LONGVIEW (KYTX) - Longview City Manager David Willard unveiled a $152.2 million budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2013 at tonight's City Council meeting.
The budget includes an estimated $755,000 increase in street maintenance and traffic signal upgrades, along with mid-year employee raises of 3 percent across the board.
Property tax values in the city increased 2.5 percent to $5.5 billion, which will mean $19.9 million in ad valorem revenue, up from $19.4 million in the current fiscal year. However, Willard predicts sales tax revenue will hit a three-year low, at $19.9 million, down from more than $20.2 million in 2010.
Willard called for keeping the city's property tax rate at 50.09 cents per $100 valuation. Of the $60.37 million in general fund spending, more than half of that budget is for police and fire services.
Willard has also proposed raising water and wastewater rates for all levels of services. For most residents who are hooked to the city's water system by a 5/8-inch meter, the monthly rate would amount to about $3.50 on about 7,000 gallons of consumption, or for one-inch-meter customers, the rate would increase nearly $6 a month.
Despite a shift in focus among most energy companies to the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, Willard said the Longview economic is "well diversified and has fared much better than many other cities in Texas, as well as the nation as a whole." The plan for city administrators was to budget conservatively, remain fiscally responsible, reduce costs throughout the budget when possible and continue to provide quality services, particularly in public safety and public works, while not raising taxes, he said.
City Council members will consider adopting the budget on Aug. 30, and the tax rate on Sept. 13. A public hearing on the spending plan is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 23.
