Council eyes budget, taxes in FY 2024

The Olney City Council considered raising property taxes to balance the fiscal year 2024 budget which is being squeezed between inflation and state-mandated property tax cuts. The Council also was considering removing some dedicated revenues, such as fees for water tank maintenance, from the general fund and creating an apparent deficit on the City’s books.

City Administrator Arpegea Pagsuberon told the Council that Waste Connections plans to increase its fees for trash hauling by as much as 20 percent in the coming fiscal year due to fuel and surcharges.

The City has not raised rates for trash services but may have to, Mrs. Pagsuberon told the Council.

The proposed City budget also includes funding for an additional employee to work with the public works and police departments.

“We need someone to help with the tire cutter and code enforcement to keep up the [foreclosed] lots that haven’t been purchased,” Mrs. Pagsuberon said. “Also demolishing the condemned houses and cutting brush. That’s a lot of bandwidth,” Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck said the request for an additional city employee stems from “a want on our behalf to show progress” with code enforcement.

“We are going to have to get creative about how to make these changes,” Councilmember Harrison Wellman said. “It’s easy to ask for money and another thing to figure out how we can make this work.”

Councilmembers met with Young County Chief Appraiser Jesse Blackmon at a Sept. 1 special meeting to explore ways to raise taxes above voter-approved levels to compensate for declining local revenues caused by the state’s property tax cuts.

Texas voters are widely expected to approve a November ballot measure that raises the homestead exemption to $100,000 from $40,000. “Property tax values will be coming down all over the city,” Mr. Harrison said. “Would this be chance for us to consider raising our ... tax rate?”