Council adopts FY2025–26 tax rate, approves de minimis increase to 0.44259

The city council adopted Ordinance 25-08-02 setting the fiscal year 2025–26 tax rate at 0.44259 after a public hearing. Heather Ramirez, assistant city manager, presented the proposal and said the council is proposing to adopt the de minimis rate of 0.44259, a small increase allowed for municipalities with populations of 30,000 or less. The council voted to approve the ordinance by motion.

Why it matters: the adopted rate funds the city’s general fund operations and debt service; Ramirez said the proposal represents an increase of a little more than three cents compared with last year’s rate of 0.40683 but noted the council has reduced the rate by about 0.51588 (about 16 cents) over the past four years.

During the public hearing Ramirez explained that the adopted rate covers interest and sinking (debt service) obligations while the additional levy supports maintenance and operations for day-to-day services. Ramirez also told the council that the de minimis rate is an option available to jurisdictions of the city’s size and that the small increase reflects stabilization in appraisals and ongoing needs to maintain city services and employee compensation.

Action: Councilman Carrasco moved to approve Ordinance 25-08-02; a second was recorded for Councilman Saldana. The motion carried and the ordinance was adopted. The public hearing was opened and closed during the meeting; no additional public comment requiring action was recorded.

Next steps: the adopted rate will be incorporated into the city budget and billing process for the 2025–26 fiscal year. Councilmembers said they expect to provide accountability to residents by tying the rate to visible investments in roads, parks and other quality-of-life projects discussed elsewhere on the agenda.