Property tax, water rates to increase

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Property taxes and water rates will increase, while the Trail of Lights fizzles out this year after budget cuts force it to the end of its road.

The Austin City Council completely wiped out the $325,000 for the Trail of Lights from its budget during a rare Monday meeting focused at approving a more than $1 billion budget -- which took less than two hours to approve.

They will instead repurpose the Trail of Lights money to help with park maintenance.

The tradition's elimination comes 10 months after the November 2009 announcement to scale it back , turning it into a walking path with highlights as part of a new festival in December 2009.

The 152-foot Zilker Christmas Tree, however, is not affected and will still be around during the holidays.

In addition, there will be a tax increase.

Although it's not official until City Council approves it later this month, the average homeowner who owns a house valued at $185,000 will pay about $4.37 more per month in City of Austin taxes.

The vote to approve the budget didn't take that long, though one of the most controversial parts of the budget was the water rate increase. The average water customers will see a $4-per-month increase in their bill.

Most of this money will go toward making sure the city can still provide quality drinking water to all of its customers.

However, a portion of the money will also help pay for the very controversial $500 million water treatment plant .

"The $4 a month increase is just this year," said Bill Bunch, with Save Our Springs. "So you pile on the increases that are already scheduled through 2015, and your talking about $200- to $300 a year per household."

Critics, such as Save Our Springs Alliance and Livable City , maintain that constructing another water treatment plant is the wrong priority. They contend more money should be spent replacing aging water lines that burst, instead of a new plant that isn't needed yet.

The plant proposal passed on a council vote of 4-3, and proponents such as Mayor Lee Leffingwell said it will be cheaper to build the infrastructure now rather than later. Conservation methods simply won't be enough to keep up with growth.

They also said Austin could face a water shortage in a few years without it.

Still, critics point out that thanks to conservation, Austiin's water demand has remained the same for a decade, even as the city has grown in population.

The budget takes effect Oct. 1.