Thursday, September 26, 2024
Interim City Manager Brad Hunt presented the city’s proposed budget and property tax rate for fiscal year 2025 at a regular Gatesville City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 23.
Set at $28.5 million, the proposed budget would decrease spending by approximately $1.7 million compared to 2024’s budget, which is around $30.2 million.
Hunt said the decrease is due to the reduced number of capital improvement projects for the upcoming year.
The proposal maintains the current property tax rate of .56000 cents, which is the same tax rate as last year. Hunt said this is the first time in several years that the proposed tax rate does not exceed the voter-approval tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year, which is set at .563779 cents.
If the city chooses to adopt a tax rate that exceeds the voter-approval tax rate, the city will need to hold an election on the next uniform election date, according to the Texas Comptroller website.
“I think that is a big key to take to our citizens who expect that we are accountable for the money that we are spending, and we are not proposing to raise their taxes or their tax rate to be able to afford the service that they want,” Hunt said.
Once approved by the city council, the budget for the 2025 fiscal year will begin on Oct. 1 and end on Sept. 30, 2025.
Hunt presented an overview of the differences in the total expenditures for the proposed budget compared to last year’s budget.
The budget’s two largest spending areas remain in the water and sewer department fund and the general fund, which includes city departments such as the library and police department.
The total water and sewer fund decreased by a total of 11.83% from 2024. Hunt said the reduction is mainly related to ongoing capital projects.
“Capital projects extend through many years, but we are accounting for what we are expected to pay for in this fiscal year out of the capital fund,” he said.
Hunt adds that the water fund is also accounting for grants.
“We have a lot of grants working in water, and a lot of those matching 20 or 25% are coming through, so we don’t have a lot of reserve at this point in the coming year baked into the budget for water and sewer,” he said.
The total expenses for the general fund increased by 7.17% from last year. Most of the increases are in the budgets for the fire department, fleet services, and parks and recreation.
The capital improvement projects expected in 2025 range from general fund to water projects. Major projects include an $8 million Stillhouse Wastewater Treatment Plant project that is financed by existing Texas Water Development Board funds. In addition, flood damage repairs and mitigation in Faunt Le Roy Park are also listed among general capital projects, where the city expects to utilize FEMA grant funds.
The total cost for city-wide projects is expected to be $12.1 million. Most of the funding sources are from grants, existing funds, or the general capital improvement fund.
The budget was built around a variety of factors, such as wage increases for city employees, the increase in costs of materials, fuel, and services, infrastructure and improvement challenges, and anticipated growth opportunities in the next several years.
Hunt and Interim Deputy City Manager Mike Halsema presented a list of budget goals at the previous city council meeting on July 9, which highlighted wage increases, maximizing grant funding to improve infrastructure and community resources, improving security and safety in city facilities, among others.
A public hearing on the budget will be held during a special city council meeting on Sept. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
The city council will vote on the budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year no later than Sept. 30.
