Bellaire continues debate of potential tax rate election as ballot deadline approaches

BELLAIRE, Texas -- Members of the Bellaire City Council continued to debate on Aug. 12 whether they would ask residents to approve a higher tax rate for the 2024-25 fiscal year or try to balance the budget with a rate that would not require resident voter approval.

The deadline to place a tax rate election on November ballots is Aug. 19, and the Council has scheduled another workshop for Aug. 14 to continue the discussion.

Current situation

City leaders have been considering calling for a tax rate election to help fund a collection of supplemental budget items that could not be funded under the voter-approval tax rate, which is the highest tax rate allowed without having to seek voter approval.

The Council took a record vote on Aug. 5 to call a public hearing on a proposed tax rate of up to $0.4766 per $100 valuation, a rate city staff said would allow the city to fund all supplemental budget items while also putting $1 million into reserves. Since that time, a combination of new property appraisal data and efforts to reduce expenditures now allow the city to achieve those same goals with a tax rate of $0.4657 per $100 valuation, officials said.

Council members could choose to adopt the voter-approval tax rate of $0.4333 per $100 valuation. After taking new property appraisal data and expenditure reductions into account, city staff said on Aug. 12 they were able to add roughly $375,400 to that budget.

The funding boost allows the city to fund the hiring of three new police officers as well as a local grant match for a crime victim specialist with the voter-approval rate. Both initiatives were previously considered supplemental items and would've only been funded with a higher tax rate.

The city's recurring supplemental item cost was overall reduced from approximately $600,000 to $296,000. Supplemental items remaining on the list as of Aug. 12 include hiring a new fire marshal, a deputy city clerk, a risk manager, and a safety and training specialist.

SEE ALSO: Fort Bend ISD to hold tax rate election to raise money for teacher pay raises, armed security guards

The district is asking homeowners to approve the use of funds through the state property tax bill. That money would pay for teacher raises and security guards at school.

Sorting out details

At the Aug. 12 meeting, Council members debated the items left on the supplemental list and in the voter-approval rate budget.

After a lengthy discussion, the Council identified several supplemental items as "wants" instead of "needs," opening up the possibility of deferring them to a later fiscal year. Those items include:

• $86,000 for a deputy city clerk

• $88,250 for a patrol car

• $270,000 to replace lighting and install netting at Feld Park

• $20,000 to repaint Betsy's at Evelyn's Park

After removing several of these items from the budget, some Council members said the city may not need to raise the tax rate beyond the voter-approval rate.

After the Aug. 12 workshop, City Manager Sharon Citino said the Council seemed to be moving toward the voter-approval tax rate for FY 2024-25 but may pursue a higher tax rate in FY 2025-26 or FY 2026-27.

Keep in mind

The Council has until Aug. 19 to call a tax rate election. If they decide not to seek the higher tax rate, the budget and tax rate would not need to be approved until later in the fall. A public hearing is currently scheduled for Aug. 19.

Another budget workshop will take place on Aug. 14 and is open to the public.

This article comes from our ABC13 partners at Community Impact Newspapers.