Bridgeport council postpones final budget vote and sets record vote on maximum tax rate

The Bridgeport City Council held a public hearing Aug. 11 on the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget and took two procedural actions: postponing final budget adoption until a special called meeting Aug. 18 and taking a record vote to set the maximum ad valorem tax rate to the de minimis rate for public-notice purposes.

Corey Ingalls, the city finance director, presented the budget notice to council and reported combined projected revenues of $30,013,067 and combined projected appropriated expenditures of roughly $29,000,004. He said the proposed budget contemplates modest increases including a $4 increase to some utility base rates and a proposed ad valorem tax rate of 0.64366 (64.366 cents per $100 of assessed value). Corey also noted the city published the required public-notice advertisement on July 31 in the Messenger as part of the public-hearing process.

Councilmember Matt Van Hoose moved to postpone the final budget vote until the special-called meeting on Aug. 18 at 6 p.m.; Bobby Rodriguez seconded. The motion passed 5–0.

Separately, Councilmember Preston Brown moved and Bobby Rodriguez seconded a motion to take the required record vote to set the maximum tax rate at 0.643665 per $100 of valuation for fiscal 2025–26 and to schedule the public hearing and adoption for Aug. 18, 2025 at 6 p.m. The record vote passed by roll call 5–0 (Matt Van Hoose, Sylvia Ramirez, Susan Kaufman, Bobby Rodriguez, Preston Brown voting yes). Finance staff emphasized the record vote authorizes only the advertised maximum and that the council would adopt a final rate on Aug. 18.

Councilmembers thanked staff for detailed budget workshops and said they would continue deliberations at the Aug. 18 meeting when the final tax rate will be set.