The $758 million budget for 2024-25 was adopted by Plano City Council at the Sept. 9 meeting. Council member Anthony Ricciardelli voted against the budget, citing concerns about addressing cost pressures with property tax revenues.
“I have to vote no on this budget to sound a note of caution about the sustainability of filling the holes we are facing with property taxes,” Ricciardelli said.
In a nutshell
The $758 million budget is a 4% increase compared to the nearly $732.8 million budget adopted for FY 2023-24, according to city documents.
Included within the city’s expenses are targeted compensation adjustments for employees not making the median salary for a given position, plus an additional 5%. An additional $2.7 million was added to the budget to cover the salary increases in place of a $1,000 stipend that would be paid out to all employees.
Along with the budget, council members approved a property tax rate of $0.4176 per $100 of assessed value, which is the same as the 2023-24 budget’s property tax rate. The maintenance and operations portion of the rate—which is used to cover operating expenses—would be $0.3026 per $100 of assessed value and the debt service rate—which is used to repay debt—would be $0.1150 per $100 of assessed value.
Because of increases to the appraised value of properties, the average homeowner would pay $1,744 in FY 2024-25, an 11.94% increase compared to $1,558 for FY 2023-24.
Within the adopted budget, proposed water and sewer rate increases are included from the recommendations in the city’s utility rate review study. Water rates were adjusted to cover the cost of wholesale rate changes from the North Texas Municipal Water District and a 7.25% increase for each usage tier above 5,000 gallons each month.
Sewer rates will be adjusted accordingly, based on information presented to council during the Aug. 15 budget work session. For a residential customer using 10,000 gallons of water monthly and 5,000 gallons based on the winter averaging, the bill could increase by $17.06, or 16.64% in FY 2024-25.
Council members also approved the $320.9 million Community Investment Program, which will fund several parks, streets and infrastructure projects throughout Plano. Funding for the Community Investment program is included within the $758 million budget, Director of Budget and Research Karen Rhodes-Whitley said.
Per city documents, the funding includes close to $118.4 million for streets and around $53.2 million for water and sewer projects.
Looking ahead
The adopted budget is for FY 2024-25, which begins Oct. 1.
The proposed increases to the water and wastewater rates will also take effect Oct. 1, based on information shared with council.
