At the upcoming budget hearings, Boerne residents will have the opportunity to comment on the approved $138 million city budget. The tax rate is $0.4716, a half-cent reduction from the current fiscal year.

At its Aug. 13 meeting, the City Council unanimously approved the certified tax list and the establishment of a tax rate for the 2024-25 budget. This was the culmination of months of study, review and number crunching by city administrators and department heads.

“We are pleased to have presented a budget that we believe meets all of our budget goals,” said Ben Thatcher, city manager. “I am proud of this budget because it builds on all the great work we have done over the last three or four years.”

According to Finance Director Sara Buckelew, the budget is $138 million, a 2.4 percent decrease from last year’s budget.

The council has scheduled public hearings for Aug. 27 and Sept. 10 before setting expected revenues and expenses for 2024-25 to continue serving Boerne’s more than 23,000 residents.

“This is a half-cent tax cut that was not needed,” Danny Zincke, deputy city manager, told the council. In recent years, residential tax rates have had to be adjusted due to state-mandated property tax cuts, skyrocketing proper assessments and voter-approved bonds.

“This (budget) still has all optimal fund balances and no service level cuts are planned,” Zincke said.

The city recorded a 2% increase in taxable values based on the Kendall Country Appraisal District valuations, slightly offset by the city’s half-cent cut – meaning homeowners’ tax bills will rise despite the slashed budget and tax rate cut.

Buckelew told the council that the average home value had increased to $460,000 from $425,000 last year.

“This is primarily due to the new properties being added to the list and the high value of these new properties, rather than the properties already included in the list last year,” she said.

The tax bill for an average home is $2,183, with $1,635 going to the city’s maintenance and operations budget and the remaining $548 set aside to service the city’s interest and principal debt.

“It costs about $5.12 a day to live in the city of Boerne,” Buckelew said. That covers all of the city’s street maintenance, 483 acres of parks, the city library, and emergency services for the fire department and police.

The budget provides for a four percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for staff beginning October 1, with no increase in the cost of the city’s social security program.

The budget includes six new positions: a cybersecurity IT analyst and a police mental health officer, both funded through grants; a communications engagement specialist; and three utility officers, an engineer, a GIS technician and an administrative assistant. These three are funded through the utility fund.

The budget includes $3 million in infrastructure projects, including $1.4 million for Fire Station No. 2, $430,000 for road work at Cascade Caverns and $420,000 for Bucee’s Way, a Kinder Park restroom rehabilitation project, construction of a parking lot on Plant Street, creation of a roundabout between John Road and School Street, and ongoing road construction funded by previous bonds.

Equipment and materials to be purchased or improved during the fiscal year include replacing the library carpet, repairing the fire station, purchasing multi-band radios and breathing apparatus, a dump truck and sweeper, a John Deere lawn mower, an ADA pool lift, improving the courtroom audio-visual system, LED stop signs, and needs studies for a new animal care facility and a downtown parking garage study.

“It has taken an enormous effort to bring a budget of $138 million to your attention,” Thatcher said.