The Denton City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a budget and tax rate that will bring in more property tax revenue for the city.
The budget, approved during a special called meeting, projects that the city will receive $11.4 million more, or 12%, in property tax revenue compared to the previous year. About $5.8 million of that amount comes from new properties added to the tax rolls this year.
The tax rate was set the same as the previous year’s rate: 56.5682 cents per $100 property valuation.
“Even though we are keeping the same tax rate, there will be an increase to the average home bill,” Assistant City Manager Cassey Ogden told council members at the Sept. 19 public hearing.
Ogden said that though the council has kept the tax rate low each year, property values continue to rise, leading to higher tax bills for property owners.
The average property valuation of a home in Denton is going up from about $307,000 this year to nearly $345,000 in 2024, which means that even with the city tax rate staying the same, the city portion of the property tax bill for the average home will also increase — to $1,932, up $209 from this year, according to a city staff presentation.
As part of the budget, the council adopted $4.9 million in supplement packages that Ogden said will fund 27 new positions for the Fire Department, Police Department, animal services, development services and the city manager’s office.
Customers’ wastewater rates will also increase 11%.
At the Sept. 19 meeting, Ogden said the wastewater increase will add about $3 to the monthly bill for the average residential customer. It is needed to increase capacity, Ogden said, because Denton currently has one wastewater plant and needs to build another.
“The plants are very expensive, and we’re proposing to build a new plant, which will require a rate increase over the next several years,” Ogden said.