League City previews FY26 budget, proposes $2 million of general fund reductions and $329.7M CIP

League City staff presented the proposed FY26 budget and the FY26'FY30 Capital Improvement Program at an August 12 workshop, outlining a $329,730,000 five-year CIP and recommending about $2 million in general-fund expenditure reductions after the certified taxable property value declined slightly from the previous year.

Finance staff (Angie) told the City Council the certified taxable value for the property roll is estimated at $13,250,000,000, a reduction of roughly 1.1 percent from the prior estimate. She said the no-new-revenue rate and the voter-approval rate were calculated for council consideration and that the budget materials shown to the council included an increased senior and disabled exemption to $200,000.

To offset an estimated $2,000,000 reduction in general-fund property-tax revenue under the no-new-revenue rate, staff proposed $2,000,000 of cuts and reallocations. The recommended changes included removing Phase 2 of the West Side master plan (listed as $1,175,000), moving funding for police captain vehicles ($165,000) to the asset-forfeiture fund, eliminating $40,000 for contract internal audit services, delaying several new-hire start dates (saving approximately $100,000), and reducing property and windstorm insurance funding by an estimated $200,000. Staff said those cuts keep the general-fund ending balance at a healthy level and preserve an estimated $1,000,000 fund balance after the fleet reduction.

The proposed FY26 capital budget totals $329,730,000, with $183,000,000 tax-supported and $146,400,000 revenue-supported. Key tax-supported projects highlighted by staff included a $3,000,000-plus program to acquire and convert citywide streetlights to LEDs (funded partly from the general fund and Harvey hurricane funds), a multiuse training facility at the public safety complex, a full renovation of Walker Street Municipal Pool, and streetlight installations in Marina Bay and along FM 518. On the utility side staff recommended issuing certificates of obligation for several projects and using capital-recovery fees to retire some debt; the largest utility project noted was a 2.0 MGD expansion of the wastewater treatment plant with an anticipated cost near $94,000,000.

Councilmembers raised questions about specific items, including projected savings from streetlight LED conversion (staff said savings would be reinvested to convert additional lights until full savings are realized), the status and timing of Fire Station 7 and Central Fire Station planning (Council expressed concern about repeatedly delaying station projects and rising construction costs), and emergency reserve targets (staff said the city's policy target is roughly 110'113 days, above the informal 90-day recommendation some cited).

Resident Peggy Zayler used public comment to emphasize the centrality of the budget process to municipal governance. Zayler, who said she watched prior budget workshops, praised increased CIP spending on streets, traffic and drainage and said, "the absolute most important thing you do is the budget." She urged council to balance citizen priorities with sustainability.

Staff outlined the schedule for formal actions: additional budget workshops and a public hearing on August 26, a first reading of the budget ordinance at that same meeting, and the second and final reading and tax-rate adoption on September 9. Staff said the proposed budget ordinance presented to council at the next meeting would reflect the $2,000,000 in general-fund cuts discussed at the workshop.

Ending: Council asked staff to return with any outstanding items at the August 26 workshop and confirmed the formal public hearing and adoption timeline in September. No ordinance or tax rate was adopted at the August 12 workshop.