Friday, May 3, 2024
With both inflation and property valuations through the roof, City Manager Chris Coffman has proposed a two-cent reduction on the city’s property tax rate for the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
The preliminary budget, prepared by Coffman and city staff, was presented at a budget workshop held Tuesday, June 14, at the Lake Granbury Conference Center, but final numbers that will determine revenue from property taxes won’t be received from the Hood Central Appraisal District until late next month.
The city has no role in determining the value of properties.
The city’s current property tax rate is $0.3870 per $100 valuation. The proposed new tax rate, depending on HCAD numbers and City Council approval, is $0.3670 per $100 valuation.
For years, Granbury city officials have managed to keep the property tax rate among the lowest in the area. A comparison of those property tax rates is provided at every annual budget workshop.
On a list of 15 area cities that includes Weatherford, Stephenville, Cleburne, Benbrook and Mineral Wells, only Glen Rose and Lipan have property tax rates lower than Granbury’s.
Coffman provided opening remarks at the half-day budget workshop following a brief welcome by Mayor Jim Jarratt.
He told the council that the 2022-2023 fiscal year budget was “probably the most difficult budget” he has prepared in his 25 years in city management.
“We have a 27% valuation increase in property values, and there are record high appeals at the appraisal district,” Coffman said. “And we won’t know the exact taxable amounts and all the figures available to do the very complicated formula for the tax rate until July 26.”
The city manager spoke for more than half an hour on topics that included completed projects, projects that are expected to be completed before the end of the fiscal year, and projects that are ongoing.
He noted that due to inflation sales tax revenues for the current fiscal year are expected to decline. Projections are $9.9 million whereas sales tax collections during the 2020-2021 fiscal year totaled $10.6 million.
For the new fiscal year, city staff has projected almost $10.8 million in sales tax revenues.
According to the city, sales tax revenues, not property tax revenues, are the city’s biggest source of income. Since tourism is considered the city’s No. 1 industry, that means that tourists play a significant role in funding city services.
Tourists and other visitors also put money in the city’s coffers through Hotel Occupancy Tax. Those revenues are expected to increase in the next fiscal year to about $950,000, up from the $835,000 that is projected for the current one.
The City Council will adopt a tax rate and approve a budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year in September. Both will take effect Oct. 1.
