The Annual Budget is one of the most important financial responsibilities of a local government, and preparation of the budget typically takes 6 months to complete. Since April, each City Council meeting has included a workshop presentation and discussion of the budget. These workshops included detailed discussions of all department operating budgets and a review of supplemental requests for new or enhanced services proposed for the upcoming fiscal year.
The Annual Budget is developed through an extensive process of reviewing requests received from various City departments then prioritizing those requests in a manner that utilizes resources effectively, within fiscal constraints, while working to achieve the City's strategic goals. The final version of the proposed budget was presented to the City Council on July 25th.
At the September 12th City Council meeting, the budget was adopted. The adopted FY 17-18 budget is funded by a property tax rate of $0.601288 which is $0.027712 less than the current tax rate of $0.629. With this new adopted tax rate, it is the fourth straight year that the City Council has reduced the property tax rate. When compared with other cities in our area, the City of Anna continues to have one of the lowest per-capita property tax levies.
According to the most recent population estimates, the City of Anna’s population grew 9.5% in 2016, and we anticipate a steady increase of 7 to 10 percent annual growth over the next few years. In order to keep pace with the service requirements of a rapidly growing city, the budget recommends the addition of seventeen (17) new full-time positions and one (1) part-time position. New employees will be added to several City departments, including: Police, Fire, Streets, Water, Wastewater, Parks, and Finance.
In November of 2016, a ballot proposition to reallocate a portion of the local option sales tax to the General Fund was approved. As a result, the portion of the sales tax revenue allocated to the General Fund increased from 1% to 1.25%. The revenue generated in FY 2018 by the additional 0.25% sales tax allocation will be added to the Streets department budget to pay for capital improvement projects.
The City is evaluating the issuance of bonds in FY 2018 to pay for several new street projects including the reconstruction of Hackberry Lane between SH 5 and Slayter Creek. Future revenue from the sales tax reallocation may be used to offset bond payments for the Hackberry Lane project or other roadway improvement projects.
As Anna continues to grow, the City remains committed to the vision and goals outlined in its Strategic Plan. The 2017-18 fiscal year budget is designed to preserve and enhance the quality of existing services and respond appropriately to our city’s continuing growth and development.