City streets will soon undergo a $61 million facelift after voters approved the 2020 bond program. Staff photo
A voter-approved tax increase did not make it into the city’s 2018 budget after all. Corpus Christi City Council members voted unanimously Sept. 19 to keep the city’s current tax rate of $0.61 per $100 property valuation after initially casting a split vote to raise the rate by $0.02 cents per $100 valuation.
Voters approved the 2 cent increase in the November General Election in 2016 with the provision that the $3.4 million raised would be used for residential street improvements. On Sept. 12, the city proposed a tax rate of about $0.63 per $100 valuation.
The council had missed a deadline to post announcements of the proposed tax increase, which caused members to rethink the decision. The state had granted the city an extension of the Sept. 1 deadline due to Hurricane Harvey, but once council members learned the change would cost the city $100,000, the tax jump was bumped off.
The additional money would have been necessary for publishing fees. Without adequate public notices, the city could leave itself open to a lawsuit, City Attorney Miles Risley said.
Mayor Joe McComb pledged he would find the money for street repairs elsewhere.
“You need to spread the word among your organization that I’m coming after $3 million after this budget is passed,” McComb told city staff. “I’m going to find $3 million in the existing budget, and we are going to put it in the street fund. Adjustments are going to be made.”
Even without the additional 2 cents for city streets, property tax bills will be higher in 2018. Increased property values will bring in 3.11 percent more in tax revenues over the next year, according to figures presented by city staff. With the tax, the city’s budget would have increased in revenue by 6.52 percent.
