Dublin City Council received information on forming a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) and gave approval for potentially engaging a consulting firm to work with a developer.
David Pettit from Pettit & Ayala Consulting Firm explained the ins and outs of a TIRZ to the city council.
One example Pettit gave was for the city of Stephenville who needed a way to fund the Harbin Road expansion project. The city put in a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) at Washington Commons area which now houses Hobby Lobby and the nearby shops.
“Essentially what can happen is a city will initiate a TIRZ and draw a boundary around a piece of property. They look at what that property is currently valued at, then you can take all or a portion of those incremental taxes into a special fund to pay for improvements within that zone,” he said. “So it encourages developers to do that development because it’s a guaranteed revenue source.”
It is not a new tax and there are 652 active TIRZ in the state of Texas.
The city is able to set the terms, the boundaries and the length of years for the TIRZ.
With a TIRZ, there will also be a board that that makes recommendations to council.
A TIRZ is being considered for a way to fund infrastructure for the Emerald Ridge subdivision located on Hwy. 377 inside the city limits owned by Brad Allen.
A $250,000 commitment to water lines in the project has been committed over a four-year term by the Dublin EDC, and the city has been discussing ways to potentially fund an additional $250,000 for the water infrastructure in the project at the request of Allen.
The developer is typically responsible for all infrastructure costs including water, sewer, drainage and streets.
After the possibility of a TIRZ was discussed at a previous council meeting, Allen inquired with the city if it might be possible to put the cost of all infrastructure into the TIRZ.
After much council discussion, questions and answers, the board approved engaging Pettit & Ayala Consulting Firm with the receipt of $40,000 in escrow from Allen for the possibility of a TIRZ funding $500,000 to $1.6 million of infrastructure reimbursement.
Council also approved an 8 cent per 1,000 gallon rate increase from the Upper Leon Municipal Water District.
City staff reported that the water rate increase was not passed through last year by the city to the customers, and the year before that, only half of the increase was passed through.
Annual increases from the water district are expected to continue, and the city is locked into a long-term contract with Upper Leon that will not allow them to get their water from anywhere else including wells.
The board also discussed the proposed budget and tax rate.
Council discussed a tax rate increase from $0.744 per $100 valuation to $.7476 per $100 valuation, which represents a 1.02% increase. This rate is the highest the city can go to without holding an election to seek voter approval of the rate.
Within the proposed budget, a 3.5% raise for all city employees is included since raises were not given in 2025 except where jobs were consolidated. If the proposed tax rate is accepted, the city would see about $115,000 in additional revenues.
Several councilmembers questioned what would need to occur for the city to go down to the no-new revenue rate.
Director of Public Safety Cameron Ray explained that would mean cutting employees – most likely one from PD, one from city hall and one from public works.
Council asked to see a pay comparison between what Dublin PD was paying their officers vs. what surrounding agencies were paying.
Another workshop meeting regarding the budget is set for Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 5 p.m.
The city’s public hearing on the tax rate is set for 6 p.m. Sept. 14.