Good news! Westlake’s millage rate for 2027 is set at 4.59 mils, a 100th less than last year’s 4.6 mils. As Mayor J.P. O’Connor has said before, it’s VERY important to him to lower the millage rate each and every year, even if it’s an amount that is essentially just “symbolic”… as is the case here. But we have this Amendment 3 hanging over our heads, so the millage rate reduction was conservative in preparation of this amendment possibly going through.
I reached out to the very knowledgeable Westlake Vice Mayor Greg Langowski for his hot take on Westlake’s budget: “I believe Westlake continues to be on strong financial footing. As our community and tax base have grown, the Council has worked to balance the needs of a growing city with being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. This is the fifth consecutive year the Council has reduced the millage rate, while continuing to maintain strong reserves and invest in our community.”
It’s true, here is Westlake’s most recent millage rate history:
2021 – 5.125 mils
2022 – 5.125 mils
2023 – 5.1 mils
2024 – 5.0 mils
2025 – 4.7 mils
2026 – 4.6 mils
2027 – 4.59 mils
Now as it relates to Amendment 3, the Vice Mayor’s role, he says, as well as for the rest of Westlake’s City Council, “is to provide factual, educational information and not to advocate for or against a ballot measure.”
Vice Mayor Langowski points out that City “staff reported… that approximately 85% of Westlake properties are homesteaded, which is an important fact(or) when discussing our property-tax base”.
While this means that Westlakers live where they own and own where they live, which is great (XOXO), it also means that Amendment 3 could have a heavy affect on Westlake’s budget for the next two years since Amendment 3 would affect city revenue from these homestead exemptions in 2027 and 2028.
Vice Mayor Langowksi’s final take on our 2027 budget: “Looking ahead, I am encouraged by the continued residential and commercial development in Westlake and the opportunity that growth provides to further strengthen and diversify our revenue base.”
Hopefully, Lowe’s and Walmart will come online to give our tax revenue a BIG bump!
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