It’s hard to believe we’re already in September! This is always a busy time for the Town, as we finalize the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, which goes into effect on Oct. 1.
The proposed budget – which will be voted on and approved this month – currently totals $352 million. I’m thrilled that the budget proposes providing property tax relief to our residents by decreasing the tax rate and raising the homestead exemption. This was accomplished by using the Town’s dedicated sales tax funds to provide additional funding for operations, maintenance, and capital needs. The budget proposes a property tax rate of $0.378278 per $100 value – the lowest in the Town’s history! On top of that, Council has already voted to increase the homestead exemption from 12.5 percent to 15 percent in the new fiscal year. So what does that mean for you? A homestead exemption lowers the property value used to calculate property taxes owed. It has been a priority of Town Council’s for many years to increase homestead exemptions. In 2018, Flower Mound passed its first homestead exemption at 2.5 percent, and in subsequent years, has continued to raise that number to provide property owners additional relief. This means after the increased homestead exemption, the owner of a $450,000 home in Flower Mound will pay approximately $1,446.91 to the Town in 2025 property taxes, about $42.64 less than what they paid in 2024. Those taxes are used for a variety of quality services, including police, fire, streets, utilities, parks and recreation, and much more. To find your estimated tax payment for the 2024 tax year, visit www.flowermound.gov/mytaxdollars, select the My Tax Dollars calculator, and enter your estimated home value.
There are several priorities of Town Council that are reflected in the Fiscal Year 2024-25 proposed budget. Public safety is one of those. The proposed budget funds a fourth medic team and ambulance, which will help us uphold target response times and better serve the quickly growing western side of Flower Mound. On the police side of things, the proposed budget expands our School Resource Officer (SRO) program, with one new SRO and one new SRO Sergeant.
Maintaining and growing our award-winning parks, trails, recreational amenities, and special events is another priority reflected in this budget. A dedicated special events team is proposed, which will enhance our event offerings and focus on the creation of a new signature fall festival for residents of all ages to enjoy.
Our outstanding staff members keep everything running in town. This budget includes a merit increase and market adjustments to remain competitive in the local marketplace and reward performance. It also includes a cost-of-living adjustment to our retirement plan through the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS).
The proposed budget includes several critical capital improvement projects, from signal and street projects to water and wastewater updates. To help support the ongoing maintenance and improvement of our infrastructure, this budget has nine new Public Works positions.
There is so much more I could write about our budget process and how Town staff and Council make decisions about what is included and how it’s funded. But thankfully, since I don’t have the space here, you can explore all of that and more in our new digital platform.
This is the first year the Town is utilizing ClearGov to present the budget in a device-friendly, easy-to-use, and transparent format. You can learn more about our financial strategy, break down budgets by department, see summaries of the Town’s funds and their sources, and more. Town staff values input from residents, and this change will hopefully encourage more community members to participate in our annual budget process. To learn more and see the FY 2024-2025 Proposed Budget, visit www.flowermound.gov/proposedbudget. And if you have feedback, be sure to join us on Monday, Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. at Town Hall (2121 Cross Timbers Rd.) for the proposed budget public hearing. If you can’t make that meeting, you can always email Town Council at [email protected] with your thoughts.
I look forward to hearing from you, and I’m excited to see this budget – and all of the exciting projects and initiatives contained within it – come to life in October. Thanks for reading!
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