City Councilmen to Host Town Hall Forum for 2018 Budget

SAN ANGELO, TX -- The 2018 City budget and property tax rate will be the focus of a town hall meeting jointly hosted by City Councilmen Lane Carter and Tommy Hiebert on Thursday evening.

The gathering will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, in the City Council chambers at the McNease Convention Center, 501 Rio Concho Drive. The public is invited.

The City Council on Tuesday reached a consensus to maintain the current property tax rate of 77.6 cents in the coming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. 

Under the proposed budget, the San Angelo Police Department would add five officers and the San Angelo Fire Department would add eight firefighters/paramedics. The paramedics will staff an additional ambulance full-time.

Firefighters are slated to get the healthiest raises in an effort to raise their pay to 92 percent of what their peers in 13 benchmark cities earn. Police officers would get a raise of 1 percent while civilian employees would receive 1.5 percent. The City would also help defray about half of the health insurance increases employees will face.

Carter represents District 5 on the City Council. Hiebert represents District 6.