Mesquite — City officials held a Saturday budget workshop to review department requests, proposed utility and program fee changes, and options for the city’s tax rate as staff prepares final numbers for August decisions.

City Manager Cliff (City Manager) told the council the workshop is intended to shape the final fiscal‑year 2026 budget and the city’s tax‑rate decision, saying the exercise “gives us the opportunity to look at where we want our community to go in the next 5, 10, 15, 25 years.”

Why it matters: Mesquite’s preliminary tax roll shows unusually strong growth in taxable value in 2025. That growth gives the council room for revenue, but state “truth in taxation” rules and Senate Bill 2 limits mean the council must choose whether to set the no‑new‑revenue tax rate (which preserves existing levy but captures new value), the voter‑approval rate (which allows about 3.5% more maintenance and operations revenue), or to go to voters for a higher rate. The council asked staff to return with a tighter set of budget scenarios showing the no‑new‑revenue, a midrange option and the voter‑approval rate for comparison.

Most important facts
- Preliminary appraisal trends: Finance Director Ted Chin said the draft tax roll shows roughly a 16% increase in overall taxable value this year, driven by residential and industrial development, with roughly $95.8 million projected in property‑tax revenue under staff assumptions.
- Tax‑rate options: Staff outlined (a) a no‑new‑revenue rate that would preserve last year’s levy while capturing new value; (b) the voter‑approval rate (roughly staff’s midrange scenario); and (c) a higher rate that would require a voter election. Staff said the council should expect to set an August ceiling on the rate and hold public hearings before adoption.
- Next steps and schedule: City Manager Cliff said certified appraisal numbers and the county’s truth‑in‑taxation calculation are due soon; staff will return with final numbers and a recommended ceiling at the August 4 council meeting and hold the required public hearing before adoption. The council was reminded there are public hearings already scheduled on July 21 and August 4.
- Tradeoffs: Council members and staff acknowledged that choosing a lower tax rate would require program or capital cuts — not just “trimming fat” — while a tax‑rate election would allow more of the department requests to be funded but would have an election cost (estimated in the hundreds of thousands).

Supporting details
- Staff emphasized the difference between the city’s immediate options: the no‑new‑revenue calculation vs. the voter‑approval rate under truth‑in‑taxation law; the city’s tax calculator will change after the county certifies the roll.
- The workshop covered a long list of department requests — from increases to water and sewer rates to hiring proposals in fire, police and public works — and included requests for capital work such as street reconstruction, drainage projects, and building repairs.
- Several council members urged staff to present three concrete scenarios: hold the current rate, the voter‑approval rate, and a middle option, so voters and council can see the budget consequences of each path.

What’s next: Staff will return with updated, certified numbers and a short set of budget scenarios showing the levy, the effect on the median homeowner and which department requests each scenario would fund or defer. The council will set a formal ceiling and schedule required hearings in August; staff recommended public outreach explaining the choices and likely tradeoffs for residents.