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Lago Vista council sets no-new-revenue tax rate, schedules in‑depth budget workshop Sept. 11
Summary
After hours of discussion about reserves, capital projects and nonprofit grants, the Lago Vista City Council voted to set the city27s 'no‑new‑revenue' tax rate and scheduled an in‑depth budget workshop for Sept. 11 with a formal vote on the budget and tax rate set for Sept. 25.
The Lago Vista City Council voted to set the city27s tax rate at the "no‑new‑revenue" rate and adopted a calendar for final budget hearings and votes.
Councilors agreed to hold an in‑depth budget workshop at 1 p.m. on Sept. 11 and to cancel the previously planned Sept. 15 workshop; the council set Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. as the date for final votes on the FY2026 budget and the tax rate. Mayor Sullivan made the motion to set the workshop dates; the motion passed unanimously.
The council then debated the maximum tax rate to publish in notices. After a failed motion to set a maximum of $0.42 per $100 valuation, the council approved the no‑new‑revenue rate (reported in the meeting materials as approximately $0.43056) as the posted maximum for public notice. The no‑new‑revenue motion passed on a 4–3 voice vote.
Council and staff discussion focused on several budget pressures: major water and wastewater capital projects that still require engineering estimates, the timing of planned bonding and debt service, and the need to tighten department projections before adoption. Councilors repeatedly asked staff for clearer line‑item explanations where projected year‑end spending diverged from current year-to-date figures. Finance staff and department heads were asked to provide updated, reconciled projections ahead of the Sept. 11 workshop.
Separately, councilors directed staff to prepare the city27s legal notices required under new state law (House Bill 1522) for any future budget-related agendas; city attorney and staff said they would provide form language and advice for required agenda notice content.
What happens next: staff will publish the official public‑notice tax rate (the no‑new‑revenue rate) to meet statutory notice deadlines and will post detailed budget materials and department justifications before the Sept. 11 workshop. Councilors said they may lower the tax rate before final adoption, but could not increase it above the published maximum.
The council's actions affect the budget calendar, the public notices to taxpayers and the city's flexibility on funding for capital projects and operating priorities. No final budget or tax rate was adopted at this meeting; those are scheduled for the Sept. 25 meeting.
