City discusses proposed tax rate

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to fix a previous error regarding the amount of revenue brought in from property taxes.

The Lockhart City Council at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday discussed the proposed tax rate and budget for 2019-2020 fiscal year.
According to city officials, the proposed budget will come in at around $34.7 million, which is roughly $232,000 less than what the city budgeted for the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
The proposed tax rate would fall from 71 cents per $100 valuation to 68 cents per $100 valuation. But due to higher property values, officials said the new tax rate would bring in approximately $4.187 million from property taxes, compared to $3.852 million budgeted in 2018-2019.
City officials noted the budget included a 7% increase for firefighters.
According to City Manager Steve Lewis, the city has lost several firefighters to neighboring communities over the past several years. The increase in salary would provide more incentive for them to stay in Lockhart, he said.
Councilmembers unanimously supported the proposed increase.
Councilmembers also voted to schedule a Nov. 14 meeting to canvass the results of the upcoming Nov. 5 city council election.