The gist
On June 3, city staff shared a summary of a multiyear financial plan with Friendswood City Council to prepare officials as they begin planning the FY 2024-25 budget.
The multiyear financial plan is a planning tool that projects general fund revenues and expenditures over a five-year period using historical and trend analysis,Finance Director Rhonda Bloskas said.
With several months to go before approval, Friendswood officials are expecting to have a budget that breaks even, documents show.
By the numbers
The city expects its FY 2024-25 general fund revenue to be $41.2 million, the same amount as projected expenditures.
To capture the $22.6 million in property taxes, the largest portion of general fund revenue, city staff estimated a $0.5213 per $100 valuation tax rate would be needed, according to the presentation. The tax rate for FY 2023-24 was $0.500728 per $100 valuation, meaning the potential FY 2024-25 rate would be a 4% increase.
According to the city’s presentation, costs contributing to the tax rate increase include:
- New emergency management service onboarding
- A 5% increase in operating costs
- A 4% increase in personnel costs
How the increased tax rate could affect the average tax bill was not immediately available.
Historically, the city has adopted a no-new-revenue rate, Bloskas said.
What’s next?
City staff will deliver a proposed budget to City Council on Aug. 1, and council will adopt the budget at the Sept. 9 meeting, according to the presentation.
