The Double Oak Town Council on Thursday night approved its 2023-2024 budget and met its no-new-revenue rate target for property tax.
The new rate of 17.8 cents per $100 of value will produce the same amount of tax revenue for the town as the current rate of 19.8 cents, due to rising property values.
The more than three-hour meeting was highlighted by debate between citizens and the town council regarding merit pay for the town’s employees, including the Double Oak police officers. Throughout the budget process, all parties gave and took; ultimately, merit pay was approved for all town employees.
“There was excellent debate during the meeting between citizens, town administration and town council,” said Mayor Patrick Johnson, “Not everyone got exactly what they wanted from the budget, but the town council did approve an increase in merit pay for the town officers which was more than what was included in the first pass at the budget.”
Double Oak’s roads were also a winner in the budget process, as the town council funded new mill and overlay, and crack seal projects, all included in next year’s budget.
Council also approved an interlocal agreement for services with Span Transportation, a nonprofit that provides meals and transportation to seniors, people with disabilities and veterans, with funds from the 2023-2024 budget.
