During a regular meeting held on Tuesday, Amarillo City Council voted unanimously to propose a property tax rate of $0.39867.

While the proposed rate is slightly lower than the current rate of $0.40626, according to City of Amarillo CFO Laura Storrs, the rate would mean a tax bill increase of $3 per month on an average home in Amarillo.

The rate is also higher than the $0.38600 included in the proposed city budget. However, Storrs confirmed at the time that that figure was based on preliminary property appraisals. (An earlier version of the proposed budget included a proposed rate of $0.36800, though this was confirmed to be a transpositional error.)

The proposed rate was recommended to the council by Storrs, who noted that it is the maximum rate the city can set without requiring an election. When the council passes a tax rate in the coming weeks, the proposed rate will act as a ceiling. This was done largely because the council is still working on the budget, with another round of workshops set to commence next week.

A public hearing on the proposed rate is set for Tuesday, September 19th.