Coppperas Cove City Council holding special workshop, meetings for fiscal year 2022-2023 budget, tax rate
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
The Copperas Cove City Council will be having a special workshop meeting on Tuesday, July 26, to discuss the ad valorem tax rate for fiscal year 2022-2023 followed by a special meeting
The Special Workshop meeting on Tuesday, July 26, will start at 5 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Technology Center located at 508 S. 2nd Street, with the workshop to follow at 5:30 p.m.
On July 28, the Special Meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. as well, also in the same location.
All will be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel and also broadcast live on Spectrum local government Channel 10.
Budget Director Ariana Beckman will be presenting the city council with the proposed ad valorem tax rate for the coming fiscal year 2022-2023.
The current property tax rate for Copperas Cove property owners is 76.0068 cents per $100 valuation. Coryell County Tax Assessor/Collector Justin Carothers has calculated the no-new-revenue and voter-approval tax rates for the next fiscal year.
Reviewing the calculations, the city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2022-2023 is based on a lowered property tax rate of 73.6006 cents per $100 valuation.
The city council will then hold the second public hearing for an ordinance to amend this year’s current budget (fiscal year 2021-2022) before taking any action. The proposed changes to the budget include an overall increase in expenditures in the amount of $64,000 in the General Fund to account for pay rate adjustments, as discussed during the July 7th city council regular meeting.
There will also be increases in expenditures in the amount of $64,696 in the Water and Sewer Fund to account for the above-mentioned pay rate adjustments.
Over in the Solid Waste Fund, overall expenditures are increasing by $43,587 for the pay rate adjustments. The Drainage Fund will see an increase of $13,353 in expenditures for the same, while the Street Maintenance Fund will see an increase in expenditures in the amount of $5,666.
On Thursday, July 28, the city council will meet again for another Special Meeting, where the council will take a record vote to propose a property tax rate for Fiscal Year 2022-2023.
Following the record vote, the council will then take action to set the date for a public hearing on the proposed tax rate, as well as the date which they formally adopt the tax rate. City staff’s recommendation is for city council to set this date as August 9, according to the agenda item.
During the July 28 meeting, the city council will also hold a public hearing on the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 for the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporation.
The EDC’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 has a beginning fund balance of $7.67 million, with a projected $1.56 million in revenue from sales tax and interest, operating expenses of $763,277, plus other expenditures for a total of $3.41 million (including $2 million for the Constitution Drive project). The proposed budget leaves the EDC with an ending fund balance of $5.83 million.
The council will then hold a public hearing on the city’s proposed budget and plan of municipal services for fiscal year 2022-2023.
With a tax rate of 73.6006 cents per $100 valuation, the proposed budget will bring in more property taxes compared to fiscal year 2021-2022 by $1.09 million, which is an increase of 9.23 percent, and of that amount, $327,516 is tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the city’s tax roll this year.
The proposed budget in its entirety by department can be viewed at https://www.copperascovetx.gov/files/budget/presentations/06142022%20FY%202022-23%20Proposed%20Budget%20by%20Department.pdf.
The city’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022-2023 for the General Fund has a beginning fund balance of $10.82 million, with $20.92 million in total revenues. The total operating expenditures are $20.9 million, including other expenditures (capital outlay and improvements and economic development incentives) totaling $623,718. The ending fund balance is $10.22 million.
The proposed budget for the Water and Sewer Fund has a beginning fund balance of $4.98 million and total revenues of $16.65 million. The Water and Sewer Fund funds the Public Works Administration, Utility Administration, Water Distribution, Wastewater collection and treatment and the different wastewater plants. The total proposed expenditures for the Water and Sewer Fund are $15.79 million, leaving an ending fund balance of $5.84 million.
The proposed budget for the Solid Waste Fund starts with a beginning fund balance of $3.47 million. The Solid Waste Fund budget proposes $5.36 million in total revenues and $6.56 million in total expenditures, leaving an ending fund balance of $2.27 million.
The proposed budget for the Drainage Utility Fund starts with a beginning fund balance of $2.93 million, with total revenues of $1.57 million and total expenditures of $3.92 million, leaving an ending fund balance of $594,886.
The proposed budget for the Street Maintenance Fund has a beginning fund balance of $1.06 million, with total revenues of $552,457 and total expenditures of $1.11 million, leaving an ending fund balance of $503,252.