Round Rock Chamber Endorses ACC Bond and Property Tax Cap Initiatives

Round Rock campus expansion will grow in-demand nursing program

The Round Rock Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Partnership today announced its support for Austin Community College District’s (ACC) bond and property tax cap election. The initiative includes two separate bond propositions and a raising of the district’s property tax cap. The tax impact of the entire election package, when fully implemented, is anticipated to add $.05 to the property tax rate or $8.13 monthly for a home valued at $200,000. The proposal will be included on the November 4, 2014 general election ballot.

“ACC and their ability to nimbly address our community’s evolving workforce needs is a key component of our economic development efforts,” said Lora Weber, chair of the chamber’s board of directors. “We believe that these bond and property tax cap initiatives are designed to continue ACC’s important mission of providing an affordable, quality college education to all residents of Central Texas.”

ACC has stated that the bond package propositions focus on future growth planning and construction and existing campus growth; renovation; health; safety; and sustainability, respectively, while the property tax cap proposal is focused on the operation of new programs; tuition stabilization; and more.

Proposition 1 includes:

• Implementing phase II of the ACC Highland Campus
• Constructing a new campus in Leander
• Acquiring property for a new regional workforce center in southwest Travis County

Proposition 2 includes:

• Renovating the ACC Rio Grande Campus
• Constructing a regional first-responders training center in Hays County
• Constructing a veterinary technician and sustainable agricultural entrepreneurship training center at the ACC Elgin Campus
• Renovating buildings districtwide for health, environmental sustainability, safety, and technology
• Expanding the ACC Round Rock Campus

The property tax cap proposal includes:

• Maintaining and operating facilities and programs
• Addressing deferred and preventative maintenance of existing buildings
• Stabilizing in-district tuition
• Expanding the veterans’ programs and services
• Other strategic elements

The expansion of the ACC Round Rock Campus includes the building of a 60,000+ square-foot general purpose classroom facility. With the additional capacity, the campus will encompass 330,000 square feet and have the ability to serve approximately 2,500, or fifty percent, more students. Most importantly, the expansion will allow ACC to expand its popular nursing program.

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2022 approximately forty-five percent of all occupations will require an associate’s degree or some form of college work,” said Mike Odom, the chamber’s president and CEO. “Based on this need, it is imperative that we ensure that ACC has the resources to wisely provide the skills that our employers require.”

On the ballot, the ACC initiatives will be listed under the heading “Austin Community College District Special Bond Election.” The bond package will be individually listed by proposition (i.e., Proposition 1; Proposition 2), while the property tax cap action will be identified as “Special Maintenance Tax Rate Election.”

About the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Partnership
The Round Rock Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development Partnership is one of the largest and most active business organizations in Central Texas. Its approximately 1,000 investors collectively employ more than 25,000 people in the area. It is also the region’s only accredited chamber by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  For more information, visit www.roundrockchamber.org.