The Woodlands Township held a budget initiative workshop July 23 for fiscal year 2026, which runs from January to December, with recommendations including increasing the number of contracted law enforcement officers from 100 to 109.

The gist

Township President and CEO Monique Sharp outlined the funding sources for the initiatives, including the 2025 fiscal year reserve balance of $105.7 million as well as the projected operating revenue for fiscal year 2026, including:

• Preliminary property tax revenue: $44.18 million
• Preliminary sales tax revenue: $80.55 million

“Reserve funds are good to fund one-time capital purchases, so not ongoing operations. But that is some money that could be spent on the capital initiatives that we're going to look at today and again in August,” Sharp said.

The breakdown

Among the budget initiatives brought before the board were additional funding for law enforcement and community engagement above what is in the base budget, Sharp said. That includes:

• Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office: $1.2 million
• Harris County Constable’s Office: $251,058
• Alpha & Omega Mounted Patrol: $638,252 (increasing hours to 595 per week)

Digging deeper

The budget initiative pertaining to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office includes a recommendation to add nine officers for 2026, as well as the township paying for 13 sergeants instead of eight detectives. Sharp said the change was made after the sheriff's department conducted a review of department efficiency.

“In the sheriff's department's review of efficiency, they have determined that is not the most efficient way to run their department, and that their detectives sometimes need to be outside of the township,” Sharp said to the township board of directors.

Another recommendation is the Target Overtime Program for law enforcement, which would potentially increase its funding from $1.3 million to $1.4 million. This comes as the Montgomery County commissioners authorized the creation of a committee that will look at law enforcement pay equity, as previously reported by Community Impact.

What else

Other budget initiatives discussed at the meeting included funding for the township's transit system, Waterway Square fountain repairs and other needs. Specific costs for most of those items were not discussed at the meeting. The other budget initiatives discussed included:

• Expanding the trolley system to Grogan’s Mill Village Center
• Developing a Town Center Microtransit System
• Creating bike lane systems in the parks
• Repairing Waterway Square Fountain, estimated at up to $3.5 million
• Modernizing Town Center elevators

Stay tuned

The township board will reconvene to continue budget workshops in August. The meeting will be livestreamed on the township's website.