BURTON CITY COUNCIL APPROVES TAX RATE INCREASE
The Burton City Council unanimously approved an increased property tax rate at its meeting on Tuesday.
Following a hearing where no public comments were shared on the proposed tax rate of $0.4200 per $100 valuation, councilmembers moved to adopt the rate.
The tax rate exceeds the previous figure of $0.3363 and the calculated no-new-revenue rate of $0.3260, but it is below the voter approval rate of $0.4740. With the new rate, the city is allocating $0.0900 for maintenance and operations (M&O), up from the prior M&O rate of $0.043823, and $0.3300 for interest and sinking (I&S), above the previous I&S rate of $0.292477.
Washington County Chief Appraiser Dyann White said at last month’s meeting that the city would receive approximately $40,000 in additional tax income.
The council opted to postpone several items on the agenda for action at a later time.
One of the items postponed was a draft legal agreement between the city and Burton ISD regarding connecting the fire suppression line to the city’s water system and establishing related stipulations and requirements. City Secretary Amanda Klehm said the delay will allow for more time for the city and school district to submit their feedback on the agreement, which is expected to come back before the council at a special meeting later this month, tentatively planned for September 22nd.
Another item that was pushed back was a vote on an interlocal agreement with Washington County regarding the city’s new subdivision ordinance for plat review, civil inspections and plan review. Klehm said the city is still negotiating with the county, but the county is “very willing” to help out the city with enforcing the ordinance.
In other business, the council:
- Postponed an item for the engagement of a third-party contractor to clean up and maintain overgrown, neglected and dilapidated properties within the city.
- Officially received the preliminary CCTV inspection findings for the wastewater line serving Burton ISD.
- Approved a records management policy, designating the city secretary as the city’s records management officer and authorizing the city secretary to complete and sign all necessary documentation for the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
- Adopted Texas State Library and Archives Commission retention schedules for the city’s records management policy.