Kyle City Manager, Lanny Lambert, presented his budget proposal to the Kyle City Council for their consideration at a special called council meeting on Thursday, July 31st. The $53.8 million dollar proposed budget includes funding for a variety of new programs and services aimed at enhancing public safety and quality of life services and adds 13.5 new positions. The proposed budget also holds taxes and fees at their current levels.
“Our city staff has worked very hard to balance prudent fiscal restraint with the need to invest in our public services and infrastructure,” said Lambert. “I’m looking forward to the public discussion of this proposed budget and staff is prepared to make further adjustments based on the council’s direction.”
The budget goals used to frame this budget proposal were developed during a council retreat held on July 12th. The resulting goals as outlined in the City Manager’s Budget Transmittal Letter are as follows:
- Enhanced programs and service delivery to Kyle homeowners, residents, and businesses
- No increase in property tax rate
- No increase in water and wastewater service rates
- No increase in other fees and charges for City services
- Priority based investments for public safety and quality of life services including police, water and wastewater systems, streets, parks, library, economic development, and infrastructure maintenance
- Investment in the City’s workforce
- Drawdown of General Fund balance to cover cost of enhanced programs and services
No change is being proposed to the total property tax rate, the Proposed Budget for Fiscal-Year 2014-15 maintains the City’s property tax rate for 2014 at the same level as 2013 of $0.5483 per $100 of assessed taxable valuation. Included in the tax rate is $0.2703 per $100 of assessed valuation for Maintenance and Operations, and $0.2780 per $100 of assessed taxable valuation for debt service.
Highlights of the budget proposal include the addition of three new police officer positions, two new administrative police department positions, converting a part-time animal control position to full-time, the addition of a three person street maintenance crew, $500,000 for street maintenance, $500,000 for park improvements, two full-time library positions, and converting two part-time library positions to full-time. The budget also includes support costs for all the new positions, funding for an Economic Development Strategic Plan update, and technology improvements for the City’s Municipal Court.
Funding for the continuation of the Road Bond Program, Southside Wastewater Line is also included as well as funding for various engineering projects to improve the City’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
The City continues to enjoy the benefits for both residential and commercial growth. Total property valuations for 2014 came in at $1,675,128,104, including $58,936,188 from new improvements and $3,315,176 from newly annexed properties. The total net change in 2014 certified valuation for properties within the City of Kyle is $141,061,896 or 9.2 percent increase as compared to the 2013 certified property valuation.
Continued growth in the commercial sector also results in improved sales tax collection. Sales tax revenue for Fiscal-Year 2014-15 is projected at $5,125,800, or 8.5% over the anticipated year-end collections for the current fiscal year.
Partial funding for the new positions, programs and capital improvements comes from drawing down the City’s fund balance. The fund balance serves as the City’s savings account and has grown substantially over the past three years as strict fiscal policies and oversight balanced spending and allowed the City’s tax base to recover from the recent recession.
The Proposed Budget for Fiscal-Year 2014-15 draws down the General Fund Balance by $1,582,467 from an estimated beginning balance of $7,570,488 to $5,988,021 by fiscal year-end at September 30, 2015.
The City’s water and wastewater utility’s rates will also remain unchanged for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. Significant changes and notes affecting the utility’s budget are:
- $166,233 increase for water supply
- $163,495 increase for water operations
- $242,629 for wastewater operations
- $87,723 increase in other utility operations
- $52,651 for CPI and market wage adjustment is included in the proposed budget for positions funded from the Water and Wastewater Utility Fund. This adjustment includes two cost components; a 2.7 percent cost of living adjustment and a 0.8 market adjustment for all employees.
- $1,300,000 included for transfer to the General Fund. The transfer amount equals 10 percent of the gross revenue of the City’s Water and Wastewater Utility and is maintained at the same level as in the current fiscal year.
- Funding is not included for the acquisition of the existing wastewater plant or for the addition of the next phase of wastewater treatment plant capacity.
The presentation of the city manager’s proposed budget was the first of seven budget workshops currently scheduled as part of the budget development process. Each workshop includes public hearings to allow citizens the opportunity to weigh in on their thoughts about the process. The complete budget development calendar, as well as all other budget related documents will be made available on the City of Kyle web site and at the Kyle City Hall and Public Library.
To see the budget proposal in it’s entirety, click here to download it and read!