More Rain?, Tax Rate, Pictures and More!

More rain?  I'm not complaining!  Lake Travis is up about 1.5 feet so far - the good news is the ground is pretty saturated and we have water runoff that is going to the lake.  More good news, more rain in the forecast and moderate temperatures.  So far, I's showing a total of about 10.5 inches since September 1.  

More good news.  At the budget meeting Monday evening, Council decided to set the tax rate at the effective tax rate.  What does that mean?  This is the tax rate that does not increase your city taxes.  With the increase in appraisals and sales tax income the new tax rate will be $0.164 per $100 evaluation.  The first run was going to be $0.174 per $100.  This is a good thing and is what the city has tried to do for years.  Thanks to the elected officials that made this happen.

The budget process is one of the most important things the city deals with on an annual basis.  It affects every citizen and yet there is no interest.  There were about 4 folks that attended the session, Betty Haley was the only council candidate that showed enough interest to attend.  Good for her!

The bad news.  The school district will still be at the max rate which means a tax increase for those that are not frozen...  The State really needs to fix school finance!  There is a committee in the legislature looking at solutions, good luck to them.

At the Ethics Commission meeting today I learned that Greg Holloway (Chairman) is moving to Louisiana in two weeks.  I wish he and Judy all the best in their future endeavors!  Five of the seven members were present and received an overview of the Ethics ordinance.  

Front

Back

Got some shots today of the Police Station project and the Tuscan Village project.  I will take some updates on the new apartment complex North on 620 by Hudson Bend - it looks like it is moving forward quickly.

Looking North

If you want to see more of the Police Project, click on this link:  http://skypict.com/lakeway-police-project/ . 

Facing East

Facing North

These are lower images and if you click on the images they get larger.  They show more of the detail of the buildings.

Facing West

 To see more of Tuscan Village, click on this link: http://skypict.com/new-construction/tuscan-village/

I noticed they repaired some of the road issues on Lakeway Blvd.  When we have really hot weather, cars and trucks brake on the down hill grades and the asphalt actually slips and makes rough spots.  There is another one just West of Lakeway Dr. they will fix soon if not already.

That's all for now, keep the folks on the East coast in your thoughts and prayers.  They are in the cross hairs of a major storm.  

I appreciate all the good reviews and support!  If you want to be added (or removed) from the blog, send me a note and I'll get it done.

Joe Bain
lakeway@bain.us