LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) – As proposed, six of the seven voting members of the Longview City Council approved for the 2024 property tax rate to remain the same as what it is this year: $0.5169 per $100 valuation.
An increase in the property tax rate was previously suggested at the most recent budget workshop as a solution to funding city employee pay increases, a topic all council members advocated for at Thursday’s meeting.
The issue remains finding a source of funds to support any form of employee pay increase.
“I just think we really do need to analyze our departments, see what kind of waste there is in those, and figure out another way that we can get this done without going to make the tax payer our first bail out,” suggested Mayor Pro Tem Michelle Gamboa.
Councilman Steve Pirtle did not agree with that solution and instead suggested using the reserve fund for one year to cover the pay increases.
According to City Manager Rolin McPhee, that would cause problems for future councils.
“Using funds for the reserve for a recurring cost, such as personnel, creates a deficit of that same amount in the future plus whatever inflation or whatever increase costs we see in the next year,” he said.
The council will have another opportunity to present other options at the next meeting on August 22nd when the proposed budget will face final approval.
Additionally, the council approved a grant match from the city to pay for improvements for the Longview Fire Department.
As part of a Hazard Mitigation Grant that awarded the city $287,000, the match from the city of $62,500 will be pulled from the reserve fund.
The updates include installing new generators at station 1 and 3 as well as at the training facility. The money will also cover the cost to install automatic transfer switches for times when alternative power is needed.
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