City manager Don Magner presented the $418 million budget to Richardson City Council during the Aug. 18 meeting.
Magner said legislative impacts and other factors such as an error by the Collin County Appraisal District in the city’s certified tax rolls, have created a “challenging” budget season. However, he also said he expects the city will return to its “growth pattern” within a few years.
In a nutshell
The budget includes general fund appropriations at $181.3 million, a 0.32% increase from the 2024-25 proposed budget, according to the presentation.
General fund expenditures are budgeted at $181.5 million. The general fund covers the city’s operational cost.
“We have probably one of the tightest operating budgets since I’ve been involved since 2008 or 2009,” Magner said. “There’s very little room for error on the operations side.”
Magner said the proposed tax rate for fiscal year 2025-26 is $0.54218 per $100 of accessed value, no change from the current tax rate.
Property taxes rates have two components, maintenance and operations and interest and sinking. The maintenance and operations, which funds most of the city’s operating expenses, is $0.32439 per $100 of accessed value, while the interest and sinking portion, which is used to repay debt, is $0.21779 per $100 of accessed value.
Digging in deeper
The budget includes an up to 4.5% merit-based pay increase for police and fire personnel and up to 2.5% increase for all other city staff.
Residents can also expect increases in utility rates. According to a news release issued by the city, the average Richardson resident is projected to see a $237 annual increase, from $4,185 to $4,422 mostly driven by higher utility rates and property value increases.
What’s next
Council will hold a public hearing for the tax rate and budget during the Sept. 8 and Sept. 15 council meetings, respectively.
Council is expected to adopt the budget Sept. 15 with an implementation date of Oct. 1.
