Sugar Land readies FY 2017-18 budget

City staffers presented a municipal budget for fiscal year 2017-18 to the Sugar Land City Council on July 18 that is about $28 million less than the city’s existing budget.

The city’s budget for the current fiscal year is $259.2 million, while the budget under consideration for the next fiscal year is $231 million, a decrease of about 10.9 percent.

The reduced budget reflects a number of capital improvement projects that do not need further funding, said Jennifer Brown, Sugar Land’s director of finance.

“They’re already funded, so they have everything they need,” she said. “It’s a five-year plan, but it’s funded annually on a year-by-year basis.”

Brown said projections show little to no sales tax growth in the coming year. To reduce its reliance on sales tax, the city may look at increasing the portion of property tax revenue that goes into the general fund, while reducing the portion going to the debt service fund, she said.

The city will hold public hearings on the proposed budget in August.