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City administration presents law, communications and budget office budgets; highlights GFOA budget award and communications growth
Summary
City departments — law, communications and the new Office of Budget & Performance — presented their FY‑26 budget requests to the Budget Finance Committee. Highlights included a GFOA distinguished budget award, steady communications staffing and growing social media reach, and continued development of long‑range financial and performance tools.
Representatives from the city law department, communications division, and the Office of Budget & Performance presented budget overviews and accomplishments to the Budget Finance Committee.
Shauna Billingsley, the city attorney, presented the law department’s mission and workload statistics: in 2024 the department drafted or reviewed multiple ordinances and resolutions, handled several hundred contracts, and tracked litigation matters; the department requested no program enhancements for FY‑26.
Communications staff (Monique McCullough and team) reported stable staffing and modest budget changes largely driven by benefits costs. They highlighted 2024 activity including 36 special events supported, growth across platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, YouTube), an upcoming AI chatbot on the city website, and internal communications efforts to support staff across interim office locations. The communications team proposed no new program enhancements but asked to continue work on public education and recruitment outreach (for police and fire).
Michael Walters Young, chief budget and performance officer, summarized the office’s first full year in operation. The office led the FY‑25 budget work, implemented OpenGov budgeting tools, supported the CIP update, and coordinated performance measurement and strategic planning. The city’s FY‑24 budget earned the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) distinguished budget presentation award and special recognition for long‑range financial planning; FY‑25 submission was noted as forthcoming.
Finance staff (Margaret and colleagues) provided a brief monthly report: sales tax collections were holding relatively strong in recent months and the conference center showed a year‑to‑date gain for the city’s share, though December historically runs as a slower month for events. Committee leadership noted the upcoming Williamson County reappraisal and said County Assessor Brad Coleman will be invited to a March meeting to explain the reappraisal timeline and its implications for the city’s tax rate setting process.
No program enhancements were proposed in law or communications at this meeting. Several committee members suggested communications initiatives that would explain technical topics (for example, annexation or development‑process steps) in short, digestible formats for residents. The budget office said it will continue work on dashboards and explore AI tools to make meeting summaries more accessible for the public.
