Township plans tax cut
The Woodlands Township Board of Directors has proposed a 23cent tax rate per $100 valuation for 2016 — a two-cent reduction from the current 25 cents — as it planned a budget of $132.1 million in expenditures.
The Woodlands Township Board of Directors has proposed a 23 cents per $100 valuation tax rate for 2016 — a two-cent reduction from the current 25 cents — as it planned a budget of $132.1 million in expenditures.
“Once again, The Woodlands Township has lowered its tax rate,” said Bruce Tough, chairman of The Woodlands Township Board of Directors. “That is the result of very, very strong hotel and sales tax revenue.”
The Township has lowered its property tax rate every year since 2010, when it was 32.8 cents.
The board considered dropping the tax rate even lower — to 22.5 cents — but it settled on the effective rate set by the Montgomery County Tax Assessor’s Office. Several board members did not want to drop the tax rate lower because they didn’t want a potential tax increase at the time of future incorporation to be very dramatic.
“I believe incorporation should be sooner than later,” said board member Peggy Hausman. She suggested that the Township leave some placeholders in the budget that could be used to help fund the costs of incorporating, which could be more than $90 million in one-time capital costs, according to a study funded by the Township in 2012.
“I’d be concerned about lowering the rates too much and bouncing the rates back,” said board member Jeff Long. “It could cause pain.”
Board member John McMullan spoke in favor of the lower tax rate, supporting the idea of the Township doing whatever it could to lower taxes, especially considering the increase in property valuations that Woodlands residents have seen in recent years.
The Township anticipates a $7.6 million increase in operating revenues for 2016 over 2015. The forecast revenue from sales tax for 2015 is $51.3 million, which exceeds the budgeted revenue by $1.4 million, and is expected to grow 2.5 percent to $52.6 million in 2016.
The hotel tax revenue is projected to jump from $7.5 million in 2015 to $9.6 million in 2016, with the addition of two hotels, the Westin Hotel on the Waterway and the Embassy Suites at Hughes Landing, which are both set to open in 2016.
Property tax collections are forecast to exceed the budgeted $40.5 million by $300,000 in 2015. The 23cent property tax rate for 2016 is projected to bring in $41.4 million, a 1.4 percent increase over 2015.
The Township anticipates a reduction in spending on capital projects by $8.9 million and on transportation by $281,000 in 2016. It will spend about $2.4 million more on parks, $713,000 more on the Fire Department and $788,000 more on law enforcement.
The Township board will officially vote on the tax rate at its Aug. 26 board meeting.