Bryan City Council unanimously approves FY24 budget, sets public hearing for tax rate

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) -The Bryan City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve its budget for the 2024 fiscal year.

This budget, totaling $503,747,895, covers various departmental operations and improvements while also addressing debt obligations as per existing contracts and laws.

The full budget released by the city of Bryan is below.

City of Bryan Fiscal Year 2… by KBTX

This budget, totaling $503,747,895, covers various departmental operations and improvements while also addressing debt obligations as per existing contracts and laws. The ordinance grants authority to the City Manager for specific fund transfers, ensuring adherence to the approved budget.

The Bryan City Council voted to set the property tax rate at $0.624 per $100.00 of assessed valuation. City staff says this decision will lead to a 19.11% increase in total tax revenue from properties on the tax roll compared to the previous tax year. This increase represents the percentage by which the proposed tax rate exceeds the lower of the No-New-Revenue Rate or Voter-Approval Rate, as calculated under Tax Code, Chapter 26.

A final public hearing next week is expected to result in city leaders maintaining the 2023 tax rate.

Will Smith, Chief Financial Officer for the city, says this could lead to property tax increases for some due to rising home valuations set by the county appraisal district.

“Tonight was the first reading of the tax rate. We have one more reading of the tax rate scheduled for a week from tonight, on September 12th. If the council chooses to approve it, we will have an adopted tax rate as well,” said Smith.

“Generally speaking, if your valuation went up from last year, there will be an increase in the taxes you’ll pay this year. The average home value in Bryan is about $261,000 this year, up from about $230,000 last year. So, for the average homeowner in Bryan, there will be a little over a $180 per year increase, which equates to about $15 per month,” Smith added.”

Smith emphasizes that it’s important to note that the city does not determine home valuations.

“With regard to the increase in valuations, in the state of Texas, that is dictated by state law, which is carried out by a central appraisal district. Those are the entities responsible for conducting valuations based on state law. So, while valuations did go up in the city of Bryan, none of the taxing entities have any influence on those valuations. It’s a third party that is unassociated with the actual collection of the revenues,” said Smith.