Marble Falls property owners could pay more at same tax rate
The 61 cents per $100 valuation tax rate in Marble Falls will remain the same for the 2020-21 fiscal year, the City Council voted at its regular meeting Sept. 15. The difference in average value of homesteads between fiscal year 2019-20 and 2020-21 would result in $85 of additional city property taxes.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this article misreported the average increase in city property taxes for homesteads as $105. It has been corrected to represent the actual figure, $85.)
The council also reduced the budget for the upcoming year, which begins Oct. 1. It takes into account a projected 4 percent decrease on sales tax revenue and the 2 percent increase on ad valorem property valuations.
Most department expenditures were cut, resulting in an average drop in the overall budget of 4.48 percent. Only finance, which saw less than a percent of growth, and the Parks and Recreation Department, which saw 1.23 percent growth, added to their coffers.
Total departmental expenditures were set at $11.6 million overall, a decrease from 2019-20’s $12.1 million.
The breakdown of the proposed tax rate leaves 0.3535 for Interest and Sinking, an increase from the previous rate of 0.3531 per $100 valuation, and 0.2565 for Maintenance and Operations, a decrease from its previous rate of 0.2569 per $100 valuation. The overall rate of 61 cents from the current year remains the same for the upcoming year.
Routine acquisitions in the budget include a dump truck for the street department, two vehicles for the police department, a field renovator for the parks department, and one vehicle for the fire department.