The Round Rock City Council voted 7-0 Thursday, Aug. 24, on first reading to approve a $543.9 million budget for fiscal year 2024, which begins Oct. 1. The FY24 tax rate was also unanimously approved on first reading. A final reading and vote will be held on the budget and tax rate on Thursday, Sept. 14.
The proposed budget includes the following highlights:
Public Safety
- Construction of the new Fire Station No. 1 is underway with completion expected June 2024 to improve response times
- Six new firefighters will improve response times to medical calls
- A new Fire Reduction Support Technician will help with growing demand for services provided by the Fire Department’s Community Risk Reduction program
- Five new civilian positions will provide police support in Dispatch, Animal Control and Law Enforcement Technical Support to keep up with the demand for services and the City’s growth
Parks and Recreation
- Construction work on the Heritage and Lake Creek Trails, a new playground and improvements to Rock Hollow Park, as well as four new positions to meet demand on recreation programs and trail maintenance
- Continue family-friendly events including the Fourth of July parade and celebration, Light up the Lake, Juneteenth, Hometown Holiday Lights and more
- Significant design work continues for voter-approved additions to Old Settlers Park including the expansion of Rock ‘N River, a new recreation center and additional fields at the Multi-Purpose Complex
- Design of the expansion of Round Rock’s Sports Center is well underway
Transportation and Utilities
- Major transportation construction from the City’s Driving Progress program includes Kenney Fort Boulevard, Gattis School Road, County Road 112, Red Bud Lane, and Wyoming Springs, plus engineering work on the next phase
- $4.3 million will continue the City’s proactive Neighborhood Street Maintenance program that has invested $41 million in neighborhoods since 2015
- Completion of $127 million in system improvements and expansion to the Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater System
- Phase 1D construction of the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority water plant increases the City’s water treatment capacity from 8.7 million gallons per day (MGD) to 11 MGD
Downtown and Round Rock Public Library
- Round Rock Public Library – Complete full staffing plan and expanded program offering
- Griffith Building and Paseo – Start construction on the project to connect City Hall and Prete Plaza to the RRPL, provide modern space to Round Rock Chamber, Arts Center and Visitors Center
- Downtown Public Space Plan – Finalize and begin work to link Round Rock Water Tower, parks and trail on Brushy Creek, City Hall, RRPL, and other downtown city amenities
The approved budget is supported by a property tax rate of 34.2 cents per $100 of valuation for Fiscal Year 2024.
At this rate, the owner of a median taxable value home of $363,396 on average would pay $104 per month in City taxes, which is an increase of $8 per month over the current rate.
This proposed tax rate is the same as last year’s, and it’s the lowest proposed among cities in our area; however, the Fiscal Year 2024 proposed rate is higher than the “no new revenue” rate of 31.6 cents, which would raise the same amount of revenue as last year on existing property based on this year’s property valuations. The additional 2.6 cents is needed to pay for additional public safety positions with competitive salaries, as well as additional staffing for parks, library and other departments.
More information about local entities’ property tax rates, including how much residents will owe each taxing entity under their proposed or adopted tax rates, can be found at williamsonpropertytaxes.org for Williamson County residents and travistaxes.com for Travis County residents.
There are no retail water or wastewater rate increases in this year’s budget.
Learn more about the City of Round Rock’s proposed FY 2024 budget at roundrocktexas.gov/budget.
