The city of Tomball is proposing a $34 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2023-24, projecting $32.5 million in revenues and $34.9 million in expenditures, according to the proposed budget.
Zooming out
Tomball City Council held its first budget workshop Aug. 7 after the original first workshop was canceled due to a need for paper budget workbooks, Community Impact previously reported.
During this first workshop, City Council was briefed by city staff on the city’s strategic plan, the budget overview and process, the general fund, the enterprise fund, special revenue funds and the internal service funds.
The breakdown
Among its projected FY 2023-24 general fund revenues, Tomball is anticipating:
- $15.7 million in sales taxes
- $5.2 million in property taxes
On the expenditure side, the city’s departments with the biggest projected expenses include:
- Police: $8.02 million
- Fire: $3.55 million
- Emergency Services District No. 15: $2.39 million
- Streets: $2.34 million
- Sanitation: $2.04 million
- Information systems: $2.02 million
The city would use its fund balance—essentially its saving account—to make up the difference between the projected general fund revenues and expenditures. At the end of FY 2023-24, the fund balance is expected to sit at $26.5 million.
“The proposed budget, FY [2023-24], does have the fund balance at 76%, which is still way above the 25% that is required by [the city’s] charter,” City Manager David Esquivel.
Tomball’s tax rate
City staff is recommending a property tax rate of $0.291472 per $100 valuation, which is the voter-approval rate based on the certified estimated taxable value, Tapscott said during the regular meeting. The voter-approval rate is the maximum amount the city can adopt without voter approval.
The city’s tax rate is $0.287248 per $100 valuation, according to prior reporting.
The tax rate will be adopted after the certified tax roll is received later this month; City Council approves a proposed tax rate; and a public hearing is held, Tapscott said.
During its regular meeting Aug. 7, City Council approved a resolution acknowledging the receipt of the 2023 certified estimated taxable value, which is $3.29 billion, according to the agenda packet. Tapscott said the certified estimate is an increase of $660 million, or 25.1%, compared to last year.
“$274 million of that is new improvements that were not on the roll last year,” Tapscott said.
What else?
According to the city’s budget presentation, the FY 2023-24 budget also proposes:
- 14 new full-time-equivalent employees, which includes three new firefighters for the city and ESD 15
- A new computer-aided dispatch system for the police department
- Capital projects relating to water infrastructure, such as the wastewater treatment plant expansion
Other council actions
During its regular meeting Aug. 7, City Council approved the hiring of Craig Meyers as the community development director. Meyers returns to Tomball after leaving in 2021 following eight years of service with the city, Community Impact previously reported.
Stay tuned
Tomball will hold another budget workshop Aug. 21, at which the classification and compensation study, capital projects fund, capital recovery funds, and debt service fund will be discussed, according to the city’s budget presentation.
