At Tuesday’s Coppell City Council meeting, the lowest ad valorem tax rate of $0.491818 was approved for the fiscal year of 2023-24 effective on Oct. 1.
A public hearing was led by City of Coppell director of finance Kimberley Tiehen as the proposed tax rate is higher than the no new revenue rate of $0.477650, but less than the voter-approval tax rate of $0.491822.
The proposed tax rate is 5.11% less than the current fiscal year of 2022-23 and raises $1,789,261 more in property tax revenue. Accounting to this increase is the advances to new construction and appraisals due to the Senate Bill 2 passed in 2019.
“The city is very close to build-out,” Tiehen said. “This is important to know, because the impact of Senate Bill 2 on Coppell is very different from that of a growing city as the bill allows the city to carve new construction before calculating the no new revenue tax rate.”
Additional input was provided on the item as Coppell resident Barbara Bailey discussed her concerns with the introduced tax rate by sharing her experience with rock haulers deconstructing her street.
“The rock haulers could’ve saved our street, put it off further for another five years, and saved everyone a little money from taxes,” Bailey said. “You don’t have to wreck stuff just because it’s on a schedule. It’s a ridiculous way to do business.”
Along with a public hearing regarding the proposed tax rate, Tiehen also led the discussion for other items regarding the municipal budget, as well as, the budget for Coppell Crime Control and Prevention District for the upcoming fiscal year.
The total general fund revenues for the 2023-24 municipal budget is $69,573,010. The proposed budget is a 6.6% decrease from the current fiscal year’s adopted budget. Property and sales taxes make up the majority of the general fund revenues.
A salary increase of 3.5% will also be set for public safety and general city workers through the general fund expenditures of the municipal budget.
As for the proposed Coppell Crime Control and Prevention District budget, the projected revenues are $4,222,858. The projected expenditures are $4,210,917 which funds the school resource officers (SROs) in Coppell ISD, as five SROs have been added to the crime prevention district due the establishment of House Bill 63.
A citizen’s appearance was made by Coppell resident Thomas Burrows discussing his concerns of drainage issues in his neighborhood, as well as criticizing the duties of code enforcement.
Coppell public works director Mike Garza also provided an update on the water usage status with the current extreme temperatures, and how the city is advising water conservation measures.
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