Finance department staffers in Flower Mound are finalizing the town’s fiscal year 2023-24 budget, and at a work session Aug. 17 and a council meeting Aug. 21, council members got a rundown of what to expect.

The background

This fiscal year’s proposed tax rate in Flower Mound is $0.3873 per $100 valuation; last fiscal year’s tax rate was $0.405 per $100 valuation. The general fund in the proposed budget revenue is $92.6 million. Expenditures are estimated to total $88.1 million.

At the work session, Town Manager James Childers said the proposed budget can be considered the town’s “best foot forward,” and that it includes more than monetary figures.

“It’s also a policy document,” he said. “You should be able to pick up your budget and figure out what our priorities are, where we’re trying to go as a community. So it’s a very, very important document.”



Childers said, going forward, the budget will go to council and members will "tweak it." Childers said council had three priorities: recruiting and retaining the best employees, focusing on core services, and looking for a way to lower the tax rate. Childers added this budget continues allowing the town to have a healthy general fund balance.

Zooming in

At the Aug. 21 council meeting, Director of Budget Services Kay Wilkinson discussed the budget with council. Among the highlights:

  • The town implemented a compensation and classification study in July and then installed a 3% merit increase for eligible employees, with employees at the top of their range receiving a one-time 3% lump sum payment. Possible mid-year market adjustments could be completed after Oct. 1, and if any changes are made, council will consider them as a budget amendment.
  • Insurance costs are still being evaluated, and the town’s insurance consultant will make funding recommendations in the coming weeks.
  • Twelve employees are proposed to be added, with most working in internal services, such as accounting and human resources.
  • The average home value is $486,470, with the estimated taxes without homestead exemption being $1,884. With the homestead exemption, the amount would be $1,649.
  • Residents will see a modest increase in their water and wastewater rates, with the minimum bill rising from $40.29 last year to $42.10 this year. This applies to residents with a three-fourths-inch meter, and all other minimum water bills will increase in the same proportion. The average bill increase is 4.5%.
  • Council will vote on adopting the budget and tax rate at a Sept. 18 meeting.

What they're saying

During the comment portion on the budget, Council Member Ann Martin said some residents have told her they want to see a lower tax rate.



“Yes, philosophically, I absolutely want to keep our tax rate as low as possible,” she said. “But in order to make that operational, we have to come to the next step, which is what are you going to cut? And nobody I talked to was willing to take that next step.”

She said she advocated for using remaining American Rescue Plan Act funds and a percentage of the town’s general fund to get the town to being as close as possible to having no new debt. She said a “high priority” should be placed on using these funds to fund necessities, and that could put the town be in the best position to be able to reduce the tax rate even further, even as early as next year. She called the budget “very responsible.”

Among the other remarks from council, Council Member Chris Drew said he supports using some of the general fund fund balance to lower the tax rate even further. Council Member Adam Schiestel said he would like a lower tax rate—$0.385, specifically—and he said this can be accomplished without "tearing up the budget" because of the surplus and the reserved fund. Council Member Brian Taylor said he thought the budget was “reasonable” and comes without “excesses” or “exorbitant expenditures.” Council Member Jim Engel said he would like to reduce the tax rate, but was comfortable with leaving it at the proposed amount from staff.