HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-08-21 (Special Called Mtg) MINUTES OF A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING
OF THE
EULESS CITY COUNCIL
AUGUST 21, 2008
CALL TO ORDER
A special called meeting of the Euless City Council was called to order by Mayor Mary
Lib Saleh at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 21, 2008, in the Council Chambers at
Euless City Hall, 201 North Ector Drive, Euless, Texas. Those present included Mayor
Mary Lib Saleh, Mayor Pro Tern Linda Martin, and Council Members Tim Stinneford,
Leon Hogg, Donna Mickan, Glenn Porterfield, and Perry Bynum.
Staff Members Present
City Manager Gary McKamie, Deputy City Manager Loretta Getchell, City Secretary
Susan Crim, Deputy City Secretary Becky Null, Director of Finance Vicki Rodriquez,
Director of Economic Development Bill Ridgway, Director of Public Works Ron Young,
and Director of Planning and Development Mike Collins.
Visitors Present
Faye Stinneford, Andy and Carolyn Byles, Ed and Geri Sorg, Mike Pring, and Rose
Wallace.
ITEM NO. 1 HOLD PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED TAX RATE
Mayor Saleh opened the public hearing at 7:01 p.m. regarding the proposed ad valorem
tax rate of$0.47 per $100 valuation for tax year 2008.
Director of Finance Vicki Rodriquez stated that at the council meeting scheduled for
August 26, the city will hold a public hearing on the proposed FY 2009 Operating and
Capital Budget and following the public hearing, the budget will be presented for council's
consideration. The budget includes property tax revenue based on a proposed tax rate of
$0.47 per $100 valuation, which will be used to fund a portion of the city's General Fund
and the city's Debt Service Fund. In addition to the public hearing tonight, citizens will also
have an opportunity to comment on the proposed tax rate at the next public hearing on
Tuesday, August 26.
Ms. Rodriquez stated that roughly 30% of the budget is funded by property taxes, and the
city's total operating revenue for FY2008 was $29,626,955. Sales taxes represented the
largest revenue source at 33% of the total, with property taxes being the second largest
source at 30%.
City Council Minutes Page 2 of 4 August 21, 2008
For FY2009, the total operating revenue is forecast to increase to $30,753,309 which is
v.. 3.81% over 2008. Due to the slowdown in the economy, sales tax has slipped to 32% of
the overall revenue with property taxes at 31% of the total. The city did continue to have
some new commercial and residential development during the past year which will provide
some increased revenue for 2009.
The FY 2008 General Fund expenditures totaled $29,604,902, compared to a proposed
budget for FY 2009 of $30,747,615, an increase of 3.86% over the prior year. Of this
increase, 2.52% funds a salary and benefit package for the employees leaving a 1.34%
cumulative increase in all other line items.
Approximately 55% of these funds are dedicated to the police &fire departments, with the
remaining funds supporting the park and recreation department, street maintenance,
development services, library services, city administration and general overhead such as
electric, phone, gas, etc. A breakdown of the General Fund expenses by type shows that
75% of the budget is dedicated to personnel expenses and includes a proposed 3.5%
salary increase for employees.
The city has been fortunate to see its tax base expand from just under $1 billion in FY
1995 to $2.73 billion for FY 2009. The Euless tax rate has declined steadily from a high of
61.6¢ in 1995 to a proposed rate of 47.00¢ for FY 2009, which is the same as the 2008 tax
rate.
There are two components to the tax rate; a debt component and an operations
component. The debt component has reduced from a high of 16.360 in 2005 to 11.810 in
2009. This reduction is due in part to the council's strategy of using Car Rental Funds to
reduce the city's need for additional debt by cash-flowing capital improvements projects
when possible. State law requires that we levy a tax rate sufficient to pay the required
debt payments on outstanding bonds. The remainder of the tax rate is used to fund the
city's general government operations. The operation component has dropped significantly
since 1995 and has remained around 350 for several years.
The Euless tax rate publications are required to be based on average home value. Euless
has seen the average home value rise in the last few years due to the construction of
several new housing additions with substantially higher selling prices. It is important to
note that a review of several established neighborhoods showed very little change over
the past five years. These new subdivisions have pushed the average home value from
$137,094 last year to $139,704 this year.
To show how the new residential construction throughout the city has impacted the
valuations, Ms. Rodriquez compared building permit values from 2000 to 2009. The
average new home has increased from a value of $94,115 in 2000 to $277,353 in 2008.
The new construction can distort the publications as they relate to established
neighborhoods. Therefore, several neighborhoods were reviewed throughout the city and
found that very few existing homes showed increased valuations.
City Council Minutes Page 3 of 4 August 21, 2008
An actual home was selected in the Wilshire neighborhood that was very typical and a
,.. chart was created to show what the actual tax bill was for this home for the last five years
and the proposed amount for FY2009. This comparison shows that based on this home's
actual taxable value of $105,000, with Euless' 20% homestead exemption, the
homeowner has paid either the same or less taxes to the City of Euless in each of the
preceding five years and will pay exactly the same taxes in 2009 as he paid in 2008. Since
his value has not changed and our rate has been steadily decreasing, his tax bill to the
City of Euless has decreased from $415.80 in 2004 to $394.80 in FY2009.
The required publications are based not on an actual home, but rather an average of all
residential property within the City of Euless. Since the average value has increased due
to the new construction, the publications show that taxes based on the average value of
$139,704 will be $525.29 annually.
Likewise, the average home value for properties occupied by senior citizens in the City of
Euless is $123,543 and after applying the 20% homestead exemption and the $35,000
senior citizen exemption, the taxes owed on the average value is $300.02 annually. This
amount may be further reduced due to the fact that Euless has passed a freeze on senior
citizen taxes. This means that when an individual reaches age 65, taxes will be frozen and
the citizen will never pay more than the frozen amount.
Euless is just one of the taxing entities included on the overall tax bill. The proposed tax
rate for all entities for FY 2009 is $2.395 per $100 assessed value for those citizens
ti.. located in the HEB ISD and approximately $2.39 for those located in the GCISD. The
school district represents about 54% of the total tax bill, the city 20%, the county 11%, the
hospital 9%, and the community college 6%.
In closing, Ms. Rodriquez stated the City of Euless is pleased that the proposed tax rate
will remain unchanged at $0.47 per $100 valuation, and that the city's FY2009 proposed
budget provides for the continuation of all existing services.
ITEM NO. 2 ANNOUNCE THE DATE, TIME, AND PLACE OF A SECOND
PUBLIC HEARING FOR PROPOSED TAX RATE
Mayor Saleh announced that the second public hearing for the proposed ad valorem tax
rate of $0.47 per $100 valuation for tax year 2008 will be held on Tuesday, August 26,
2008, at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 201 N. Ector Drive, Euless, Texas.
ITEM NO. 3 ANNOUNCE THE DATE, TIME, AND PLACE OF VOTE ON TAX RATE
Mayor Saleh announced that the vote on the tax rate will take place on Tuesday,
September 9, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 201 N. Ector Drive,
Euless, Texas.
City Council Minutes Page 4 of 4 August 21, 2008
�,.,. ITEM NO. 4 ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m.
APPROVED:
1 )(oti-a,
) )1/ ").-t
Mary Lib S-4 eh
Mayor
ATTEST:
Sus.n Crim, T' C
City Secreta