Board reviews 2025–26 budget workshop; discusses $25M bond, Greenway engineering, stormwater rate and police equipment

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen met in a budget workshop to review preliminary fiscal 2025–26 fund budgets, projected revenues and proposed capital projects, including a $25 million bond for streets, engineering carryover for a Hurricane Creek Greenway Phase 2, consideration of a stormwater-rate increase and equipment requests for police and fire impact funds.

City staff presented line-by-line fund summaries and capital requests. Bruce, a city staff member, led the review of multiple funds and said the Streets Capital Projects Fund includes a $25,000,000 bond under revenue and a $2,000,000 transfer from the general fund “to pay the interest and principal for the first year.” Bruce said that, after accounting for bond proceeds, “revenue exceeds expenditures by $13,500,000,” largely because of the proposed bonds.

The Greenway Phase 2 project in the parks capital budget drew detailed discussion. David, a staff member, said he did not account for a $410,000 engineering carryover in his initial priorities and warned that more engineering work may be required. “Reagan Smith gave us a price for what they thought the Corps of Engineers would respond to in terms of engineering drawings. They sent them to the corps and they said, no. We need $300,000 more worth of drawings before we’ll…