New Braunfels City Council adopted the city's operating budget Sept. 11, which focuses on employee compensation, public safety and capital improvement projects.

The details

This year’s proposal is a balanced budget with equal revenue and expenditures, both slated at $419.55 million with a 19.1% increase in revenue from last year.

The revenues are broken down as follows:
  • Revenue: $198.07 million
  • Beginning capital reserves: $151.25 million
  • Beginning fund reserves: $70.23 million
Earlier this year, the city's executive leadership team and City Council outlined the following goals and priorities for the fiscal year 2023-24 budget:
  • Develop competitive compensation packages
  • Invest in technology and equipment that reduces the need for other resources
  • Invest in aging infrastructure
  • Maintain strong financial reserves
Improving employee compensation for city staff has been a work in progress since 2015, Assistant City Manager Jared Werner said, when the city lagged behind other cities in compensation by almost 25%.

As a result, 32 new positions have been created throughout the city but mainly in public safety, Werner said.


Other notable highlights from the new budget include capital funding to complete projects from the 2019 bond and a fourth consecutive tax rate decrease.

The proposed tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year is set to be $0.408 per $100 valuation, though it has yet to be approved.
Next steps

The city is slated to hold another public hearing Sept. 25 for the tax rate before ultimate approval and adoption.

The budget, and the tax rate if approved, will go into effect Oct. 1.