On Wednesday, your San Antonio Chamber of Commerce testified before the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) Board of Directors in support of their proposed FY 2018/19 budget and the associated rate. The tax rate would increase from 1.73 cents per $100 of assessed value to 1.86 cents, an increase of 0.13 cents.
The Board of Directors voted unanimously to adopt the budget and rate increase, which will allow SARA to make the necessary investments in innovative technology to develop more up-to-date and detailed flood maps and models. Doing so will provide data on safety, risk, water quality and mitigation should Bexar County be hit by a catastrophic flood. Such data will assist Bexar County and the City of San Antonio in making the best capital investment decisions possible based on limited investment dollars.
Your Chamber carefully reviewed the SARA FY 2018/19 budget and associated tax, and our Executive Committee voted to support the rate increase, as it strikes the right balance with constituents’ pocketbooks and the current and future needs of our community. “It was great to see the Chamber’s representation at the SARA Board meeting to testify in favor of the tax increase to fund the much needed Flood Control programs. This is a very important step for the businesses and citizens of San Antonio” said Fred Arce, Vice President for HDR Engineering and the Chamber’s 2018 Water Committee Chair.
We applaud the SARA for their leadership and commitment to the San Antonio community and surrounding region. If our community is not prepared for the possibility of a flood, recovery can be slow, stressful and costly. It is therefore imperative that San Antonio is prepared and remain resilient.
