The city projects $382 million in expenditures in the upcoming fiscal year, including $282.8 million for operating funds and $99.2 million for capital projects. The council unanimously approved the FY 2022-23 budget at its Sept. 20 meeting.
“That’s a significant investment, and those projects will pay dividends going forward for the community,” Director of Budget and Strategy Scott Butler said.
Butler said the city aims to make strategic investment in its highest-priority areas: reliable infrastructure, quality of life, champion workforce and public safety in the upcoming fiscal year.
Sugar Land also adopted its five-year capital improvements program totaling nearly $297 million planned from 2023-27 with $42.6 million allocated for drainage and $21.1 million for streets in 2023.
“We try to be resilient in terms of not only planning for the needs today, but planning for what we need to accomplish tomorrow and beyond,” Butler said.
The city also approved its FY 2022-23 tax rate of $0.34650 per $100 valuation at the meeting. The rate includes $0.200061 for maintenance and operations and $0.146439 for debt service.
This presents no increase from last year’s rate. However, Sugar Land shifted approximately $0.009 from the maintenance and operations rate to the debt service rate to accelerate drainage, street and public safety projects from the voter-approved 2019 general obligation bond, Butler said.
The rate will raise more revenue from property taxes than last year's budget by $5.7 million, a nearly 10% increase due to the corresponding increase in property values. The average residential tax bill will increase $100 from last year’s bill.
“We continue to focus on making sure that we have a low residential tax burden, recognizing ultimately the stewardship that we have to the residents of our city,” Butler said.
