Bee Cave council adopts FY2026 budget, keeps tax rate at $0.02; approves park feasibility work and retirement change

The Bee Cave City Council unanimously approved a package of budget, tax-rate and land-use measures during its regular meeting, actions that will set the city’s spending plan for fiscal year 2026, preserve the current total property-tax rate and move forward early engineering work on improvements at Bee Cave Central Park.

Most important actions at a glance: - The council adopted the Bee Cave Development Corporation (BCDC) fiscal year 2026 budget by Ordinance No. 582. The ordinance was approved by roll-call vote with all members voting yes. - The council approved an amendment to the current fiscal year budget by Ordinance No. 583; that amendment was adopted unanimously. - The council adopted the City of Bee Cave fiscal year 2026 budget by Ordinance No. 584. Council members voted unanimously. - The council adopted the maintenance-and-operations and debt-service tax rates for tax year 2025 (tax year 2025 rates apply to fiscal 2026) by Ordinance No. 585, keeping the total rate at $0.02 per $100 valuation; the motion passed unanimously. - The council approved Resolution No. 2025-51 ratifying the property-tax increase for maintenance and operations reflected in the FY2026 budget; the resolution passed unanimously. - The council approved Resolution No. 2025-52 directing the Bee Cave Development Corporation to proceed with Phase 1 feasibility and engineering work for Bee Cave Central Park and authorized a contract for Walter P. Moore to perform engineering and feasibility analysis; the resolution passed unanimously. - The council adopted Ordinance No. 586 to change Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) retirement eligibility from 25 years of service to 20 years for city employees; the ordinance passed unanimously. - The council adopted Ordinance No. 587 to amend the Unified Development Code (UDC) to separate smoke-and-vape shops from general retail and require a Specific Use Permit in certain commercial zones; council amended the ordinance on the dais to remove the special-use allowance in several mixed-use zones (MUC, MUN, MUTC) and approved the amended ordinance unanimously. - Following executive session, the council authorized the city manager to execute an addendum to an interlocal agreement for dispatch services, with adjustments described in the addendum; the motion passed unanimously.

What the votes mean: Budget and tax rate — City staff presented the FY2026 plan as a conservative spending estimate that incorporates salary adjustments, retirement-system changes and funding for a new public-safety building. Staff reported that fiscal-year revenue outperformed earlier forecasts and that the budget preserves an increased general-fund balance.

“Mister Raskey” told council the overall tax rate remains the same: “the rate stays the same, 2¢ total,” and staff showed the split between maintenance-and-operations (M&O) and interest-and-sinking (debt service) portions of the rate. The final ordinance set the I&S portion at 0.009089 and the M&O portion at 0.0109; council voted to adopt the $0.02 total rate. Council language recorded during the meeting noted that some of the increased tax revenue comes from new property added to the tax roll this year.

Public safety building and debt — The FY2026 budget carries the debt service for the 2025 certificate-of-obligation issuance related to the public safety building. Staff noted a transfer of $1,068,000 from current revenue/sales tax to the debt fund to cover the payment, and the budget includes a new fund to track construction costs and related professional services.

BCDC Central Park feasibility work — The council approved BCDC’s request to proceed with Phase 1 engineering and feasibility analyses that would evaluate internal driving access and culvert repair/replacement within Bee Cave Central Park. The consultant Walter P. Moore was authorized to prepare engineering estimates and feasibility findings; staff said the blue-line portion of the concept focuses on a culvert that is currently eroding and the red-line portion shows a proposed driveway extension to improve internal circulation.

TMRS change — The council adopted an ordinance that reduces retirement eligibility from 25 years to 20 years of service to align Bee Cave with peer cities, a move staff said should help with recruitment and retention.

UDC change on smoke-and-vape shops — Staff proposed separating smoke-and-vape shops from general retail and requiring a Specific Use Permit (SUP) where necessary. Councilmembers discussed limiting the SUP to commercial-only zones, expressing concern about locating smoke-and-vape businesses under mixed-use residential developments. The council amended the ordinance at the meeting to strike the SUP allowance for MUC, MUN and MUTC mixed-use zones before approving the ordinance.

Other actions — The council approved a housekeeping amendment to the current fiscal year budget (Ordinance 583) and ratified the budget and tax actions with Resolution 2025-51. In executive session the council reviewed a pending lawsuit and a dispatch interlocal agreement; upon return to open session the council authorized the city manager to execute an addendum to the interlocal agreement with modifications to Article 4 compensation while striking proposed amendments to Article V.

Votes and procedural notes: All of the listed ordinances and resolutions were approved on voice or roll-call votes with unanimous support from the council members present (Council Members Willett, Krumley, Haidt, Bracco and Mayor Pro Tem Clark). Several items required roll-call votes as noted on the agenda; council consistently recorded “Aye” votes from each member and no “No” or abstain votes were recorded in the meeting minutes.

What the record does not include: No final decisions were made at this meeting about a variance for alcohol sales near Bee Cave Elementary; an applicant’s variance request was discussed but the council and staff agreed an SUP plus variance should be pursued in tandem if the applicant wants on-premises consumption. The council also discussed but postponed any additional code changes about on-site use restrictions for vape products.

Ending note: The council’s actions adopted the city’s FY2026 spending plan, kept the overall tax burden stable at $0.02 per $100 valuation, advanced park engineering work and adjusted employee retirement eligibility to a 20-year benchmark.