Warrensburg council reviews budget, adopts 2025 property tax levies; manager outlines deferred-maintenance spending

Warrensburg — City Manager Mike Schrage presented a proposed operating budget and comprehensive financial model to the Warrensburg City Council during its August meeting, saying staff will use reserves to address deferred maintenance and to reestablish a vehicle and equipment replacement fund. The presentation came before the council moved and approved ordinances setting the city's 2025 property tax levies for the general, parks and debt service funds. Schrage told the council the budget updates include new property tax estimates, revised water and wastewater fees, capital spending for a camera truck at the water pollution control operation, and a set of one-time and recurring capital items including station work at Fire Stations 1 and 2, police department concrete work and parking lot extensions, a storm shelter at Fire Station 2, and a tactical armored vehicle for the police department. “This reestablishes the vehicle and equipment replacement fund,” he said, and described the change as part of rolling out a comprehensive financial model. Why this matters: Schrage said the model aims to move the city away from repeated, unfunded maintenance "whack-a-mole" toward a scheduled replacement plan that stabilizes capital spending over time. Key budget figures and constraints explained in the meeting: City staff reported the total assessed valuation for Warrensburg this year is about $292,000,000, an increase of roughly 5.7 percent over 2024. The Missouri Hancock Amendment limits allowable revenue growth to the smaller of actual new construction growth or CPI; the state tax commission set CPI at 2.9 percent this year. As a result, staff said the council needed to roll back rates so the city collects only the CPI increase and not the full assessed-value growth. Assistant City Manager Christy Dorman presented the levy numbers: maximum authorized levies were stated as 0.3453 for general, 0.1876 for parks and 0.9 for debt service, with the city voluntarily holding the debt-service levy at 0.59 to honor prior statements of no tax increase on issued bonds. Staff estimated the CPI-limited increase would yield about $160,000 additional property-tax revenue across all three levies, and that amount was already included in the draft budget. On capital planning and larger projects, Schrage said the city is evaluating design timing and potential funding for the Maguire Street and U.S. 50 projects and has engaged financial advisers about using freed-up revenue sources when certificates of participation retire in 2030. He also noted Schneider Electric has toured potential solar locations, including covered parking for police and solar at wastewater facilities, and staff will return with an investment-grade audit and cost estimates. Public-safety equipment: Schrage said the fire department's proposed rescue truck budget increased to $700,000 (from an earlier $287,000 estimate), reflecting current market pricing for the vehicle type. On policing, Schrage and Chief Munson discussed negotiations with Axon to consolidate body cameras, tasers and in-car systems under a single pricing model and included related software integration costs in the budget model. Council action on levies and budget steps: The council moved the levy ordinances through first/second reading by title and adopted the ordinances setting the annual rates for general, parks and debt service by recorded voice votes with all members voting yes. What the budget does not do: Schrage emphasized several large items remain identified-but-unfunded, such as a new public-works main building and a dedicated fire training facility; those will require future deliberation or external funding. He also said merit raises remain a priority under consideration as staff monitors quarterly financial performance. Next steps: Schrage said the city would continue quarterly budget updates and refine the comprehensive financial model as projects, procurement and investment-grade analyses progress.