The Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) proposed budget and five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) were presented to the City Council on July 18, 2023, in accordance with the City Charter. The proposed budget includes $288 million for operations and $65 million for capital projects. The proposed Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget and five-year capital improvement program (CIP) follow City Council-adopted Financial Management Policy Statements guidelines.
The focus of the budget is an investment in priorities and services that provide high value to the Sugar Land community today and into the future, including public safety, redevelopment, data-based decision-making, and a championship workforce. The proposed budget provides for future success, ensures continued financial & operational stability, and is structurally balanced and sustainable into the future. Our goal is to balance investment in both maintenance & operations and capital funding to increase our resiliency in FY24 and into the future.
Staff has developed a two-year action plan consisting of Four All-In Initiatives to accomplish the strategic outcomes. They are called all-in because staff is all-in on a “First Team Mindset” that focuses on all-in initiatives intended to deliver City Council’s vision. Each initiative has been designed to engage the entire organization at all levels and use the full resources of the City to accomplish amazing things. The following all-in initiatives are intended to address City Council’s vision.
- Commercial and Residential Redevelopment
- Trailblazing Transformation of Our Culture & Organization
- What Works Cities
- Planning for the Next GO Bond Election
The proposed budget ensures continued financial strength and resiliency by meeting all fund balance requirements, including the structural balance of the General Fund, and includes significant investment in public safety, infrastructure, and Sugar Land’s high quality of life.
The City continues to be recognized as a leader in financial stewardship, with strategies specifically tailored to the community and designed to maximize both the conservative nature of the City’s finances and to offset the residential tax burden. Sugar Land has one of the lowest residential tax burdens per capita in comparison to peer cities, in addition to the fact that Sugar Land’s tax rate represents only a small percentage of the total average residential tax burden.
Priorities for FY24 Budget & Five-Year CIP
The FY24 budget provides leadership in conservative, resilient & responsible stewardship through strategic investment in priority areas. The focus of the proposed budget is an investment in priorities and services that provide high value to the Sugar Land community today and into the future, including public safety, redevelopment, data-based decision-making, and a championship workforce.
GO bond projects funded in FY24 include:
- Public Safety & Public Services Building Rehabilitation
- Emergency Operations Center (EOC)/ Public Safety Dispatch Center
The proposed budget and five-year CIP are built with a recommended increase to the nominal tax rate, specifically for the completion of the remaining projects from the 2019 GO Bond Election. The current aggregate tax rate of $0.34650 is planned to increase approximately $0.00350, for a new total tax rate of approximately $0.35000 – the residential impact of which will be partially offset by the City Council’s previous decision to increase the residential homestead exemption by 2% to 15%. The final allocation of the tax rate will be determined once the City receives the Certified Tax Roll at the end of July, and completes the Truth in Taxation calculations, as required under the tax code. The budget also recommends utility rate increases needed to financially sustain the water and wastewater utility and implement the IWRP and water and wastewater master plans. The proposed rates result in an increase to residents of $3 per month for 10,000 gallons of usage. Residential solid waste services will increase $0.99 based on the contract to $20.84 per month.
Budget Workshops
Over the last few weeks, the City Council has reviewed the proposed budget and CIP in detail through a series of workshops. The tax rate to support the FY24 budget will be recommended and decided through a separate process. A public hearing on the proposed tax rate will be held on September 12, 2023.
Public Hearing
In accordance with LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE § 102.0065, notice to hold a public hearing on the budget must be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the municipality is located. This notice must be published not later than the 10th day or earlier than the 30th day before the public hearing on the budget.
The budget hearing notice must contain specific information about property tax increases in a type of a size at least equal to the type used for other items in the notice:
“This budget will raise more revenue from property taxes than last year’s budget by an amount of $3,215,128, which is a 5.22 percent increase from last year’s budget. The property tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is $289,742.”
The notice of public hearing was published on August 2, 2023, in the Fort Bend Star.
Recommendation
Staff recommends that City Council receive and hear all persons desiring to speak on the FY24 proposed budget and take action to set a date of September 19, 2023, for deliberation and adoption of the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.