At Monday night’s August 27 Town Council Meeting, elected officials spent an evening in further discussion regarding the Town’s past financial trends and analyzing the five-year financial forecast as presented by Town staff. These discussions reviewed a possible change in the Town’s financial policies as they relate to our municipal property tax rate and its role in Westlake’s financial sustainability, including setting next year’s tax rate and the recommended number of operating days to maintain in our General Fund (or operations account).
We are required by law to post the standard notification in the newspaper, which states a tax rate of $0.15600 per $100 dollar valuation. It is important for our residents to know that any potential increase in our property tax will not exceed the proposed rate of $0.15600 per $100 and may be less than the number stated in the ad; however, we were unable to adjust the verbiage to reflect that option. The legal notification’s language is dictated by statute and the Truth in Taxation laws, thus it could not be altered. We want to make sure you understand the property tax rate has not yet been determined.