TYLER, Texas — The Tyler City Council unanimously approved the 2019-2020 budget during Wednesday's city council meeting.
The city’s budget includes a one-and-a-half-cent increase to the current tax rate of $0.244452 per $100 valuation, which will be used to fund street maintenance and public safety service.
The city will invest $167,582 in the maintenance and repair of city park facilities. Also, the proposal to replace the outdated downtown parking meters.
The program will invest in street reconstruction, as well as the current traffic study, paid through the half-cent sales tax program.
The remaining will be used to invest in police and fire service.
Additionally, customers of Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) is will see an increase of 5% for water and sewer services. This means the average customer that uses 5,000 gallons of water per month will see an increase of $6.01 per month. Industrial and commercial businesses using 30,000 gallons of water per month will see an increase of $13.51 monthly.
Despite the increase, Tyler’s rate remains well below average utility rates for cities our size in the state.
The city will raise prices for burials and related services at its cemeteries and remove a maintenance building in order to offer more plots, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
In an interview with the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Broussard said Tyler Transit will get six new buses and one van. The cost is $1.3 million. The federal government will fund the majority, and transportation credits from the state will fund most of the rest.
The budget goes into effect on Oct. 1.