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Council reviews five-year Capital Outlay Plan; staff proposes heavy use of certificates of obligation and flags $55,000 Christmas tree request
Summary
Budget director presented the proposed five-year Capital Outlay Plan (equipment) showing heavy reliance on certificates of obligation for 2025 and 2026 financings; council briefly discussed a $55,000 quote to replace the City Park Christmas tree and the proper funding source (hotel occupancy tax vs. tax-supported funds).
On March 4 the Copperas Cove City Council reviewed the proposed 2026'2030 Capital Outlay Plan, a five-year list of equipment and fleet needs compiled and prioritized by an interdepartmental committee.
Arianna Beckman, director of budget, told council the plan lists required equipment by fund and source; for fiscal year 2025 the total was approximately $3.9 million and the staff proposal was to fund 84% with certificate of obligation (CO) debt and 16% with operating funds. In 2026, Beckman said the plan showed $6.5 million in equipment, with 88% proposed to be funded by COs.
Beckman noted public safety and utilities made up a large share of costs: police and fire equipment accounted for a majority of tax-supported equipment, while wastewater collection and other water and sewer items represented the largest share in enterprise funds. Solid waste requested two new side-loaders for residential collection at about $850,000 across the plan, the budget director said.
Council flagged one Parks Department request for discussion: a $55,000 quote for a replacement decorative Christmas tree used at City Park. Staff asked whether hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funds could be used to purchase the tree. Beckman said the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association advised that use of HOT for such an arts/attraction purchase is a local council decision but cautioned that approving one HOT-funded arts purchase would open the door to similar future requests; she summarized the primary HOT objective is to support the hotel industry and visitor-generating activities.
Other items in the outlay plan included 4x4 public works trucks going forward, a modeled replacement schedule for sweepers, pickups, loaders and golf-course equipment, and a note that some drainage items could be reduced by available contingency funds.
No formal council action was requested for the outlay plan at the meeting; staff will include prioritized items in the budget and the plan will be adopted by ordinance as part of the FY2026 budget process.
