Page 18 - City of Westlake FY20 Budget

Section 01 Executive
Transmittal Letter

Over the years, Council has developed a clear vision and given staff directives to maintain a high level of
personalized service that is efficient and to develop teams that look for creative ways to establish the
quality-of-life experiences our residents have come to value. We achieve this on the fiscal side, through
the use of a shared service model where we maximize the use of cross-functional teams — for both
academic and municipal sections — to ensure a competitive tax rate while providing a responsive and
professional level of service. Council has enacted various policies that allow residents to reduce some of
their tax assessments through programs available by law. These include the use of the homestead
exemption, disabled and senior exemptions, homestead tax ceiling, and the use of property tax
reduction funds.

Homestead Exemption
• This is an exemption offered by the Town which reduces the taxable value of all homes by 20%,
which is the maximum amount allowed under the law.

Additional 65+ or Disabled Exemption
• A $10,000 exemption on the taxable value of homes of 65+ or disabled residents. (The
allowance categories are for 65+ or disabled homeowners and cannot be combined by law.)

Homestead Tax Ceiling
• Limits the total amount of taxes residents who are 65+ or disabled pay so that in future years
their taxes will not increase beyond what they are currently paying (except in the event a
resident makes major renovations or expands the square footage of their home).
• Any resident that was 65 when Westlake adjusted its ad valorem rate from $0.00 in 2010, will
not pay any municipal ad valorem taxes due to this tax ceiling.
• If a resident turned 65 this year, the amount paid in municipal ad valorem taxes would remain
fixed (except as noted above). They will not pay more, but could potentially pay less, if taxes are
lowered.

Property Tax Reduction
• In October of 2006, the residents of Westlake voted to abolish one-half of one percent (½%) of
additional sales and use tax for economic and industrial development, Section 4A, and to
implement one-half of one percent (½%) of local sales and use tax for a property tax rate
reduction. This option is used by more than thirty (30) municipalities across Texas, with the
exact amount of the tax reduction printed on the annual tax statement for each resident and
business.
• The prior year’s sales tax revenues are used in calculating the current tax rates based on the
State Comptroller’s Truth-in-Taxation process.
• Current calculations of Westlake’s tax rate take these revenues into consideration and saves our
residents approximately $0.14 off the ad valorem (property tax) rate per $100 valuation.

All these programs and policies are monitored and reviewed each year by our Finance staff and the
Town Manager’s office prior to any recommendation for a proposed fiscal year budget. The goal is to
align our budgetary practices with our strategic planning outcomes and provide for the financial
stewardship of our community.

6