City Of Pflugerville: Pflugerville City Council Adopts FY22 Budget Supporting Quality Of Life And Voter-Approved Projects

Press release from the City of Pflugerville:

08/25/2021 12:37 PM

At their August 24 Regular Meeting, Pflugerville City Council approved the FY22 budget and maintained the tax rate at .4863 per $100 of valuation. In order to accomplish this, City Council voted to partially fund the City’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funds. The approved budget goes into effect starting October 1, 2021. For more information visit pflugervilletx.gov/budget. 

“We are investing in quality services, infrastructure and personnel to best serve our residents and prepare for growth,” said Mayor Victor Gonzales. “Our residents have told us they want to see investment in roads, parks, water and wastewater services and police. City Council and I share these priorities and have passed a budget that improves the quality of life for all of Pflugerville.”

Pflugerville residents with an average home value of $282,434 will pay $1,373.48 to the City this coming year to support:

The City represents approximately 20% of a resident’s overall property tax bill which goes to support debt service, public safety, administrative services, public works, community services and development services.

Not supported by property taxes are services provided by special funds like the Solid Waste Fund and the Water and Wastewater Utility Fund. The Water and Wastewater Utility Fund is reliant upon utilities fees collected and used to fund water and wastewater infrastructure, so as part of the budget, City Council reviewed current rates.

Water and Wastewater Rates

This year’s new water and wastewater rates were presented to City Council at their August 10 meeting by NewGen Strategies and Solutions, who conducted last year’s rate study. Their analysis recommended the following rate increases beginning October 1, 2021, which were adopted in the FY22 budget. All rate changes reflect a combined increase in the base rate and consumption. For more details visit pflugervilletx.gov/utilityrates.

The average residential customer uses a standard 5/8” meter, 8,000 gallons of water per month and 5,000 gallons of wastewater per month. This resident will see an increase of $6.20 per month in their total bill starting October 1. This includes an increase of $5.70 for water service and $.50 for wastewater service.

The average commercial customer uses a 1” meter, 12,000 gallons of water per month and 12,000 gallons of wastewater per month. This customer will see an increase of $12.24 per month in their total bill starting October 1. This includes an increase of $11.74 for water service and $.50 for wastewater service.

The 2020 utility rate study projected rate increases over the following five years to meet demands related to customer growth, cost inflation and interest rates on proposed debt. This year’s rate increase is lower than NewGen’s rate study predicted, due in part to a $165 million low interest loan City staff secured from the Texas Water Development Board that will help pay for a substantial portion of the Wastewater Capital Improvement Program.

Credit Rating and Bond Issuance

The FY22 adopted budget also includes the issuance of $38 million in General Obligation (G.O.) bonds as part of the 2020 voter-approved bond projects. The City of Pflugerville maintained its bond rating of Aa1 from Moody’s Investors Services for the $38 million Limited Tax Bonds, Series 2021, which may lead to overall cost savings due to lower interest rates.

According to Moody’s report, “affirmation of the Aa1 issuer rating reflects the city's robustly expanding tax base favorably located in the Austin, TX (Aa1 stable) metro area, above average resident income and strong available fund balances that are supported by solid financial performance.”

This issuance of $38 million represents the first wave of projects that will improve quality of life for all Pflugerville residents. To read more on the City’s timeline for these 2020 bond projects, visit pflugervilletx.gov/bonds. 

This press release was produced by the City of Pflugerville. The views expressed here are the author’s own.