Alpine council adopts $17 million budget, holds water-budget debate and approves tax rate

The Alpine City Council voted 4–1 on Sept. 10 to adopt the city’s fiscal year 2025–26 budget and later approved a tax rate that holds property tax revenue flat.

Council members approved ordinance 2025-09-03, the annual budget for Oct. 1, 2025–Sept. 30, 2026, after a lengthy discussion about fund balance use and water and wastewater needs. Council member Stevens was the lone dissenting vote. The council then adopted ordinance 2025-09-04 to set a proposed tax rate of 0.424737 per $100 of assessed valuation, a rate the city said would raise the same amount of property tax revenue as the prior year; that ordinance passed unanimously.

Why it matters: Council members debated whether the budget relies too heavily on fund balance and whether the council had sufficient detail about planned water and wastewater projects. The discussion included a failed amendment that would have reduced water and sewer appropriations by $250,000 each and directed staff to revisit priorities after scheduled workshops.

Discussion and next steps

Council member Stevens led the most extensive critique, saying he was uncomfortable approving a $17 million budget without more detail on water and…