Make Sure You 'Got It In Cedar Park' This Holiday Shopping Season

CEDAR PARK, TEXAS — City officials are encouraging its residents to make sure you “Got it in Cedar Park” this holiday shopping season.

Why? Because in addition to obvious benefits to the local retail and dining economies, shopping and dining locally helps keep the City property tax rate low and ensure the quality of life in Cedar Park, city officials said.

Two cents of very dollar doesn't sound that much. But think of it this way:

• One cent goes into the city's general fund, helping the city fund key municipal functions — police, fire, library, parks and recreation and the like.
• Half a cent goes into the city's community development fund for projects such as additional right turn lanes, parks and trail improvements, destination project planning and parks master planning, just to name a few.
• Three-eighths of a cent goes into the city’s economic development fund to help the city retain and recruit new employers to Cedar Park.
• In May, Cedar Park voters chose to redirect one-eighth of a cent of sales tax to the city’s new storm water drainage program. Storm water drainage is an issue that impacts everyone in old and new parts of town, officials noted, and this new program helps the city to upkeep aging infrastructure and facilities as well as maintain newer ones.

The city of Cedar Park’s director of economic development, Ben White, added: "Local shopping and dining are very important in helping us position Cedar Park as the next major employment hub in Cedar Park. The more amenities we continue to add, the more attractive we are to this growing demographic we have of young, highly skilled and highly educated residents. Businesses and major corporations will follow them here. Plus, local shopping and dining injected nearly $29 million of tax dollars into to the City’s budget last fiscal year, helping us keep the property tax rate low and the quality of life high for our residents, as well as recruit employers to and retain existing businesses in Cedar Park.”

In order for in-person shopping to benefit the local economy, residents must shop within the city limits of Cedar Park, officials stressed. This can be confusing because there are some areas, especially in south Cedar Park, that have a Cedar Park mailing address but are actually located inside of a neighboring city that is not Cedar Park. To help residents see exactly where the Cedar Park shopping boundaries lie, the city has created a "Shop Locally" map which may be found along with a lot of other information on www.ShopCP.org.

Cedar Park residents can also support the community by shopping online. If the retailer has a physical presence in Texas, the retailer will remit tax dollars to the city where your mailing address is located. For example, when residents place online orders with most big box stores in Texas, or even Amazon, which has fulfillment centers in Texas, then have it delivered to their home within the Cedar Park city limits, two cents of the sales tax is remitted to Cedar Park, officials said.

To learn more, visit www.ShopCP.org.

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