Over the past month the city councils across the Lake Travis-Westlake area have each had discussions and made decisions that affect the cities. From budget discussions to grants, check out three recent government stories from the area.
1. Lakeway approves over $2M in grants to Lakeway Marina and Trestle Studio
Trestle Studio purchased Lakeway Resort and Spa in May and is planning $29 million in improvements throughout the property.
The company requested $2 million from Lakeway’s hotel occupancy tax fund for rehabilitation and renovation costs, developing signage to guide tourists and staging a “reintroduction” marketing campaign, according to city documents.
The first million will be dispersed in July 2026 with two allotments of $500,000 dispersed in July 2027 and January 2028.
Lakeway Marina, located a 3-minute walk away from Lakeway Resort and Spa, also requested over $1.1 million from the HOT fund.
Council approved funds for signage and historical restoration, but will be reassessing the funding requests for the parking lot, boat ramp and advertising at the Aug. 17 council meeting.
Trestle Studio projects that the HOT fund investment will be 95% repaid in increased HOT fund collections in 2033, and the entire resort and spa and separate grant for Lakeway Marina will be paid off in 2035, Grundman said.
2. West Lake Hills starts preliminary discussions for the 2026-27 budget
West Lake Hills could have a nearly $73,000 surplus in the general fund for the fiscal year 2026-27 budget, yet increases to police and public works funding could eliminate this surplus.
The city’s general fund revenues are expected to be at $10.48 million for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
Expenses for the city are expected to be at $10.4 million, with the largest general fund expenses in police and public works.
West Lake Hills Mayor James Vaughan recommends that the city pursues a no-net-new-revenue tax rate, he said in an email.
The tax rate for fiscal year 2026-27 is expected to be $0.174 per $100 of assessed valuation, West Lake Hills Finance Director Vonda Ragsdale said.
3. Lakeway to consider adopting de minimis tax rate
The city of Lakeway is projected to have a $1.6 million shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year as revenues are down by 5.5% and expenditures have increased by nearly 6%, per previous reporting from Community Impact.
In order to work towards eliminating the projected shortfall, Lakeway city staff recommended that council approves a de minimis tax rate for fiscal year 2027.
A de minimis rate is a rate designed to give smaller cities—cities with a population of less than 30,000—flexibility to adopt a tax rate that generates $500,000 more in property tax revenue than the previous year without triggering the voter-approval rate, according to the Texas Comptroller.
The de minimis rate is expected to increase property taxes by approximately $80 per year, or $6.67 per month, on the average home value in Lakeway, which is projected to be $857,615 next fiscal year, according to city documents.
