Georgetown's Population Growth and the Budget

The newest population estimates for Georgetown from the Census Bureau show that as of July 2015, Georgetown's population reached 63,716 persons, a 7.8% increase over the prior year. The rate of population increase should be established over a multi-year period to get a more realistic number.  The following chart is for a 10 year period.

This of course will be used by some to advocate for a significantly higher city budget. But, the Texas Public Policy Foundation has successfully argued with the Texas legislature that the state budget should not grow faster than population growth plus inflation. (TPPF)  That same metric logically applies to all government budgets in Texas, including the City of Georgetown.

Here is the chart for inflation growth:

Thus we see that the City Council should hold budget growth to population growth, 4.9% plus inflation, 1.8%, for a total for 6.7%.

It will be a challenge for the council to stay below, or at this metric, but, it is incumbent on the citizens of Georgetown to let their council representatives know this is one measure by which they will be graded by the voters.