Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Kyle City Council discussed a new tax rate and provided budget feedback at its Aug. 19 meeting.
Tax rate
According to finance director Perwez Moheet, when the city’s proposed tax rate exceeds the no new revenue tax rate, a resolution must be considered before a vote occurs. A no new revenue tax rate is “the tax rate that will raise the same amount of tax revenue that we raised from the year before, from the exact same properties on the tax roll,” explained Moheet, meaning that it will not raise any additional revenue.
The tax rate is composed of two portions — the maintenance and operations rate and the interest and sinking rate, which are composed of general operations of the government, such as the police department, public library, city attorney’s offices, etc., and the repayment of debt that is due, respectively.
Moheet continued by listing the top five variables that affect property taxes in Kyle:
1. Certified taxable assessed valuations
2. Certified taxable assessed valuations for all six tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZ)
3. Capital spending plan for tax supported projects
4. Debt levy for next fiscal year to be paid from property tax
5. Other sources of revenue
“The key thing to remember about this tax rate is, if the city or county or any taxing entity proposes a tax rate that is higher than the voter approval tax rate, then you must seek the voters' approval to exceed that tax rate. So, if the council decided to set a tax rate that is higher than the voter approval tax rate, then it would trigger an election in November for the voters to decide if the city can have that tax rate. If the voters do not approve, then we’ll have to come back and adjust the tax rate,” said the director.
Currently, the tax rate is at $0.4693 per $100 assessed valuation, said Moheet, while the proposed tax rate for fiscal year (FY) 2025-26 is $0.5957, which is the maximum voter approved rate, and includes a $0.488509 no new revenue rate. This is a $0.1264, or 26.93%, increase from the previous FY.
Using the proposed tax rate on a home valued at $315,422 — the average home value in the city — a homeowner in Kyle could expect to pay $1,640.69, with the $40,000 homestead exemption that the city provides. This would be a $304.47 increase from FY 2024-25.
When council member Michael Tobias asked how to explain why the home values are decreasing, but that residents will receive a higher tax bill, Mayor Travis Mitchell stated that the reason is because of the 2022 road bond.
“The truth is, we asked the voters what they cared about the most and they said fixing our roads. We put forward a proposition and we said, 'It's going to cost up to $0.59, which is a big increase. Do you want us to do that and fix your roads?’ And they, overwhelmingly, 65% — it was not close — said, ‘Yes,’” Mitchell stated.
Often people compare Kyle to Buda, which has a lower tax rate, but the difference, he continued, is that Kyle has an additional $40,000 homestead exemption, no matter the age, as well as a lower home value rate. So, the average Buda homeowner is paying more.
Additionally, Mitchell stated that TIRZ actually aids in reducing the tax rate, since it includes both money from the county and the city to pay for infrastructure projects, rather than the payment coming strictly out of the city’s general fund.
“Because we’re going ahead and going up to that $0.59 that the voters approved, by paying down debt early, it’s going to allow for us to actually not have to exceed the $0.59,” said Mitchell.
“I know there was talk about $0.61 something, so I just wanted to make sure that we were staying at the threshold that we’re allowed to and not going over. Even if we could, we promised the voters $0.59; I’m just glad we stayed there,” said council member Robert Rizo.
The item to approve the resolution was passed 7-0. Despite this, council will still have to vote to approve the tax rate at a later date.
Budget feedback
Following discussion of the city’s possible tax rate, council provided additional feedback on the $603 million proposed city budget.
This item came about after four questions were asked at the July 26 meeting, which required staff to gather additional information to present to the members.
The first was whether there was funding for the Hays County Food Bank and the Hays Caldwell Women’s Center.
According to Moheet, the money allotted to the food bank is $15,000. Similarly, there is $15,000 for the women’s center. Moheet stated that if any changes were to be made by council, it would occur at the Sept. 2 meeting.
Next, Kyle Police Department Chief Jeff Barnett gave a presentation regarding the proposed K9 and drone programs.
“[With] the police K9 program, I’ve been asked: ‘What is the purpose? What are we going to do with it? How are we going to utilize it?’ We intend to have a multi-purpose, trained police dog that would be assigned to one police officer that basically lives with that officer day and night. They perform patrol related services,” explained Barnett. “That means they may be out in the community, either assisting the on-duty patrol personnel, whether they’re looking for a person who has fled from officers, maybe they’re hiding, maybe they’re lost.”
The chief then shared that the past afternoon, hours were spent looking for a 13-year-old child who was lost in the woods, where a canine would have been advantageous.
In addition to these scenarios, Barnett anticipates cross-training the dog for the purpose of finding evidence, such as illegal drugs, weapons and more.
Having a K9 officer on the KPD team would also prevent the cost that the department has to endure requesting dogs from other facilities, such as the San Marcos Police Department and the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, he said.
“It starts with the K9. We borrow a K9 and I feel like we’re borrowing some of San Marcos staff. We’re borrowing some of the county staff. I think we need to be a little more self-sufficient as a city. We need to make sure we’re making that investment and moving forward, especially when fentanyl played such a big role in our community there for a while,” said Rizo. “I’m in favor of the K9. I think it’ll be great.”
In response to the questions about the Drone as a First Responder program, Barnett stated that the city of Kyle would be one of the first adopters of that technology in the state.
This drone would launch based off of calls for service in the city, fly to the scene and provide live video to Real-Time Crime Center and police supervisors on duty as needed, so that the situation can be assessed to determine what the safest and best response is. It would also be used for wildfires and accidents.
“We get a lot of calls on accidents [and], sometimes, that information isn’t the best. So, this drone could provide us with some real-time information as to whether it’s multiple vehicles or if there are hazardous materials involved. Is there a particular, better approach, so that we can maneuver traffic around that location. We think all of that information provided by the drone would help keep our officers safer for certain and then, better respond to that situation,” said Barnett.
Although the drone is automated, it requires a drone pilot to be available. Currently, there are several KPD officers trained to fly drones, said Barnett.
The request for the drone is $150,000.
“One of the most important questions that you may have is, ‘Well, where does this data get stored? Where does the video get stored? Who has access to it? Both two of the major brands of drones that are out there that law enforcement use are either a Flock [Safety] brand drone or an Axon brand drone,” said Barnett, who explained that KPD uses Axon for its body cameras.
The information is either stored in Microsoft Azure Cloud storage, with Axon, or in Amazon Web Services, with Flock Safety, said Barnett, both of which are approved by and store federal information. The video is then kept for 30 days, unless needed for a criminal trial.
The chief also shared that KPD has received a grant to purchase a second drone.
Rizo stated that he supports the drones, as well, and would prefer the Axon system used, as it coincides with the body cameras.
“I’m supportive of both of these good recommendations. I think these are resources that are definitely going to help and keep our officers safe and keep our community safe,” said council member Miguel Zuniga.
According to Barnett and council member Bear Heiser, city leadership is working on creating a program or audit to promote transparency, as Heiser was previously concerned about the storage of the data and potential harmful use. Until this information is brought back, the council member stated that he will withhold his comments.
Kyle City Council will meet next Sept. 2. To listen to the discussions, visit bit.ly/4lEGshi.
