The City Commission of Canyon on Aug. 5 held a public hearing and adopted Ordinance No. 12-39, approving the city’s fiscal 2025–26 budget and a property tax rate increase intended primarily to service recently issued general-obligation bonds for public-safety facility improvements.

City staff told commissioners the proposed budget includes $6.3 million in property-tax revenue, an increase of about $1.4 million over the current year driven largely by debt-service needs tied to the public-safety bond program. Staff said about $1.0 million of that increase is needed to cover debt service for bond proceeds tied to the Series 2025 issuance.

The budget and tax-rate discussion centered on the city’s sale of general-obligation bonds following voter approval earlier this year. Staff reported Hilltop Securities obtained bids for the city’s 2025 bond sale; the city sold $13,805,000 in general-obligation bonds as a result of the sale, and staff said net proceeds available for construction are expected to be $14,000,000. The repayment schedule included in staff materials shows annual debt-service payments of roughly $1,060,000 over the next 20 years, with the first payments scheduled in the fiscal year covered by the ordinance.

Why it matters: staff said the tax-rate change will affect the average homeowner’s annual bill. Using staff’s taxable-value example, the projected average tax payment would rise by $304 annually; staff attributed $236 of that increase to the new bond debt and $67 to operating increases. Staff also described limits on future tax-rate flexibility tied to statutory calculations the city must follow when setting rates.

Key budget changes and operational items
- Public safety and personnel: The proposed budget contains multiple public-safety items: a three-year transition for police to a step-pay schedule (intended to improve recruitment and retention), funding to maintain recently hired firefighters for a full year (and three safety positions covered by a pending grant if awarded), and two additional school-resource officers whose costs are reflected net of reimbursements from Canyon Independent School District. Staff said the fire department plans to implement 24-hour coverage starting Dec. 6 and that pay changes aim to reduce attrition among sergeants and other experienced officers.
- Debt and capital: Staff reported the city has recently issued certificates of obligation and general-obligation debt (including roughly $10 million in COs for utility projects) and that, because of those issuances, capital-improvement program (CIP) spending in next year’s operating budget is reduced. The golf fund’s capital-outlay payments were cut in half for the golf-cart replacement schedule, producing a reduction in capital outlay for that fund.
- Other funds and expenditures: The utility fund includes equipment and server-replacement reserves, transfers to a utility CIP fund for easements/land, and increased debt-service costs tied to new COs. Staff presented a net $844,577 of new items across departments; $543,304 of that is covered by increased revenue and the balance by operating cuts elsewhere in the general fund, staff said.
- Revenues and comparisons: Staff projected operating-revenue increases (3% overall) driven by increased sales-tax and utility receipts. The materials compared Canyon’s proposed tax levy and per-capita measures with nearby Panhandle cities and showed Canyon’s proposed levy falling near the middle of comparable cities.

Public process and prior approvals
Staff outlined the public communication and election process that preceded the budget discussion: an architect’s facilities study and selection of a facilities plan A; a May 3 bond election in which a majority of voters approved authorizing bonds for public-safety facilities; and subsequent market activity that led to the Series 2025 sale. Staff said the city conducted mailed notices, utility-bill inserts, social-media posts and public presentations to civic groups and public-safety staff leading up to the election.

Action taken
After the public hearing, a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 12-39 — making appropriations for the City of Canyon for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2025, and ending Sept. 30, 2026 — was made and seconded on the record. The commission voted to adopt the ordinance. (The meeting transcript records the motion and the commission’s affirmative vote but does not provide a roll-call tally in the minutes.)

Context and next steps
Staff repeatedly cautioned that final property-tax calculations depend on certified values from the appraisal district and the statutory tax-rate calculations the city must follow; staff said the debt-service component (I&S) is fixed for purposes of the calculations and that the commission’s choices concern the operations portion of the rate and related revenue cuts or additions. The ordinance includes standard provisions for publication and an effective date. Staff recommended adoption and the commission approved Ordinance No. 12-39 as presented.

Votes at a glance
- Ordinance No. 12-39 (adopt budget and appropriations for FY 2025–26, include property-tax increase to service Series 2025 general-obligation bonds): adopted (motion made and seconded; vote recorded in the meeting transcript as in favor; no roll-call tally provided in transcript).