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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 975 Tax LevyOrdinance 975 Page 1 of 3 TOWN OF WESTLAKE ORDINANCE NO. 975 AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF WESTLAKE, TEXAS LEVYING TAXES TO BE ASSESSED ON ALL TAXABLE PROPERTIES WITHIN THE TOWN LIMITS OF THE TOWN OF WESTLAKE FOR THE TAX YEAR 2023 (FISCAL YEAR 2024); SETTING OUT EXEMPTIONS AND LIMITATION; PROVIDING FOR THE COLLECTION OF DELINQUENT TAXES AND A COLLECTION PENALTY TO BE ADDED TO DELINQUENT TAXES; PROVIDING FOR A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, a public hearing on the proposed annual budget for the Town of Westlake, Texas, for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2023, and ending on September 30, 2024, was duly advertised giving the date, time, place, and subject matter of the public hearing; and WHEREAS, a public hearing was set by the Town Council in a duly posted Town Council meeting held on August 7, 2023, and all citizens were invited to participate and be heard on September 11, 2023; and WHEREAS, all requirements of state law were met, including Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code chapter 551 requirements and the requirement of Texas Local Government Code 102.002 that the budget officer prepare a municipal budget to cover the proposed expenditures of the municipal government for the succeeding year; and WHEREAS, it is deemed to be in the best interest of the citizens of the Town of Westlake, Texas to levy a tax as set forth below, on all taxable properties within the Town limits of Westlake to provide the necessary funds to provide municipal services to its citizens and to meet all municipal commitments; and WHEREAS, The Town of Westlake's budget will raise more total property taxes than last year's budget by $668,821 or 19.25%, and of that amount, $171,382 is tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year; and WHEREAS, the Town of Westlake has passed exemptions to certain applicable taxes which were previously adopted by earlier Resolution and recognized and adopted a tax limitation set out in the Town Municipal Code and such exemptions and limitation are included and adopted as part of this Ordinance; and WHEREAS, the Town Council finds the passage of this Ordinance to be in the best interest for the citizens of Westlake, for the preservation of public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Town. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF WESTLAKE, TEXAS: SECTION 1: That all matters stated in the findings hereinabove are found to be true and correct and are incorporated herein by reference as if copied in their entirely. Ordinance 975 Page 2 of 3 SECTION 2: That the Town Council of the Town of Westlake, Texas shall hereby levy the following taxes on each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) of taxable valuation on all taxable property within the Town limits of the Town of Westlake, Texas to be assessed and collected by the Tax Assessor/Collector for the tax year 2023 (Fiscal Year 2024) for the purposes stipulated below, to-wit: a)$ 0. 09117 For General Fund Maintenance and Operations (M&O) b)$ 0. 07671 For Interest and Sinking Fund (I&S, Debt Service) SECTION 3: Exemptions: That the Town Council authorizes the following exemptions and limitations: a)Homestead exemption - That it is the intent of the Town Council of the Town of Westlake to continue to offer the highest possible homestead exemption, which would be a homestead exemption in the amount of twenty percent (20%) of the value of the homestead, and in any event, the exemption shall be at least a minimum of Five Thousand dollars ($5,000). For purposes of this section "residential homestead" is defined as a structure (including a mobile home) or a separately secured and occupied portion of a structure (together with land, not to exceed ten (10) acres, and improvements used in the residential occupancy of the structure and the land and improvements have identical ownership) that (1) is owned by one or more individuals, either directly or through a beneficial interest is a qualifying trust; (2) is designed or adapted for a human residence; (3) is used as a residence; and (4) is occupied as his or her principal residence by an owner or, for property owned through a beneficial interest in a qualifying trust, by a trustee of the trust who qualifies for the exemption. b)Over 65 or Disabled exemption - That an exemption for a resident over 65 or disabled, pursuant to section 11.13(b) of the Texas Tax Code shall be authorized in the amount of $10, 000. A resident is eligible for an exemption under this section if the resident is over 65 or disabled, but the resident shall not be entitled to two exemptions under this section, as set out in section 11.13(b) of the Texas Tax Code. c) The Town of Westlake previously adopted an ad valorem tax limitation in section 86- 2 of the Town Code, for elderly and disabled citizens according to Article VIII, Section 1- b of the Texas Constitution and Texas Tax Code §11.261, which provides "The county, municipality, or junior college district may not increase the total annual amount of ad valorem taxes the county, municipality, or junior college district imposes on the residence homestead of a disabled individual or an individual 65 years of age or older above the amount of the taxes the county, municipality, or junior college district imposed on the residence homestead in the first tax year, other than a tax year preceding the tax year in which the county, municipality, or junior college district established the limitation described by Subsection (a), in which the individual qualified that residence homestead for the exemption provided by Section 11.13(c) for a disabled individual or an individual 65 years of age or older." This provision, commonly referred to as a “tax freeze” means that residents who are already eligible for the provisions of that section will not have any increase in their taxes from the time that they became eligible, as citizens of Westlake; for that section. SECTION 4: State Law Required Statements: A) THIS TAX RATE WILL RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR' S TAX RATE. B)THE TAX RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY 7.59% AND WILL RAISE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A $100,000 HOME BY APPROXIMATELY $11.85. SECTION 5: The Town of Westlake will pursue collection of delinquent taxes and adopts the provisions of Section 33.07 of the Texas Tax Code so that hereafter an additional penalty of twenty (20) Ordinance 975 Page 3 of 3 percent of the delinquent tax, penalty and interest on delinquent taxes will be imposed on taxes becoming delinquent as provided by the Texas Tax Code and the Town's collection agreement. SECTION 6: If any portion of this Ordinance shall, for any reason, be declared invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions hereof and the Council hereby determines that it would have adopted this Ordinance without the invalid provision. SECTION 7: That this Ordinance shall become effective from and after its date of passage. PASSED AND APPROVED ON THIS 11th DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2023. ATTEST: Sean Kilbride, Mayor Amy M. Piukana, Town Secretary APPROVED AS TO FORM: L. Stanton Lowry, Town Attorney