Bertram paves the way for better streets

February 13, 2013, 8:00 pm by Brenda Young

Road improvements were a major topic for Bertram city officials during last night’s regular council meeting, and the group is hopeful the establishment of a Municipal Development District (MDD) will pass without hesitation by the city’s residents in the May 11 general election.

Although establishing the MDD would increase Bertram’s sales tax rate one-quarter percent, the city expects it could generate as much as $27,000 to use toward infrastructure improvements such as road repair.

The city’s current sales tax rate is set at eight percent.

Should voters turn down the opportunity to form the MDD in May, council members are quick to point out that is not a guarantee of keeping the sales tax rate from rising in Bertram.

"This is a sales tax, not a property tax, and it could be used by another entity such as Burnet County if we don’t use it,” Mayor Dickie Allen said.

For more on this story, see next Wednesday’s Burnet Bulletin.