The proposal would add $120 to the city tax bill on a median valued home, with a public hearing set for Thursday.
By Staff Reports
The City of Seagoville has proposed a budget that would collect roughly $1.72 million more in property taxes than the current spending plan. The estimated city tax bill on a median valued homestead would rise by $120.
Residents can address the proposal during a special City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10. The meeting will be held in the council chambers at Seagoville City Hall, 702 N. Highway 175.
The council is not expected to adopt the budget Thursday. Officials plan to discuss postponing final action until the regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 14. A separate hearing will cover the city’s proposed hotel and motel tax budget.
Total Tax Revenue Up 14.16 Percent
The proposed budget would raise $1,718,112 more in total property taxes than the current year plan. That amounts to an increase of 14.16 percent.
Of that additional revenue, $865,239 would come from property newly added to the tax roll. That figure represents slightly more than half of the total increase.
The rest would come from property already on the roll, from changes in taxable values and from the proposed rate increase.
The 14.16 percent figure describes the growth in the city’s overall collections. It does not mean every homeowner would see a 14.16 percent increase.
An individual bill depends on the taxable value of the property. Exemptions and the final rate adopted by the council also affect the total.
Proposed Rate Rises Nearly Five Cents
Seagoville’s current property tax rate is $0.720743 per $100 of taxable value. The proposed rate for the coming fiscal year is $0.769910.
The difference amounts to $0.049167 per $100 of value or roughly 4.92 cents. In percentage terms the rate would climb about 6.82 percent.
The city places the value of a median Seagoville homestead at $241,546. At the current rate the estimated city tax bill on that home is $1,740. At the proposed rate the bill would reach $1,860.
That is an increase of $120 or approximately 6.9 percent. The figures cover only the city’s share of the total tax bill. They exclude taxes levied by Dallas County, Dallas College, a school district and other entities.
The city also calculated the bill under the no new revenue rate of $0.707260 per $100 of value. At that rate the estimated city tax would be $1,708. That is $32 below the current estimate and $152 below the projection under the proposed rate.
The no new revenue rate is designed to produce roughly the same revenue from properties taxed in both years. State law requires certain adjustments to the calculation. The rate is a benchmark and not a figure the city is required to adopt.
General Fund Reaches $23.5 Million
The proposed General Fund budget totals $23,527,600. That is an increase of $875,940 over the current adopted budget of $22,651,660, or roughly 3.9 percent.
The General Fund covers most primary city operations. Those include police, fire protection, streets, parks and the library. Animal services, code enforcement, sanitation and municipal administration are also funded there.
The Water and Sewer Fund is budgeted separately. It is supported mainly through utility charges rather than property taxes.
Several departments would receive substantial increases. Police Department spending would rise from $4,658,620 to $5,323,455. The $664,835 increase amounts to 14.3 percent.
The Fire Department budget would climb from $4,500,027 to $4,846,566, a gain of $346,539.
Support Services would see one of the largest increases. That budget would rise from $1,535,317 to $2,183,481, an increase of $648,164 or 42.2 percent.
The City Manager’s Office budget would grow from $317,232 to $866,495. The $549,263 increase amounts to 173.1 percent. The city’s published budget summary lists the change without detailing the personnel moves, accounting transfers or new expenses behind it.
Animal Services and Code Enforcement Grow
The Animal Services budget would rise from $451,734 to $637,903. That is an increase of $186,169 or 41.2 percent.
Code Enforcement would grow from $401,185 to $513,988, a gain of $112,803 or 28.1 percent. The City Secretary’s budget would climb from $330,057 to $452,228, an increase of 37 percent.
Library spending would rise from $240,690 to $303,840. The $63,150 increase amounts to 26.2 percent.
The Municipal Court budget would grow 11.1 percent, from $292,295 to $324,821. Senior Services would rise 8.7 percent, from $246,267 to $267,695.
Sanitation spending would increase from $1,296,351 to $1,420,770. Funding for streets would rise from $730,096 to $748,147.
Capital Transfers Drop Sharply
The largest proposed reduction falls in the Transfers and Capital category. That line would drop from $3,619,912 to $1,892,642, a decrease of $1,727,270 or 47.7 percent.
The Human Resources budget would decline from $433,770 to $181,735. The reduction of $252,035 amounts to 58.1 percent.
Economic Development spending would fall from $93,878 to $48,661. The Parks and Recreation budget would slip from $630,583 to $617,683.
The published summary does not fully explain the swings. Increases and decreases of this size can reflect new spending, completed capital projects, departmental reorganizations or the reclassification of expenses.
Those details may surface during the public hearing. They may also appear in the complete proposed budget document.
New State Law Requires Tax Comparison
The taxpayer impact statement released with the budget is required under House Bill 1522. The Texas Legislature approved the measure in 2025.
The law amended the Texas Open Meetings Act. Local governments discussing or adopting a budget must now show the estimated tax bill on a median valued homestead under two scenarios. One reflects the proposed budget and the other a balanced budget funded at the no new revenue rate.
The requirement took effect Sept. 1, 2025.
Seagoville officials note that both the budget and the rate may change before final adoption. A revised budget discussed at a later meeting would require an updated impact statement.
The city intends to adopt a final budget on or before Sept. 30. The new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Residents Can Speak Thursday
Residents who wish to address the council during public comment must register with the city secretary. Registered speakers will receive three minutes.
The council cannot discuss or act on general comments made during that portion of the meeting.
The hearing gives residents a chance to question the proposed rate and the departmental changes. It also offers a forum to weigh in on the city’s spending priorities before the budget returns for possible adoption.
The complete proposed budget and supporting documents are available through the City of Seagoville’s website.
