By ZACH FREEMAN

AZLE – No Azle residents attended the public hearing Monday evening, August 19, which discussed the proposed budget, ad valorem tax rate and water and sewer rates.

The budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which begins October 1, will generate more revenue from real estate assets than last year’s budget.

The ad valorem tax rate is proposed to increase from the current $0.5688744 to $0.614087 per $100 of increase in value. This will result in a total increase in property tax revenue of $1,529,327, or 17.43%, over last year’s budget. These increases are due to increased property values, new construction, and a bond issue for the Dunaway Lane Reconstruction Project. The project itself increases the tax rate by $0.035. Water and sewer rates will remain unchanged.

For fiscal year 2024-25, a combined tax rate of $0.6140869 per $100 is proposed, with $0.5324341 allocated to the General Fund for Maintenance and Operations and $0.0816528 allocated to debt service. The proposed rate is $0.045215 higher than the tax rate adopted last year.

The taxable value is estimated at $1,677,767,961, an increase of 8.79% over last year’s total certified value of $1,542,278,275. This increase includes $69,161,050 in new construction.

“While the national and regional economy continues to recover, the city still faces many challenges,” City Manager Tom Muir said in the budget overview. “The cost of providing city services is increasing at a very rapid rate. These rising costs, as well as increased interest rates, will negatively impact new home construction, which is still active. As always, staff will keep a close eye on the economy and be ready to respond to changes as they occur. Staff has made every effort to create a budget that provides the services our citizens expect, and staff will continue to look for improvements where they can be found. In addition, it is important to proceed with caution in the coming year while increasing our efforts to attract new businesses to Azle.”

The city will vote to adopt the budget during a meeting on Monday, August 26, beginning at 6 p.m. The budget and previous budgets can be viewed online at cityofazle.org/DocumentCenter/Index/16.