The City of Leon Valley City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 2 to update the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget using a 0.54 property tax rate to fund three additional firefighters.

The move followed a public hearing and council discussion about public safety staffing and the effect of pending state limits on property tax increases. Councilor Bolton moved to update the budget to a 0.54 tax rate; Councilor Roscoe seconded the motion and the council approved it. Dr. Caldera, the city manager, told the council staff will re-publish the budget impact notices and return the updated materials for final ratification at a later meeting.

The updated rate was presented to the council with estimated revenue and homeowner impacts derived in the staff presentation: 0.54 would generate an estimated $347,483 and raise the average homeowner’s annual bill by roughly $169.30 compared with the currently discussed rate. Staff also presented smaller step alternatives discussed during the meeting: 0.53 and 0.52 with lower revenue and smaller homeowner impacts. Dr. Caldera said the city’s consultant and prior staff studies recommended adding three firefighters to achieve recommended shift staffing.

Why it matters: councilors and several residents urged the city to add firefighters now rather than delay to a voter referendum, citing recent mutual-aid responses and a city study recommending increased fire staffing. The city manager also warned that pending state legislation under consideration to cap allowable tax rate increases could limit the council’s ability to add staff without a voter approval in future years.

What happens next: staff will update the budget documents and public notices to reflect the 0.54 rate, republish the required tax-impact information on the city website, and bring final ordinance/resolution language back to council for formal ratification and any required second readings before the September 30 budget deadline.

Public comment at the Sept. 2 meeting included multiple residents who urged council support for higher funding for first responders; Benny Martinez and Tiffany Bradfield were among speakers who told the council they supported the increase to improve emergency response capacity.

Ending: The council’s vote was procedural approval to update budget materials with the 0.54 rate. Final legal adoption steps and any additional budget adjustments will appear on the council agenda for formal readings and ratification after staff republishes the updated notices and numbers.