KERRVILLE, Texas – City leaders proceeded through the budget process with the highest property tax rate possible without voter approval during its final workshop Tuesday.
Kerrville City Council unanimously voted to move forward with a tax rate of 57.11 cents per $100 of assessed property value.
The higher rate has not yet been adopted by the city but instead sets the maximum rate leaders could set following public input next month.
The potential rate hike represents an increase of more than 2% over last year’s rate, 55.95 cents per $100.
If the full rate is adopted, it will generate an additional $471,000 in city revenue, according to Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice.
The amended resolution marks a shift in tone for the city, which entered the budget process with a lower rate from last fiscal year.
During the budget process, Rice recommended the city adopt a higher rate to fund a Disaster Mitigation and Recovery Fund for the city.
The city put together a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year with the lower rate, but Rice said future budgets will likely require service cuts without long-range planning.
Councilmembers followed Rice’s recommendation and moved forward in the budgeting process with the maximum property tax rate allowed without voter approval, calculated under a special disaster provision in the tax code by Kerr County Tax Assessor-Collector Bob Reeves.
The council will not vote on adopting a rate until Sept. 23, following a public hearing and vote on the budget on Sept. 9.
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