Killeen City Council members on Tuesday are scheduled to adopt the fiscal year 2022-23 budget of $112 million following a public hearing on the proposed preliminary tax rate.
During a workshop last week, City Attorney Holli Clements said that state law requires the council to adopt its budget before doing the same for its tax rate. That number will not exceed 62.33 cents per $100 assessed property valuation.
The proposed budget calls for $112 million in proposed expenditures, an increase of about $6 million from the current budget — about in line with inflation. Sales taxes and property taxes are up over last year by $3.4 million and $3.5 million, respectively.
This fiscal year, the tax rate is 70.04 cents.
The average taxable value of a homestead in Killeen was about $158,000, City Manager Kent Cagle told council members in August.
“It has gone up in one year to $178,761 — for an increase of $20,423,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons the tax rate came down.”
As he’s done in other budget presentations since July, Cagle said that the largest tax exemption, at 57%, is attributed to disabled veterans who qualify for the state-mandated exemptions. That equates to $2.546 billion in property tax exemptions.
“We are disproportionately impacted because of disabled veterans,” he said.
Property taxes account for much of the city’s revenue. In fiscal year 2022, the total levy on certified values was almost $54 million, with a tax rate of 70.04 cents per $100 assessed valuation. A proposed tax rate of 63.26 cents for fiscal year 2023 would bring the total levy to $57.3 million.
Depending on disability ratings of 10% to 100%, veterans may receive between $5,000 and $12,000 in tax exemptions on property values, according to the state comptroller’s website.
Following the public hearing and preliminary tax-rate adoption, council members will consider approving a resolution ratifying the property-tax revenue increase reflected in the fiscal year 2022-23 budget.
Finally, they’ll consider adopting an ordinance setting the tax rate of 62.33 cents per $100 valuation — 46.56 cents for maintenance and operations and 15.77 cents for debt service.
The meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. at City Hall, 101 N. College St. The full meeting agenda is at https://bit.ly/3qybm0J.
