WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) – In a six-to-one vote, Wichita Falls city council approved the budget for the upcoming fiscal year in addition to a lower property tax rate for citizens.

This year’s budget is forecast at $ 195.4 million, an increase of $ 11 million from last year. 45% of this budget will go to various expenses, with public security, general and non-ministerial municipal services receiving most of this 45%.

“It’s a long process and sometimes I think it gets out of hand in the sense that citizens think we are adopting a budget of over $ 109 million and think we haven’t combed through as much as possible to make sure that we ‘We are doing our job,’ said Wichita Falls City Mayor Stephen Santellana. “We asked a lot of questions.

The budget included a reduction in the property tax rate. The old point rate of $ 0.763323 / $ 100 of assessed value will now drop to point $ 0.760928. The city will make more money, however, after the overall property values ​​in Wichita Falls rise in addition to an increase in the arrival of new properties.

“Sometimes that language is confusing to them about how we can cut a rate and things can go up, where those caps are or where those automatic elections or automatic cancellations are. This is why we say to contact us, ”said Mayor Santellana. “Sometimes I can give you a little page or quickly explain where this money is, where our cap is. It is difficult for the general public to get this information and understand it from the start.

In addition to approving the budget and lowering tax rates, city council spent much of the meeting discussing a new ordinance that would increase fees for nearly all of the city’s operations.

A number of advisers argued that, while tedious, the fees should be voted on one by one rather than as a whole, especially when it comes to development costs. Wichita Falls ranks last for cost among other cities, and some say that’s a good thing.

“So I asked the question, is this bad?” Is it negative to be in last place for certain fees? For me, that’s a positive thing with more room for growth than the chamber of commerce would like to see, ”said Michael Grassi of the North Texas Home Builders Association. “From a development perspective, the cost of doing business here is much lower than the rest of the state. “

In addition to development, the board decided to file other fees and consider them individually at a later date.

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