Trophy Club officials review proposed FY2026 fire budget, flag $218,000 in capital requests

The Town of Trophy Club and Municipal Utility District No. 1 met June 18 to review the proposed fiscal year 2026 fire department budget, which town staff presented as an early draft and noted will change when county-certified tax values are available.

At the meeting, April (finance director) said, “We are here to present and discuss the fiscal year 20 25 26 proposed fire department budget,” and laid out preliminary totals. The proposed FY2026 budget totals $2,191,714, an overall increase of $247,226, or 12.7 percent, from the previous year; personnel costs are projected at $1,635,967 and services and supplies at $337,747. Staff attributed most of the increase to planned capital spending and standard personnel adjustments.

The nut of the discussion was threefold: personnel and benefit cost drivers, overtime trends and management, and capital equipment requests. April said personnel costs include a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment and 2–4 percent merit increases, a $10,000 allocation for employee payouts and separations, and a rise in the TMRS retirement contribution from 13.92 percent to 14.39 percent;…