At Monday’s Canyon City Commission meeting, members unanimously approved an ordinance creating a property tax exemption for child care facilities and passed a maximum tax rate for the upcoming city budget by a 4-1 vote.
The ordinance was made possible by Senate Resolution 1145, which gave municipalities the authority to provide tax exemptions to qualified child care facilities. Canyon said two child care facilities currently qualify for the program. To qualify, child care facilities must participate in the Texas Workforce Commission’s Texas Rising Star Program and at least 20% of the total number of children enrolled in the facility must receive subsidized child care services through the Texas Workforce Commission’s child care program.
Canyon Mayor Gary Hinders commented on the ordinance in a press release.
“The city believes that anything we do to support child care in our community directly helps our families,” he said. “This property tax exemption will benefit Canyon’s overall economy and community growth.”
Stephanie Tucker, director of the Canyon Economic Development Corporation, also spoke about the benefits of this tax break for child care facilities.
“We are excited about this ordinance because child care is critical to our existing and growing community,” she said. “When businesses are looking to relocate or expand, the question of affordable child care is always a top concern. This tax exemption will attract and retain families and businesses alike.”
According to the City of Canyon, facilities must apply for this exemption by completing Form 50-844 on the Texas Comptroller’s website. The application deadline is May 1 annually. New facilities can reapply each year.
The commission had one dissenting vote in the form of Commissioner Paul Lyons on the maximum allowable property tax rate, which was set at $0.41011. If approved, this would be a 4% increase. The tax rate has yet to be set, as this is the maximum it can be increased by, and it could well be lower in the final budget.
Lyons stressed that he had some problems with the proposed city budget and that the maximum tax rate was higher than what he could expect citizens to pay.
The city’s budget discussions are ongoing, but a final property tax rate has not yet been determined.
