Great news! Thanks to smart, cost-saving measures made during the onset of COVID-19, and revenue from a one-time land sale, it looks like the City of Cedar Park will end this Fiscal Year on September 30 approximately $1.15M in the black for its General Fund.
The City of Cedar Park’s new Fiscal Year begins October 1, 2020. This year’s budget theme is Home is where the Heart is – recognizing that the pandemic’s Stay Home Work Safe orders caused many of us to reprioritize and refocus on home, family and community.
The City budget’s General Fund, which pays for important services you depend on, such as public safety, maintenance, our parks and our library, is funded by only about 18 percent of your ad valorem (according to value) property taxes. The rest goes to other entities: about 58 percent goes to the school district, about 19 percent goes to the County and about five percent goes to the College District and Health District. At the August 13 regular scheduled City Council Meeting, our City Council set the maximum tax rate at .446977, a fraction lower than last year’s tax rate of .447 cents per $100 of property valuation. The City of Cedar Park also has a homestead exemption, which automatically deducts $5,000 from the appraised value of your home for purposes of figuring the City portion of your tax bill.
With this working No New Revenue maximum tax rate, the typical Cedar Park homeowner would see a slight increase of about $2.65 per month on the City portion of their property tax bill. This is largely due to rising home values.
The FY 21 General Fund working budget The FY 2021 working budget takes into consideration the uncertainty surrounding the duration and future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has few enhancements that include contract-negotiated step increases and overtime for Police and Fire, reclassification of one FTE employee and mandated or necessary costs such as replacement of aging air conditioning units at the Police Department, security and safety improvements for City facilities and election expenses.
For more information check out our budget website here.
