Greetings, City of Cedar Park resident,
I’m Cedar Park City Manager Brenda Eivens, reaching out to you to say how glad I am you choose to make Cedar Park your home. We’re in a good place here in Cedar Park. What do we mean by that? Cedar Park is not only a great place for families and neighbors, but it also has a healthy local economy and strong City finances.
Last night, our City Council unanimously adopted the City Budget for Fiscal Year 2023, which starts on October 1. Council also dropped the tax rate by 4.2 cents, making our tax rate now 39 cents per $100 of assessed taxable value. It’s the 10th straight year Council has dropped the tax rate and is one of the lowest City tax rates in the region. With this new tax rate, even with rising property values, our average homeowner with a homestead exemption (75% of homeowners) should see a slight decrease in the amount paid to the City of Cedar Park.
While the City portion represents 20% or less of your overall property tax bill, you can count on the same high-quality city services and sound infrastructure you’ve come to expect, and you’ll see us start on the voter-approved Transportation/Mobility, Parks and Public Safety projects as we implement the 2022 GO Bonds Program.
This budget’s biggest public safety enhancement for Police Officers and Fire first responders is the launch of a new Mental Health Unit. It consists of specialized Police Officers and embedded mental health professionals – all dedicated to providing acute response to people in mental health crisis, offering follow-up and connecting them and their families to the resources they need.
The budget also includes resources for exciting new amenities coming online! Lakeline Park Phase One, set to open this fall, adds more than 100 developed acres to our Parks system and includes four new athletic fields, over three miles of trails, a canoe-kayak-and-fishing area, a large playground with zip line and a large multipurpose pavilion/performance stage.
During this time, I especially want you to know that the City of Cedar Park is maximizing every public dollar. How? We recently earned a AAA Bond Rating (a.k.a perfect credit score) from S&P Global. It’s already saved taxpayers over $750,000 on the recent bond issuances. S&P commended us for our sound debt management strategy which has already saved millions – and this year’s budget saves even more by planning $3 million in early debt payoff.
In closing, I want to thank you for entrusting us with your investment in Cedar Park. We are proud of our talented and dedicated staff who serve our community on a daily basis, and together with you, our residents, we’re definitely in a good place!
Warm Regards,
Brenda Eivens
City Manager
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