Tax Rate, Canyonlands, Transportation Meeting, Police and More!

Another week, another chance of rain!  An interesting August to say the least.  

Council met Monday for a Budget Work Session and Public Hearing - we got good news from staff and at this time it looks like our tax rate this year will be $0.1612 per $100 evaluation.  This is not finalized - we still have another public hearing and the final decision will be at September's Council Meeting.  The "effective" tax rate this year was $0.1613 which means we will lower taxes for residents.  The tax rate last year was $0.17.  Only one citizen was present for the public hearing and no one spoke.

We were able to accomplish this because staff re-bid the City's health insurance and instead of a 29% increase the new bid will be about a 4% increase saving us approximately $150K.  We also moved some capital purchases from next year to this year and were able to do that because of the great job our departments have done reducing expenses below budgeted amounts.

The Canyonland's Restroom was be installed today - good news!  I am getting questions on the Hamilton Greenbelt project and it is

behind because the contractor has not done the retaining wall between the upper and lower parking area.  I have contacted the project manager and will be following up on this.  The continuous rain is another issue but I'm not complaining about that.

Lot's of questions and comments on Flint Rock Road - remember, this is a construction zone and with the recent weather it is very rough.  Speed limits have been lowered, SLOW down!  I still see cars trying to go 40-50 mph, that will damage your car or tires.  Here is the latest report from Jim on the current plan, we will be in a better place soon.  Once the road is finished the City will annex it and will be enforcing speed limits.

The Activity Center has a lot of things going on - end of Summer and start of Fall - here is a link to their information page.

Don't forget there will be a transportation meeting at the Lake Travis Community Library on September 13th.  You can make a difference!  Here is a link to a letter with some explanation - come out and make your voice heard!

The Police Station building committee met this week to pair down the list of Architects to interview.  We will soon choose one and are working on choosing a Construction Manager also.

Public Works has been working on some issues with asphalt damage on Lakeway Blvd. due to the heavy rains - they have also been trimming some trees around town as requested by LTISD Transportation and have repaired several areas on the Lakeway Blvd. trails.


There's been a preponderance of discussion by news media and on social media about how police are treating minorities differently.  I found this video that gives the facts that I thought some might find interesting - here's a link.  Our Police Officers have had additional training on ways to deescalate issues and are doing a great job.

From the Chief:
LPD Officers conducted 207 traffic stops, responded to 17 alarm calls, investigated 15 suspicious circumstance calls, handled 10 disturbance calls, responded to 8 vehicle crashes and handled 115 other types of calls for service for a total of 393.

Routine traffic stops resulted in the following charges; Out of Jurisdiction Warrant X 4, Lakeway Warrant X 2,  Possession of Drug Paraphernalia X 6, Possession of a Controlled Substance X 1, Possession of Alcohol by a Minor X 1, and Driving while Intoxicated X 1.

Officers responded to a Serene Estates Dr. address reference to a burglary of a vehicle call. A subject reported that items were taken from a pick-up truck parked in the driveway, this case is under investigation.

Officers responded to a RR 620 convenience store in reference to a theft. Upon arrival it was learned that a subject known to the clerk had left the store without paying for items. The subject was located a short time later and arrested for theft.

Officers responded to a Cutty Trail address for a disturbance call.  Upon arrival officers discovered two people involved in a verbal argument. One person was found to have outstanding warrants from another jurisdiction, was arrested and transported to Travis County Jail.

Officers responded to a Crescent Bluff address in reference to a stolen vehicle. A subject reports that their vehicle was stolen from the driveway, a report was generated and this case is being investigated. 


We have experienced several car burglaries during the past few weeks. Please help us by removing your valuables from the car and locking it.

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That's all for now - send me a note to lakeway@bain.us if you would like to be added to the email list.

Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us