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Galveston council debates whether to hold tax rate as city faces uncertain costs and shrinking reserves
Summary
At an extended budget workshop, councilmembers and staff debated whether to keep a no-new-revenue tax rate or raise the rate modestly to shore up a 120-day reserve, cover rising employee costs and avoid relying on unstable sources such as tourism.
Galveston City Council spent the bulk of its Aug. 28 workshop debating how aggressively to constrain next year’s municipal budget and whether to adopt a no-new-revenue tax rate.
Council members and city finance staff said the city faces multiple uncertainties — rising health-insurance costs, multi-year commitments to public-safety pay increases, recent reductions in federal disaster support and large capital needs — that make a larger reserve and a modest tax increase defensible.
Finance Director Sheila (last name not specified) told the council department-level cash balances and reserve policies need…
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