City of Humble approves $111.62M budget, set to vote on property tax rate increase

Humble City Council approved its fiscal year 2018-19 budget—which consists of a 12 percent decrease in the city’s general fund compared to fiscal year 2017-18—at a meeting Sept. 13.

The budget consists of $111.62 million in expenditures with the largest allocation of $36.15 million dedicated to the city’s general fund, which funds the city’s maintenance and operations.

However, despite the overall decrease in the city’s general fund, some departments received additional staff members that city officials said were necessary.

The budget includes $632,979 to fund the addition of six new positions at the city’s fire department and $106,157 to fund one new detective position within the city’s police department.

The budget also includes funding for a number of capital projects the city placed on the 2017-18 budget, but delayed after Hurricane Harvey hit the area in August 2017. One such project is a new senior activity center, which is slated to cost $1.2 million.

Along with the six new positions, the fire and emergency medical service department received more than $500,000 of funding for capital projects. This includes $290,000 for a new ambulance and $105,563 for new priority dispatch system software.