City of San Angelo Council Votes to Hike Property Tax Rate

SAN ANGELO, TX – The San Angelo City Council, during a meeting Monday, began discussions on the proposed operating budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025.

The budget includes an increase in property taxes, raising total property tax revenue by $5.96 million, or 11.66% more than the previous year’s budget.

Of this amount, $671,739 is expected to come from new properties added to the tax roll, according to information from the city. New property revenue is not counted against the 3.5% new revenue cap over last year called the "Voter Approved Rate."

The proposed budget, totaling $196,424,464, will fund various city operations, including maintenance and operations, street infrastructure, and debt service.

The proposed FY 2025 tax rate will be $0.7544 per $100 valuation, which represents an increase from the current FY 2024 rate of $0.7042 per $100 valuation. That's an increase of $0.0502. 

Of the total tax rate, $0.6178 goes to the maintenance and operations general fund, $0.0072 is for the street infrastructure fund, and $0.1294 is used to pay annual interest and "maturities and create debt service funding to discharge outstanding bonded indebtedness of the City of San Angelo."

In addition to the property tax rate increase, the proposed tax rates include:

• No New Revenue Tax Rate: $0.6565 per $100 valuation, slightly down from $0.6566.
• No New Revenue M&O Tax Rate: $0.5863 per $100 valuation, up from $0.5698.
• Voter Approval Tax Rate: $0.7739 per $100 valuation, an increase from $0.7042.
• Debt Tax Rate: $0.1294 per $100 valuation, up from $0.1143.

As part of the budget process, the City Council held the first public hearing and reading of the ordinance to adopt the budget, which will take effect on Oct. 1, 2024, and run through Sept. 30, 2025. The ordinance appropriates funds for the upcoming fiscal year. 

In addition to the budget adoption, the Council will also need to ratify the property tax revenue increase during a separate vote scheduled for Sept. 3, 2024. 

Additionally, the proposed tax rate is expected to generate revenue for the General Fund, Street Infrastructure Fund, General Debt Service Fund, and the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) for both the North and South sectors, with a projected 98% collection rate.

The City of San Angelo’s total municipal debt obligations secured by property taxes amount to $57.68 million, with the TIRZ portion contributing $2.54 million, alongside an additional $986,428 from Tom Green County.

The next step before the tax hike is adopted is for the Council to hold a final vote on the budget and tax rate in September, following further discussions and public input. The FY 2025 budget year begins October 1.

The county raised taxes by realizing an increase in total revenue from property valuation increases but will keep the rate the same. The San Angelo ISD is expected to pass a 3-cent tax rate increase to capture more state-allowed revenue incorporating "3 Golden Pennies."