Georgetown officials developing FY 2023-24 budget

Georgetown city staff is developing a budget for fiscal year 2023-24 in which projected expenditures in the city’s general fund are expected to outpace forecasted revenues.

Overview

According to the city of Georgetown’s budget workbook for FY 2023-24, the city is projecting revenues of $97.3 million at the end of next year, which would be an 11% decrease from the $108.9 million in total revenues expected for FY 2022-23. Meanwhile, planning staff is expected to propose $101.4 million in expenditures for FY 2023-24, compared to the previous year’s projected $114.5 million in spending.

However, the decrease in revenue is largely due to the fact that solid waste revenues and expenditures will no longer be accounted for in the general fund.

What’s happening?

With Georgetown labeled the nation’s fastest-growing city with a population over 50,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, City Manager David Morgan said the goal is to maintain core services for residents by addressing public safety staffing, preparing for new water treatment facilities and moving forward with a 311-like system for nonemergency calls.

Quote of note

“We are dealing with continued growth and hyper growth we’ve seen the last couple of years and inflationary price escalation,” Morgan said. “We’re also dealing with growth pressures of water services, expansion and impacts associated with that, and then the commitment of our mobility plan and other capital improvement plans moving forward.”

Next steps

• Aug. 8: City manager will bring proposed budget to council; max tax rate will be set
• Aug. 22: First public hearing on budget and tax rate
• Sept. 12: Final reading of budget and tax rate