month to pay for the plant renovation.

The overall monthly impact of the proposed 2017-2018 tax and fees is about $7.05 per household. This is based on the average property value of $92,750 and average water and sewer use.

The City Council will conduct a public hearing on the proposed budget at 9:00 AM on August 22, 2017.  Anyone desiring to address the City Council on the proposed budget will be given the opportunity during the public hearing.