Utility bill relief on agenda for New Braunfels City Council | Community Alert | #citycouncil


Thursday’s special New Braunfels City Council meeting is slated as a budget workshop, but there is also one item on the agenda of interest to those who pay electric bills.

The agenda includes an item that would authorize the city manager to enter into an agreement with the New Braunfels Community Foundation to provide a financial contribution from American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Comal Emergency Relief Fund to provide utility bill assistance to New Braunfels residents.

The city expects to receive about $10.9 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated from the U.S. Department of Treasury.

The federal government requires that funding through the American Rescue Plan be used to support the public health response in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, address the negative economic impacts of the pandemic or make investments targeted at serving the hardest-hit communities and families.

Energy bills have been a recent topic of spirited discussion, as a heat wave, the price of natural gas and the state’s redesigning of the electricity market to prioritize reliability over price have driven elevated utility bills this summer.

Thursday’s meeting will include public hearings on the proposed ad valorem tax rate, the fiscal 2023 operating budget and the plan of municipal services.

The proposed tax rate of 41.3935 cents is a 6.1 cent decrease from last year.

The interest and sinking portion of the rate, used for debt service, totals 20.8935 cents, while the operations and maintenance — the general fund — portion of the rate totals 20.5 cents.

The total proposed rate of 41.3935 cents is less than the voter approval tax rate for this year. The operations and maintenance portion of the rate decreases by nearly 4.2 cents. The interest and sinking rate decreases by 1.9 cents, which city officials have stated would still provide sufficient revenue to support debt service payments for all existing and recently approved debt obligations, including the $10 million public safety tax note and the proposed 2023 bond program.

After the public hearings, council members will consider initial approvals to adopt the ad valorem tax rate and the fiscal year 2023 budget and Plan of Municipal Services.

A second reading of the tax rate and budget items is slated for Sept. 12.

Additional budget information can be found on the city’s website at www.newbraunfels.gov/2821/FY-2023-Proposed-Budget-Tax-Rate-Informa.

A full agenda for the meeting is available at www.nbtexas.org.

The council session begins at 6 p.m. Thursday in the council chambers at New Braunfels City Hall, 550 Landa St.

The meeting will be televised live on Spectrum government access channel 21, AT&T access channel 99, and live-streamed at the city website, www.nbtexas.org.

The city’s fiscal year starts Oct. 1.


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