Allen residents will continue benefiting from one of the lowest property tax rates in Collin County following the approval of the city’s 2019-2020 tax rate and budget.
Allen City Council voted to lower the city’s property tax rate by nine-tenths of a cent during the September 10 meeting, down from $0.498 to $0.489 per $100 of appraised value. This rate remains lower than many surrounding cities, including McKinney, Carrollton and Richardson.
“It puts me a little short of my goal of [lowering the tax rate by] twenty-eight cents during my time as mayor of the City of Allen. But it does put me at 27.7 cents,” joked Allen Mayor Stephen Terrell, who will complete his final term in office in May 2020. “In all my years on this council, the staff has always done an outstanding job of preparing the budget, listening to the people and listening to council at the same time.”
New properties added $2.4 million in property tax revenue to the tax roll this year. This increase allows the City to maintain quality services, programs and facilities for its growing population and business community, as reflected in the $226.01 million annual budget also approved by City Council.
The budget includes $800 thousand in facility maintenance contributions, $75,000 for a designated traffic management center, $48,100 in network security upgrades, $664,000 for eleven new police department vehicles and $10,000 to support the 2020 Census count. It also covers the cost of new staff—the equivalent of approximately 6.5 full-time positions—to improve Allen’s traffic flow, manage City accounts, dispatch emergency calls and oversee fire department logistics. Despite adding new positions, Allen’s ratio of city employees to citizens will decrease slightly, from 8 to 7.5 employees for every 1,000 residents.
Police, fire and EMS services will be responsible for the biggest chunk (43%) of the City’s general fund spending next year. Culture and recreation, including parks and library operations, is next in line at 28%. The remainder covers public works, community development and general government.
Allen City Council held two public hearings on the budget and property tax rate prior to the September 10 meeting. The new fiscal year will begin on October 1.