Hewitt is poised to keep its tax rate stagnant for the upcoming fiscal year, though a 13% increase in Hewitt’s certified property values means property owners can expect to pay more taxes to the city during the next year.
At a city council meeting Monday, the council also voted unanimously to issue $6 million in certificates of obligation to pay for construction of a fire station and other capital projects. City Manager Bo Thomas told the council in a previous meeting that the city can issue the debt while holding its tax rate steady because it has paid off other debts in the past year.
The bonds for the fire station would be repaid over a period of 20 years, Thomas said.
For the past 10 years, Hewitt’s tax rate has hovered around 54 cents per $100 valuation, which is the rate used in preparing Hewitt’s 2023-24 proposed budget. Now, Hewitt residents can offer their thoughts to the city council in two public hearings over the tax rate, scheduled for Aug. 14 and Aug. 21. Both hearings are scheduled for 7 p.m. at City Hall, 200 Patriot Court.
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For the public hearings, Thomas said input from the public is very important, as the council wants to know what the people they represent think about the tax rates.
“Hewitt has never had a history of taxing and spending,” Thomas said. “It tries to provide the appropriate amount of revenue to deliver the product that the community wants to see.”
The average residence value in Hewitt for 2023 is $215,367, up almost 12% from $192,539 last year. If the tax rate stays the same at 54 cents per $100 valuation, the owner of an average-value home can expect to pay $1,163 in property taxes, up from $1,040 last year.
The no-new-revenue rate, the tax rate calculated to bring in the same amount of revenue as last year excluding properties newly added to the tax rolls, is 48 cents per $100 valuation. Thomas said during Monday’s meeting that adopting the no-new-revenue rate would not generate enough revenue to cover the city’s expenses under the proposed budget for the upcoming year.
If the city were to adopt a tax rate higher than 54.6 cents per $100 valuation, the so-called de minimis rate, it would trigger a requirement for voter approval.
Much like the rest of McLennan County, property values in Hewitt have increased since last year. This year’s total net taxable value for properties in Hewitt is $1.47 billion, up 13% from $1.3 billion last year.
Homsesite values alone saw a large increase, going from $135 million in 2022 to $162 million in 2023, an increase of 20%, according to appraisal district documents. The average homestead market value jumped from $286,945 in 2022 to $321,456 in 2023.
McLennan Central Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Joe Don Bobbitt said in an email that home values are increasing as a direct result of an increase in sales prices. He said this increase can be attributed to supply and demand dynamics and increasing costs for construction materials.
After the Aug. 21 public hearing, the Hewitt City Council will vote to adopt a tax rate and budget, and it will go into effect Oct. 1.
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