Buda City Council Passes Budget And Slightly Lower Tax Rate
BUDA, TX — The Buda City Council unanimously adopted the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget and 2020 Tax Rate at its Tuesday, Sept. 15, regular meeting.
Budget Highlights
The Fiscal Year 2021 budget levies a property tax rate of $0.3423 per $100 of valuation.
It is a decrease of $0.0073 per $100 of valuation from the current tax rate, which is $0.3496. The budget includes a water rate increase of 3% and a wastewater rate increase of 4%.
The budget also includes five new employees (full-time equivalents), including new positions for Police, Communications, Finance, Engineering, and Water/Wastewater.
Major capital projects for Fiscal Year 2021 include:
- Public Works Facility Study
- Cabela’s Connector
- FM 2001 Pedestrian and Bicycle Sidewalk Path
- RM 967 Sidewalk from Old Buda Elementary to Downtown
- Overlook Lift Station Upsize and Interceptor for Cole Springs Road
- Sunfield Effluent Wastewater Discharge Force Main
- Bradfield Trail Connection to West Goforth
- Garison Park Development
- West Goforth Drainage Improvements
- Whispering Hollow Street Drainage
- Wild Wind Cove Groundwater Study
- Downtown/City Park Parking
- Reclaimed Water Ground Storage Tank
The Fiscal Year 2021 Tax Rate
The Fiscal Year 2021 tax rate is $0.3423 per $100 of valuation. It is a decrease of $0.0073 per $100 of valuation from the current tax rate, which is $0.3496.
Fiscal Year 2021 Total Taxable Value is $1,955,941,067 – Taxable Value to the City is $1,823,728,548.
A tax rate of $0.3423 will generate $6,695,186 in total revenue to the City ($0.2276 I&S = $4,150,806 and $0.1147 M&O = $2,091,817; this does not include $452,563 in the TIRZ)
The Fiscal Year 2021 budget includes revenues at a tax rate of $0.3423. For a homeowner with an average taxable value of $260,915 last year compared to the average taxable value of $267,928 in the tax year 2020, the tax rate cost could increase by $5 per year.
The maintenance and operations (M&O) portion of the tax rate will increase by $0.0051, and the debt portion of the tax rate will decrease by $0.0124 from the current year.
The decrease in the debt portion of the rate is due to increased taxable values citywide and growth in the City.
At a tax rate of $0.3423, the City will generate $246,418 more property tax revenue than the previous year.
The total taxable value in the City increased by $110 million over last year, and the maintenance and operations revenue is estimated to be $2.1 million.
Buda boasts one of the lowest tax rates in the region and in the state for full-service cities.
Budget Breakdown
- Total Revenue – $36,686,165, excluding capital improvements
- Total Expenditure – $39,465,952, excluding capital improvements
The Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Expenditures
The budget includes the following expenditures, in millions:
- General Fund – $16.0
- Interest & Sinking – $8.1
- Water – $4.5
- Wastewater – $6.1
- Sanitation – $2.1
- Hotel/Tourism – $0.695
- Other, including LGC, Library Spec. Rev., etc. – $1.9
The Fiscal Year 2021 Capital Improvements Expenditures
- Capital Improvements – $14.6
