Bay City council postpones final 2026 budget vote after public hearings; lowers proposed tax rate

Bay City held public hearings on the Community Development Corporation operating budget, the city's five-year capital improvement program (CIP) and the city's proposed fiscal 2026 budget and property tax rate at its council meeting; the council then voted to postpone final adoption of the fiscal 2026 budget to Sept. 23, 2025.

Patty, a city staff member, presented the budgets and capital-improvement materials that had been posted on the city's website and summarized key figures. Patty said the CIP year 2026 line in the packet is "65,500,000.0," noting that the figure relates to critical infrastructure improvements and includes a large grant; she also said the city's total general fund budget is listed as "20,500,000.0." On the proposed property tax rate, Patty said, "Our tax rate is actually lowering from 0.56916 to 0.55772," and that the rate has fallen about 9 cents over the past six years from 0.655 to 0.55772; she added the proposed revenue increase equates to about 1.6% of the budget used for operations.

No members of the public spoke during the hearings. Councilmembers did not request additional public testimony, and the council moved on to other business.

Scotty, a city staff member, asked the council to postpone the formal adoption vote for the 2026 budget to the council's Sept. 23, 2025 meeting, explaining that "what we typically do about practice is vote to postpone the September 23 meeting, and that's what I'm asking for approval for." A councilmember moved to postpone, the motion was seconded, and the council approved the postponement by voice vote.

On the consent agenda, the council approved the minutes from the Aug. 26, 2025 council workshop and regular meeting by voice vote.

The council convened an executive session for consultation with counsel under Texas Government Code section 551.071. The meeting returned to open session at 5:47 p.m.; the mayor reported that there were no action items resulting from the executive session.

The meeting included several non-action announcements from staff about tourism advertising, a birding guide and upcoming community events (Touch a Truck, National Night Out, Riverside campfire stories and a Toastmasters demonstration meeting on Sept. 20) and recognition of police officers who responded to a recent call. Those announcements did not change the council's actions on the budget items.

Votes at a glance: - Motion to approve meeting agenda: approved by voice vote (mover/second not specified). - Motion to approve consent agenda (minutes of 08/26/2025 workshop and regular meeting): approved by voice vote (mover/second not specified). - Motion to postpone final vote on the fiscal 2026 budget to Sept. 23, 2025: approved by voice vote (mover/second not specified).

No ordinance adoptions, resolutions or budget adoptions occurred at this meeting; final budget adoption remained pending after the Sept. 23 meeting.