City Council passed a budget that will fund over $70 million in capital improvement projects for next year.
The Council passed the 2024 budget along with the tax rate at the meeting on Tuesday.
According to the budget, the total budget for next year will amount to $255,895,381.
“In summary, we are going up from $183 million last year to $256 million, which is a increase of $73 million,” Chief Financial Officer Gilbert Reyna said. “In a nutshell, $71.1 million equates to 97% of that $73 million increase, which consists of all the CIP related items.
The capital improvement projects will be funded are the construction of the public safety headquarters next year, 20 miles of street repairs, installation of LED street lights and the increase of entry pay for first responders at the police and fire departments to name a few.
Assistant City Manager Darrek Ferrell said that the public safety headquarters will be a great edition for the facilities that will be geared towar the police department and the municipal court.
“It’s been a long time coming, and it’s well deserved for the hardworking folks that provide safety services for all of Victoria County,” Ferrell said after the meeting.
As for the property tax, the Council approved a tax rate of 48.98 cents per $100 of valuation, which is a decrease of 13% compared to last year’s.
According to Reyna, the property tax rate is going down by approximately 6.84 cents.
“We’re proposing a 48.98 cents versus last year which was a 55.82 cents,” he said.
Some factors that have helped to shift the tax burden away from homeowners include:
Before the the tax rate and budget were passed, the Council held public hearings. No one decided to speak during the hearings.
The new budget will go into effect on Oct. 1.
Tyrese Boone is the local government and public safety reporter for the Victoria Advocate. Tyrese is a recent digital and print graduate from the University of North Texas. He may be reached at tboone@vicad.com or text 940-765-6859.
