Plano City Council approves tax levy

Homeowners can expect to see a flat or slightly lower city portion on their property bills after the Plano City Council unanimously passed the 2024 tax levy at their Dec. 9 meeting.

Mayor Mike Rennels said that homeowners should see a savings of about 7% on the city portion of their property bill if the equalized assessed value on their home has remained the same. The 2024 tax levy rate of 0.72615 is decreasing from 2023’s tax levy rate of 0.77934.

This means a $200,000 home will pay $440 for the city part of their property bill this year, compared with $472 last year, if the EAV on their home has not changed.

“We actually took more money in, taking advantage of the new construction and making sure that we received money from that and at the same time we reduced the rate that our citizens would be charged,” Rennels said.

Rennels said since 2014, city officials have halved the city’s tax rate from about 1.4.

Alderman Barb Nadeau said the tax levy represents the necessary balance between supporting the growing community and making sure high rates do not further damage citizens’ pocketbooks.

“I feel that we need to invest in people, but we have all suffered from this economy and we don’t need to punish anybody,” Nadeau said.

The city must submit the approved levy to the county by year’s end. No public hearing is currently scheduled on the levy. If the 4.99% levy increase would have surpassed the 5.00% mark, state law would have necessitated a Truth in Taxation public hearing.

Reaching out

To better accommodate the needs of the growing community, the City Council also passed a measure to create a new position for a community outreach coordinator.

According to city documents, the part-time position would help provide consistent branding, messaging and coordination of all city-sponsored events. The new position will work closely with local businesses and schools and help improve collaboration in developing greater outreach plans.

Nadeau said she was excited to vote in favor of the position because community members had long voiced their desire for greater online communication between the city and its residents.

“We have a need for a clear voice from the city to our community,” Nadeau said. “We have several Facebook pages that have been created and administered by other people, but none of them are official city social media sites. People have asked for that for several years.”

Nadeau said she expects as the community continues growing that the part-time position may someday develop into a full-time one.

“It’s incumbent on us to be as transparent as we can and to provide the people the information they want,” Nadeau said. “This can help make our website more user friendly so people don’t have to search for the information they require.”

Only Alderman Stephen DeBolt voted against the measure.