The City of Brownwood has released their proposed budget, tax rate, and water rates for 2010/2011 fiscal year.
The total proposed budget for next fiscal year is 29,619,039 which is a decrease of 2.48% of the current year’s budget. That is a total decrease of $753,243.
City officials have said that they planned to cut spending to compensate for the shortfall in sales tax collections over the last year. Finance Director Walter Middleton said that sales tax collections for 2010 are down by about 5%, but July saw a slight increase for the first time in about a year.
Brownwood is also proposing to keep the city’s property tax rate unchanged for the year at $.7452 per $100 valuation. The city is also proposing a .93% increase in water rates.
Currently the residential water rate is $2.14 for each 100 cubic feet of water purchased. The proposed new rate will be $2.16 per 100 cubic feet. The city says that this increase is needed to fund the Brown County Water Improvement District’s rate increase of 2.02% in the cost of treated water. The base rate will not increase. An average residence with monthly consumption of 10 units per month will see a monthly increase of $.20 or an annual increase of $2.40 in the cost of water.
The city will hold a public hearing within the next month to allow residents to make their comments on the proposed budget. The city will likely set a date in September to adopt the budget, tax rate, and water rate for the next fiscal year which begins October 1st.
CLICK HERE for a full copy of the city’s budget.