San Marcos, Hays County Set To Approve Budgets Today, What Is And Is Not Available For Public Review

Will you be spending more on your water, drainage, wastewater or garbage usage or on fees? And….do you even get to view the full proposed budget before the final public hearing today?

This is a busy time of the year for cities and counties to approve budgets for the Fiscal Year 2018-2019. What will they be spending your property tax dollars on? How much will they be spending on capital improvement projects? Will you be spending more on your water, drainage, wastewater or garbage usage or on fees?

And….do you even get to view the full proposed budget before the final public hearing and vote today?

City of San Marcos FY 2018-2019 Budget

San Marcos City Council is set to hold the final public hearing and vote during tonight’s meeting for their $229,369,259 million FY 2018-2019 budget.

Additionally, council will be holding the final vote on the following budget items:

– Tax Rate for the 2018 Tax Year at 61.39 cents on $100 of taxable value of real property that is not exempt from taxation. The rate is the same as last year;

– Although the tax rate is remaining the same as last year, with rising property values and the addition of new property onto the tax role, the city will receive an additional $2,977,405 million more in property taxes than last year or 10.6 percent and of that amount, $560,210 is revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll;

– Increasing rates for Water, Wholesale Water, Reclaimed Water, Wastewater Treatment and Sewer Surcharges. Earlier this year, COSM purchased the accounts for all Crystal Clear Customers in Willow Creek;

– Increasing rates for Drainage;

– Increasing rates for residential and multifamily garbage services;

– Removal of the Economic Development Projects Coordinator position.

NOTE:  The City of San Marcos, just like all other cities are required to publish a full accounting of the proposed budget, which is until last year. The city’s full budget runs 300-500 pages; however, last year and this year the city has only released a proposed budget of approximately 79 pages.

According to a San Marcos council member, they receive the FULL accounting of their annual budgets with 300-500 pages.

In September 2017, Corridor News filed a public information request asking for the full proposed FY 2018 budget and never received it. You can read all relating correspondence HERE.

Additionally, the city did not release/publish the Final Approved FY 2018 Budget until March 2018, six months into the budget year.

Corridor News filed a Public Information Request early this morning requesting once again, a FULL accounting of FY 2019 Proposed Budget. View our Public Information Request HERE.

View current Proposed FY 2019 Budget HERE.

Compare it to the Proposed FY 2017 Budget HERE.

Compare it to the Proposed FY 2016 Budget HERE.

Compare it to the Proposed FY 2015 Budget HERE.

See what other cities around the State of Texas release for public viewing below. Does the City of San Marcos measure up on Financial Transparency?

Hays County FY 2018-2019 Budget

The Hays County Commissioners final budget vote is scheduled for today with a public hearing on the proposed budget today at 1 p.m. at the Hays County Courthouse, 111 E. San Antonio St., San Marcos. The hearing will also be live streamed and archived at www.co.hays.tx.us.

– FY 2018/2019 proposed budget of $312.7 million and is a decrease of more than $59 million from the current fiscal year 2018 budget.

– Set’s a lower tax rate of 43.37 cents per $100 valuation, which is the effective tax rate. The current tax rate is 44.50 per $100 valuation.

Hays County FY 2019 Budget Breakdown

• FY 2019 Expenditures – Requested

• Capital Equipment/Projects – Requested

• Computers/Software – Requested

• FY 2019 PERSONNEL REQUESTS

• Social Service Agencies – Requested Funding

• Hays County Debt Book FY 2018

Other cities and counties throughout Texas

Austin city leaders approved a $4.1 billion budget– a 4 percent increase from the previous year. The San Antonio City Council on Thursday approved a $2.8 billion budget for 2019.

The budget does not include a tax rate increase. Here are just a few of the city and county budgets that have been approved for FY 2018-2019:

– Bexar County commissioners adopted a $1.7 billion budget for the next fiscal year that slightly reduces the property tax rate. 

– City leaders in El Paso approved a nearly $1 billion budget for the upcoming year, which includes about a 4-cent increase in property tax.

– Lubbock City Council members on Thursday approved a more than $800 million budget.

– The Bryan City Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted the city’s $405.4 million budget for fiscal year 2019. The budget is an increase from $375 million in fiscal year 2018. 

– The city of Round Rock approved a budget on Thursday that totals $356.9 million.

– Georgetown City Council approved a $354 million budget Tuesday, about $80 million of which will pay for work on new infrastructure projects during the city’s fiscal year.

– Victoria‘s City Council on Tuesday approved a $132.89 million budget.

– Abilene City Council members on Thursday approved a budget totaling $98.6 million. 

– Over $98.2 million has been approved for Taylor County’s 2019 budget, which is $12.9 million larger than the 2018 budget.

– The total approved budget for the city of Tyler will be $69.04 million. Nearly two-thirds of the budget will come from sales and property taxes.

– The Ector County Commissioners’ Court on Monday approved a $64 million budget and ratified a property tax increase.

– Dallas County Commissioners unanimously passed a $22.2 million budget.

– Upshur County commissioners approved a $17 million budget for the coming fiscal year. 

Source: Strategic Partnership, Inc.