City Council endorses tax rate increase

Proposed rate would add about $113 to bills; capital improvements outlined.

The Lakeway City Council held a special meeting Monday and approved a proposed tax rate of 17.14 cents per $100 property valuation for the coming budget year, up from the current 16.12 cents.

The tax rate is not finalized, and two public hearings will be held Aug. 21 and Sept. 11 before both the tax rate and the budget are up for final approval by the City Council during its Sept. 16 meeting.

Based on the taxable value of an average home of $498,844, the proposed 17.14 cent tax rate would result in an annual tax increase of $113.

City staff also made a presentation on the city’s draft Capital Improvements Plan at Monday’s meeting.

Projects in the draft Capital Improvements Plan included an additional restroom and concessions area for the city park at the lower level at a cost of $352,584 potentially in 2018, and replacing the upper level restroom facilities at a cost of $310,949, possibly in 2019. City staff recommended that the city’s pool be updated, including resurfacing, replastering of the pools, replacing depth markers and lights and repairing the frog slide, at a cost of $126,129 in 2018.

Possible capital improvement projects also include a plan to create a BMX park near the city’s skate park at a cost of $285,291, potentially in 2020.

“Due to impervious cover rules, we can’t do anything on this lot,” City Manager Steve Jones said. “BMX will allow us to be in compliance with impervious cover rules. Currently, we get BMX (riders) in the skate park, which we don’t allow but they do anyway, and they grind on the rails and they tear them up. We’d like to give them an alternative recreation site.”

Other projects in the draft plan include new trails at a cost of approximately $1.2 million, a fourth arm on the Lohmans Spur traffic signal at a cost of $117,000 potentially in the 2018 budget year, renovation of the current Justice Center at a cost of $500,000, and reconfiguration of City Hall and a new annex building at a cost of approximately $3 million. General obligation bond projects include an overlay of Lakeway Boulevard for about $3 million and improvements to RM 620 for $6.5 million. Projects in the plan and their costs are spread over a five-year timeline.

The City Council took no action on the Capital Improvements Plan.