The City of West Orange approved a two-cent increase in the tax rate for next fiscal year at the monthly meeting of the City Council on Monday. The tax rate will be 45 cents per 100 dollars value for fiscal year 2017-18. The increase in the new tax rate required a record vote which was unanimous by the council.
The new property tax rate will raise $60,000 for the city’s budget which is an 11.65 percent increase over last year’s budget. New property tax revenue in the City of West Orange that was added to the tax roll is $680.76.
The council was to consider five other items concerning the recovery and cleanup of debris from Tropical Storm Harvey, but the items were tabled at the recommendation of Police Chief Mike Stelly. The council was informed by Stelly that County Judge Brint Carlton and the Commissioners Court will be considering resolutions at its meeting Tuesday that will cover the various municipalities in the county effected by Harvey, and the West Orange City Council did not want to interfere with action the Commissioners Court or the judge might make that will affect the city.
Mayor Roy McDonald said about 40 percent of the residences in West Orange were damaged by the wind and rain from the tropical storm. That included at least nine city employees who had damage to their homes. McDonald praised and thanked those nine dedicated city employees who despite their own hardships still came to the city offices and worked to make sure other West Orange residents received the assistance they needed.
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