During a Frisco City Council meeting, a $267 million budget was unanimously approved for the 2024 fiscal year.
On Sept. 19, 2023, the council agreed to increase the budget by about $21 million from last year. Despite the budget increase, Frisco’s tax rate will decrease by 1.4 cents — set at $0.432205 per $100 property evaluation.
The updated budget authorizes the addition of 74 new positions, with 32 of them designated for the police department. Frisco's reserve funds and assigned fund balances will also be utilized to facilitate the replacement of equipment within the police department.
“Even though we’ve been named the safest city in America for the last two years, we can’t stay status quo,” said Frisco police Chief David Shilson.
According to city documents, funds will also be allocated to the employee health clinic and finance maintenance initiatives across 47 city-owned facilities. Among these facilities, 30 buildings are nearing the 15 to 20 years old.
Due to an increase in the cost of water, the city will implement a water rate hike for residents to offset some of the cost increases imposed by the North Texas Municipal Water District. The district is raising rates by 8.8% to address equipment replacement, personnel requirements and inflated expenses related to chemical supplies and maintenance products. The minimum residential water bill will rise from $20.47 to $22.52, and the minimum residential sewer bill will increase from $27.53 to $30.28, as indicated in city documents.
The city council also increased the homestead exemption from 12.5% to 15%, resulting in a total savings of approximately $22 million for homeowners. The council's long-term goal is to eventually maximize the homestead exemption in accordance with Texas law, which allows for a maximum exemption of 20%.
The new budget will go into effect Oct. 1, 2023, while the new water rates will be implemented on Jan. 1, 2024.
