Rockwall City Council votes to lower tax rate for residents

Decrease in rate is lowest in nearly a decade.

(ROCKWALL, TX – Sept. 21, 2016) At their regular meeting Monday, the Rockwall City Council decreased taxes to the lowest rate since 2008. In the vote, the Council adopted a balanced budget and a 3.1 cent drop in the tax rate.

The City Council directed staff to prepare a balanced budget based on the effective tax rate, which allows the City to collect the same amount in taxes as the year before. The new tax rate of 45.43 cents per $100 of valuation is down from the 48.53 cents adopted in 2016.

Some of the highlights of the 2016-2017 budget include:

General Operating Budget of $34,044,150
Total assessed value of $5.1 billion
Three new firefighter / driver positions in the Fire Department
One new patrol officer and one captain position in the Police Department; $250,000 for security improvements to the Rockwall Police Department building; and nine new police vehicles
$481,000 for participation in the Rockwall County Interoperable Public Safety Radio System
$131,000 for a local match to a Texas Parks & Wildlife Grant to add a third boat ramp, second courtesy dock, additional lighting and parking at the SH 66 Boat Ramp. TP&W will pay $372,000 of the project cost
$1,400,000 for street maintenance and repairs
A traffic signal at Steger Town Road and Ralph Hall Parkway intersection

“I want to thank my fellow City Council members for their dedication to providing Rockwall citizens with a high quality of life, and for doing so without passing the burden on to our taxpayers,” said Rockwall Mayor Jim Pruitt.

The new budget reflects the City Council’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, while continuing to address important services such as public safety, parks and recreation, and street repair and maintenance. Several factors combined to enable the City to utilize the effective tax rate without making substantial cuts to the budget, including strong sales tax revenue coupled with high end growth, and a reduction in debt by refinancing the City’s existing debt at a lower interest rate, saving nearly $10 million over the remaining life of the bonds. The City’s fiscal year for 2017 begins on October 1.

Submitted press release by Lauri Dodd, Public Information Officer/Marketing, City of Rockwall.