As part of the city’s infrastructure efforts, Richardson will increase maintenance spending by 3.5%, dedicating $4.7 million to street upgrades and $1.9 million to alley repairs.
The city also plans to allocate $930,666 to parks and facilities maintenance and over $1 million to traffic system maintenance, which includes street sign replacement and streetlight maintenance.
City Manager Don Magner submitted the proposed 2022-23 fiscal year budget during an April 15 council meeting in preparation for adoption later this month.
The proposed budget shows an increase of 7.2% compared to the 2021-22 budget to over $354 million in expenditures.
The city also plans to provide additional funding for city employees in order to aid job recruitment. This payment plan would provide a 6% merit-based adjustment for all employees and will also increase full-time and permanent part-time minimum starting salary to $17.82 an hour. The increased compensation package is expected to cost nearly $6 million.
Other city funding initiatives in the proposed budget include increasing the senior tax exemption to $105,000, adding nine firefighters and paramedic positions to staff an additional ambulance and adding three new police officers.
The city is also planning to create its own Department of Economic Development. The current economic development department has been a joint initiative between the city and the Richardson Chamber of Commerce. The city plans to dedicate nearly $1.4 million for economic development initiatives within Richardson.
The proposed budget includes a reduction in the city’s tax rate to $0.56095, a decrease of $0.054 compared to 2021-22. The proposed tax rate would be the lowest for Richardson residents since 2006.
Magner said the city's revenue is expected to increase by nearly $17 million compared to last fiscal year.
The council will host a public hearing for the budget during the Aug. 22 meeting, while a public hearing on the tax rate is scheduled for Aug. 29. The 2022-23 budget is scheduled to be adopted during the Aug. 29 meeting. The city’s entire budget presentation can be seen here.
