After election day the city councils will prioritize top issues in both cities, such as annual budgets, property tax rates, city projects and plans for development. In Cedar Park, three of six City Council seats are open, and all incumbent council members are running against opponents for re-election. Election winners will help decide whether to hold a city bond election, which projects to pursue in the coming years, and how to proceed with the city's fiscal year 2015-16 budget, which includes any changes to the city's property tax rate. In Leander, three of six City Council seats, as well as the mayor's position, are open. Two incumbents, as well as the mayor, are running against challengers for re-election. Winners will help supervise city staffers' draft of a fiscal year 2015-16 budget, which will include planning for city office reorganization. The council will also discuss and vote on Leander's comprehensive plan for city development. Top issue: bond discussion In February, City Council appointed a bond task force committee, which will discuss city projects and their estimated costs, as well as create a list of recommended projects that can be funded by a bond election. The task force will present its findings to the council in May. In August, City Council will vote on whether to call a November bond election, City Manager Brenda Eivens said at a March 26 meeting. On March 26, City Council approved a list of guiding principles for the task force's discussion about bonds. For example, task force members must group together similar projects to be built in coming years as well as provide cost estimates for a bond, Eivens said. The task force will also follow City Council's guideline to base any bond cost estimate on any expected change to the city property tax rate, she said. Place 1 Councilman Stephen Thomas said the city could issue bonds without altering the property tax rate. Place 2 Councilman Corbin Van Arsdale said he would prefer the task force consider a bond amount that assumes the current property tax rate will stay the same, at $0.485 per $100 of valuation. Cedar Park's previous bond election was in November 2007 when voters approved $62.07 million in bonds. Top issue: FY 2015-16 budget This summer the city finance department will begin drafting a FY 2015-16 budget, which may be published in August. City Council will then hear budget presentations from city officials. In August and September council will hold public hearings in which the community may provide its feedback. Then City Council will likely approve the final budget in September. About 27 percent of the current FY 2014-15 budget's estimated revenue came from sales taxes, which increased during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 fiscal years. Cedar Park Finance Director Joseph Gonzales said he expects sales tax revenue to plateau in2015-16 because of slowing growth in the construction of new businesses and restaurants. However, 2016 may bring renewed growth in retail and dining establishments to Cedar Park, and if so, the city could see an increase in annual sales tax revenue, Gonzales said. Cedar Park's top revenue sources are property taxes and sales tax revenue. Top issue: capital projects Possible future bond funding and the FY 2015-16 budget will include projects City Council members deem as priorities, such as improvements to roads and city parks facilities. On Feb. 12, City Council approved a transportation master plan outlining a 20-year vision of possible road improvements. The plan lists projects that could begin in the next few years, such as widening Anderson Mill Road and Whitestone Boulevard, and adding turn lanes at Bell Boulevard intersections. Funding could be specified in the budget, in the proposed bond or from outside agencies. Top issue: city reorganization After City Council approves the FY 2015-16 budget, city staffers will have better direction to decide what new hires and facility changes can come next in the city's planned ongoing reorganization process. The city will transition the Building Inspection Department's oversight from the Fire Department to a new Department of Development Services, which already supervises the planning and engineering departments. The move will merge similar services, said Leander Assistant City Manager Tom Yantis. "That's going to be the big benefit to our customers," Yantis said. "We'll have one place for people to go." The reorganized departments cannot move to a single location until the city builds a new fire station on San Gabriel Parkway. The city can then move Fire Station No. 1 from Pat Bryson Municipal Hall on Brushy Street and remodel the old fire station to house the new departments. Leander has funds to build the new San Gabriel station but has not yet funded the Brushy Street station remodeling. Yantis said the council may fund renovations with an amendment to the current budget. City Council could also fund renovations with revenue from the city's record issuance of 1,142 single-family homebuilding permits in 2014, he said. Top issue: FY 2015-16 budget Yantis said Leander staffers are drafting the city's FY 2015-16 budget. They will present the proposed budget in the summer to the newly arrived City Council. At that time City Council will also set its priorities for the budget-planning process. Those priorities will determine when the city is able to implement its reorganization of departments as well as when departments hire employees for newly created positions, Yantis said. The city is adding new staff to handle increasing daily operations, he said. City Council will also decide whether to change the city's property tax rate, which is $0.65292 per $100 of valuation. Top issue: comprehensive plan On Dec. 18, City Council established a steering committee to assist with the creation of an updated city comprehensive plan, which outlines a vision for developing and zoning preferred zoning uses within the city. The committee first met Jan. 14, joined by members of LandDesign, a planning firm the city hired to help guide the update process. The committee has since conducted interviews with community stakeholders, Yantis said. On April 7 the committee held its first public meeting and invited feedback from residents. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in interactive surveys about development. More meetings are scheduled for June and August. Then City Council will vote on the updated comprehensive plan.