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Clute property tax rate likely to decrease
Published August 8, 2009
CLUTE — One way or another, Clute officials say they will balance their budget while trimming the city’s property taxes, though water and sewer fees likely will go up to pay for a major repair project.
City Council considered City Manger Kyle McCain’s proposed combined operations budget of about $8.43 million funded by a tax rate of 67 cents per $100 assessed property value, a cut of 2 cents from the currrent year’s rate.
While Mayor Calvin Shiflet, without providing specifics, said the proposed budget will undergo some refinements, he expects the proposed lower tax rate to remain unchanged.
Debt service payments on $3 million in certificates of obligation approved last month will be paid for through higher water and sewer fees. The bonds are paying for the Old Angleton Road sewer line repairs, the water well replacement at Pecan Street and the water line relocation along Highway 288.
The current water and sewer base rates are $10 monthly for each service that pays for 2,000 gallons of water. Every 1,000 gallons in excess of 2,000 gallons is $2.75.
For residences, McCain proposed keeping the base rate of $10 for each service, but adding a charge of $2.75 per 1,000 gallons for the first 2,000 received, McCain said, increasing to $2.95 for every 1,000 gallons above that level up to 20,000.
That would increase the fee for a customer billed for 2,000 gallons of water and sewer from a base rate of $20 a month to $31 a month.
For commercial properties, the $10 base rate for each service per month still applies, but the cost per 1,000 gallons starts at $2.95 and goes up to $3.15 per 1,000 gallons for both sewer and water after the first 20,000 gallons.
Other increased expenses in the budget are because of increased building insurance, health insurance, retirement and longevity, McCain said.
Though employees will not receive raises, they will receive a longevity payment of $4 for every month they have worked with the city starting after they have worked there for a full year, McCain said. The payment is made every year, he said.
To even out these increases, the city had proposed a budget with low equipment costs other than the purchase of three patrol cars, McCain said.
Councilman David Culpepper said he would like to look at the police department’s request for an additional dispatcher and would also like to hear from the municipal court before making any final decisions about the proposed budget, he said.
The city will have two public hearings to discuss its tax rate, at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 18 and 6:30 p.m. Aug. 27. The tax rate and budget must be adopted by the end of September.
In other business Thursday, City Council:
AWARDED: A contract to Horseshoe Construction Inc. to repair the Richwood and Clute sewer line that runs along Old Angleton Road. The project will cost $1.6 million.
“As a council, we need to do what’s best for the city of Clute and that is to accept the low bid,” Culpepper said.
Construction is set to begin within the next couple of months and will take three to four months to complete.
Richwood will pay for a portion of the repairs when it begins to pay for use of the pipeline. How much Richwood’s annual payment to Clute will be has not been determined.
APPROVED: Hiring KSA Engineers for $5,000 to create a Safe Routes to School plan for Brazosport ISD. Once the plan is complete, the city can apply for a grant for a sidewalk to be built along Old Angleton Road.
The plan can be paid for from the council contingency fund.
Katlynn Lanham covers Clute for The Facts. Contact her at (979) 237-0150.
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