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Council reviews FY2025–26 general fund request as budget season begins
Summary
City staff presented a general fund request and budget issues including a projected sales tax decline, public‑works funding tied to the street‑maintenance sales tax (Fund 8), proposed staff raises, EMS overtime and mutual‑aid costs, and disaster contingency rules.
City staff presented the proposed FY2025–26 general fund request to the Dickinson City Council and outlined issues staff wants to address during the budget cycle, including the funding source for public works, contingency rules for disaster funding and options for pay raises.
City Manager Chase opened the presentation and said staff forecast $8 million in sales tax for the general fund — roughly $700,000 below last year’s budget forecast — and that the Kroger closure will reduce sales tax by about $72,000 per year. The packet shows the city is on pace to collect approximately $7.8 million in sales tax this year.
Staff identified a structural issue: the public‑works department has been funded from the street‑maintenance sales tax (Fund 8) for several years, reducing the fund available for streets. Chase told council there are options staff and the city attorney, Mr. Doan, will present for moving certain drainage expenses out of Fund 8 so street sales tax revenues can be used for pavement projects as intended.
Finance staff produced two employee compensation models: a 3% across‑the‑board civilian raise (estimated cost about $225,000) and a 6% model (about $515,000). Chase said those models will be discussed in the budget workshop. He also said the general‑fund request currently shows an approximate $400,000 surplus but that figure does not include cost‑of‑living adjustments or disaster contingency funding.
Council asked for clarification on the disaster contingency rules. Finance lead Sarah Clark said the city may transfer into a disaster contingency fund up to 2% of the annual budget each year until a statutory cap—discussed in council questions—was reached; council referenced an existing balance of roughly $316,000 and discussed using 2% transfers to incrementally reach the target reserve.
Chase said EMS costs — notably overtime (line item 8102) and contractual mutual‑aid payments to Galveston County (8527) — need better modeling because prior budget numbers were not realistic. He also said public‑works salaries and operations are recorded in Fund 8, not in the general fund packet presented.
Council directed staff to schedule budget workshops (including presentations with the Economic Development Corporation and Dickinson Management District) and to provide department‑level detail for follow up. Councilmembers were urged to route data requests through the city manager to avoid overloading staff during budget season.
