The Denton City Council voted Tuesday night to approve a city budget of more than $2 billion, a property tax rate increase and more utility rate increases.
The approved budget totals about $2.37 billion, up from the previous year’s $1.95 billion.
The rate increases come at a time when thousands of homeowners have been contesting high appraisal values in a city where the average home value is nearly $400,000, according to a presentation by city staff Tuesday.
The property tax rate increase will mean an additional $291 a year for the average residential property owner, according to the city.
Based on the newly approved tax rate of 58.542 cents per $100 property valuation, the owner of a home with the average taxable value of about $380,000 will pay $2,223 on the city of Denton portion of their property tax bill for 2025, compared to the $1,932 assessed on a home with the average value of about $345,000 this year.
The city’s current property tax rate is 56.0682 cents per $100 valuation.
Of the new 58.542-cent tax rate, about 33 cents will be used for operations and maintenance while about 25 cents will be used for debt.
Along with a property tax increase, residents will also see an annual increase of $84 for their total average utility bills. According to Tuesday’s presentation, those breakdowns for the year from 2024 to 2025 are as follows:
- Water bills will go up from $598 annually to $617 (a 3.2% increase) for customers who average 9,000 gallons. This will appear as increases to wholesale water rates, meter deposits, backflow testing, commercial irrigation and tap fees.
- Wastewater bills will go from $420 annually to $466 (11% increase) for those who average 5,400 gallons. These will be increases to tap fees, sale of treated effluent and waste transportation manifest books.
- Electric bills are projected to go from $1,649 to $1,663 (0.8% increase) for those who use an average of 1,000 kilowatt-hours. This increase will help to address updates to the pole attachment schedule and inclusion of the wholesale transmission fee schedule.
- Solid waste will go from $300 to $305 (1.7% increase) for those with the most-common 95-gallon carts for solid waste and recycling. There will be increases to roll-off and compactor rates and landfill rates.
The City Manager’s Office recommended several hires and salary adjustments for 2025.
Human resources will receive a salary adjustment of $372,834 and a 3% cost of living adjustment and an average 2.5% merit increase for a total cost of about $1.7 million.
“We’re a growing city, and some of the growth requires more people,” Mayor Pro Tem Paul Meltzer said. “... It’s not a sweet pill, but that’s why this is before us.”
Eight additional Denton Police Department positions were funded for about $1.35 million. Those positions include two police officers ($358,818), two K-9 officers ($494,318), a K-9 sergeant ($207,388) and a police quartermaster ($96,305), an officer who manages police uniforms and equipment.
The Fire Department received funding for two additional firefighters and reclassifications for Engine 9 and Ladder Truck 3 for $731,941.
In addition, three positions were funded for the Denton Animal Services — two animal care technicians ($172,226) and a coordinator for behavior, enrichment and placement ($96,284).
Development services wasn’t left out. The council approved $115,000 for a risk-based inspection program and $106,066 for small-area plan implementation.
Council members also hired another attorney for the city, paying $211,105 for the position.
New equipment and programs found funding, including new e-bikes for police ($32,500), restroom signage and products ($12,596) and hydration stations ($88,000), which could limit the number of plastic bottles being disposed and offer those caught in the heat additional water resources to cool off.
At the Tuesday night meeting, a couple of people spoke in opposition, reiterating that people are struggling to afford their homes, in part due to taxes that continue to increase year after year, and saying that council members are pushing people out of their homes.
“These people right here will not stop spending — too many special interests and too many people with their hat in hand,” Denton resident Charles Lee said. “You got to organize and strip these people and tie their hands and stop spending and put new people in there. People have to organize and stop this.”