Tax rate and budget adopted; new holiday added
The San Marcos City Council powered through an agenda Tuesday that effectively set the city’s budget and tax rate for Fiscal Year 2018-2019 and added a new holiday that honors the city’s 13,000 year history of being one of the longest continually-inhabited areas of North America.
Council approved, on the second of two readings, a Fiscal Year 2018-2019 budget in the amount of $229,369,259 for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2018 and ending Sept. 30, 2019.
The budget, of $229,369,259 represents a 7.9 percent – or $15.2 million – increase from FY 2018, with a proposed a tax rate of 61.39 cents per $100 valuation – or a 3.9 percent increase in the tax rate from FY 2018. The proposed budget includes funding for workforce housing, continued funding for public transit and provides funding for improvements to city facilities.
The budget passed unanimously and was followed by the unanimous approval of setting the tax rate for the 2018 tax year at 61.39 cents on each $100 of taxable value of real property.
Council held workshops on June 13, June 14 and Aug. 2 to discuss the FY 2019 budget and tax rate. State law requires that the city hold two public hearings before the adoption of the tax rate when the proposed tax rate is more than the effective tax rate. The proposed tax rate of 61.39 cents per $100 valuation is higher than the effective tax rate of 58.38 cents per $100 valuation of FY 2018.
“Our budget process literally starts in January and culminates today,” Mayor John Thomaides said. “It is the, one could say, number one focus of the fiscal year for us. We spend more time on it technically than any other issue.”
The ccouncil also approved a resolution declaring the second Monday of October of
every year hereafter as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, in recognition of the cultural and foundational contributions of indigenous people to the city of San Marcos.
Previously, the city celebrated Indigenous People’s Day in individual years but had not declared it a permanent holiday. The holiday won’t technically be replacing Columbus Day, because the city does not currently recognize Columbus Day as an official holiday – meaning the day won’t be an official work holiday in the city.
The resolution passed unanimously and was followed by a short burst of applause in the city council chambers.
“We are grateful that San Marcos is now part of a nationwide movement to acknowledge the rich and vibrant legacy of our indigenous people and the contributions that we continue to make on behalf of this great country and Mother Earth,” Executive Director of the Indigenous Cultures Institute Maria Rocha said.
“To begin healing from the atrocities perpetrated against the original natives of the Americas, we must all acknowledge that harm was done and continues to have negative effects on our people. Our city has taken that first step in healing by setting aside the false narrative that Columbus was a hero and instead celebrating the people who have inhabited and enriched the social fabric of San Marcos for the past 13,000 years.
“It is also very important for everyone to realize that most of the people in San Marcos who are identified as Hispanic are actually Native American and still practice indigenous familial, social and ceremonial traditions. Family gatherings for carne asada, tamaladas during solstice, speaking Nahuatl words throughout our Spanish conversations, quinceñeras coming of age ceremonies, and many more indigenous traditions are still part of our communities.
“We look forward to celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day from now on, with all of San Marcos.”
Rocha thanked the council and staff who helped work to establish Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Nikkye Vargas and Isabel Mata of the Indigenous Cultures Institute, who took the lead on their behalf.
