HUTTON, Texas — The Hutto City Council is divided over next year’s budget proposal, which may include a fifteen percent tax increase.

State law requires five votes to pass a budget bill, but three members of the seven-member council have vowed to reject any tax rates that “do not raise new revenue.”

It’s a busy time for city councils across Texas, and Hutto is no exception.

“I think it’s an exciting time, but also a challenging time,” said Councilman Brian Thompson.

The city is growing rapidly; in the last ten years its population has increased from an original 15,000 to almost 40,000.

“We moved here in 2001 and we’ve just experienced phenomenal growth,” said Mayor Peter Gordon. “I think especially in the last few years we’ve seen a tremendous amount of traffic.”

Gordon said the proposed $300 million budget takes this growth into account through infrastructure improvements and hiring more staff. To fund this, a 15 percent property tax increase is proposed, from $0.42 per $100 to nearly $0.46, or an average of $200 to $300 per year.

“I’m also a member of this community and I don’t want my taxes to go up,” Thompson said. “But I also understand that as part of a community, you have a responsibility to help the community grow.”

But Mayor Mike Snyder and two other council members have pledged not to support a tax rate below the no-new-revenue rate of 39 cents. The reason is that property values ​​in Hutto have increased and fewer taxes are needed to raise the same amount of revenue as last year.

“I can’t control the cost of gas. And I can’t control the cost of milk,” Snyder said. “But I can help keep house or rent payments from going up.”

Thompson fears that this approach will result in drastic cuts, such as proposed changes to health insurance premiums for city employees.

“It’s not something I can support,” Thompson said. “And I don’t think that’s what we want to be known for here in the town of Hutto.”

Snyder says it’s not about making drastic cuts, but trimming excess fat. He says the growth has already brought in an extra $2 million in taxes each year he’s been on the council, and cites a planned trip to Korea, clothing subsidies and travel expenses as examples of wasteful spending.

“We’re not telling people not to cut here, not to cut there,” Snyder said. “We’re saying we need to have a discussion about how we can limit the growth of the state.”

State law gives five council members the authority to set a tax rate, but because the council has only seven members, the three-member alliance is sharply divided during budget talks.

“Why don’t we try to save everyone time and just say we’re not going to vote for tax increases,” Snyder said. “And when we do that, we can have a discussion about what we’re actually going to spend money on this year?”

Thompson and Gordon say the city council doesn’t always have to agree, but they want the others to return to the negotiating table.

“To shut down the discussion and not even be willing to talk about anything above a set number is, in my opinion, counterproductive,” Gordon said.

The County Assessor’s office has asked Hutto to adopt a budget before Sept. 15. Two more meetings are scheduled before then.