Forney Council schedules extra meeting, debates proposed 2025 tax rate as budget deadlines loom

The Forney City Council on Tuesday reviewed newly certified property values and tax-rate calculations, and voted to schedule a special meeting for Tuesday, Aug. 26, to set the proposed tax rate for the fiscal year 2025–26 budget.

Finance staff told the council the Kaufman County Tax Office certified no-new-revenue and voter-approval rates of 0.421431 and 0.448545, respectively, and staff prepared a budget using a 0.43 rate. Staff also said the appraisal district certified a 4.5% increase in total taxable value, reporting an increase of $255,000,000; staff said $325,000,000 of that figure was attributable to new construction and that existing values declined slightly. Staff said each penny of tax rate change raises about $487,000.

Council members pressed staff for more time to review the full budget document. Staff said the formal deadline to submit the budget to the city secretary is Aug. 15; the council will be presented a proposed tax rate at the council meeting on Aug. 19 (staff clarified the proposed tax-rate vote is a record vote and not the final adoption), and the council set Aug. 26 as an additional meeting to set the proposed tax rate to allow more review time. Staff said public hearings and potential final action on the budget are planned in September, with staff citing Sept. 2 as the first public hearing date and noting the county deadline to receive final tax-rate paperwork is mid-September.

Council members debated scheduling and review time. Several members said receiving the full budget only three days before the Aug. 19 meeting left too little time for meaningful review; one member called for workshops or a later date for the proposed-tax-rate vote. After discussion, Council Member John Helm moved and Council Member Steve Chambers seconded a motion to call a special meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 6:30 p.m. for the proposed tax rate; the motion passed by show of hands.

Staff said they are finalizing the budget and will provide the full document by the Aug. 15 deadline. Staff also told council that some values remain under protest and that certified calculations came from the Kaufman County Tax Office.

The council did not adopt a final tax rate at the Aug. 5 meeting; the passed Aug. 26 meeting call establishes when the council will set a proposed tax rate, which establishes a maximum for the final rate but can be lowered later.

The council’s next steps: staff will deliver the full budget package by Aug. 15; the council will receive the proposed tax-rate record vote at the Aug. 19 meeting and meet again Aug. 26 to set a proposed rate, with public hearings and potential final action in September.