City council lowers tax rate, ups homestead exemption

The City Council adopted the annual budget at its Sept. 11 meeting. The $94.7 million General Fund budget puts money back into streets and infrastructure, will help build a new animal shelter and more.

“We are focused on investing in a bright future for Mansfield while supporting today’s residents,” Mayor Michael Evans said. “A strategic approach to our planning has allowed us to be proactive about our community’s growth while still keeping our hometown feel.”

For the third year in a row, the City Council is increasing its funding of street maintenance and improvements. The city has increased its streets maintenance budget by 17%, following a year where it increased it by 10%, and 50% before that. This investment is inspired by citizen feedback, which shows that street improvements are a top priority for community members.

Planned construction improvements include the East Broad Street and Texas 360 intersection, the U.S. 287 on-ramp north of Walnut Creek Drive, and other design and construction works.

This year’s budget invests in improving city service levels. This is accomplished by budgeting $5.4 million in capital equipment including a new fire engine. The budget also funds 10 new positions.

The city continues to build on its award-winning parks including redeveloping Katherine Rose Park, phase 2 of Mans Best Field Dog Park and more.

“The Department Directors, Police & Fire Chiefs, and our exceptional finance department worked tirelessly to develop this budget,” said City Manager Joe Smolinski. “They strive to provide exceptional services and I believe that this budget will allow them to accomplish that yet again this year.”

In addition to a new budget, the City Council adopted a lower property tax rate of 65.9293 cents per $100 of valuation. This is lower than the previous rate of 68 cents per $100 of valuation from Fiscal Year 2023 and continues a decrease compared to the 71 cents per $100 valuation rate in Fiscal Year 2019.

The City Council also increased the homestead exemption to 14% to provide additional taxpayer relief.

The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Those interested in learning more or discussing the budget with city officials are invited to the inaugural Budget & BBQ informal event at 6 p.m. Sept. 28 at Big D BBQ, 226 N. Walnut Creek. In addition to budget information, small bites will be provided.

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