Moore adopts FY2025–26 budgets, narrows revenue projections

The Moore City Council on June 16 adopted the city’s fiscal year 2025–26 budget and the Moore Public Works Authority adopted its FY2025–26 budget, approving city resolution 11125 and Public Works Authority resolution 27125.

A staff member presenting the budget told the council the city’s total FY2025–26 budget is $130,611,000 and that the city reduced revenue projections to plan for possible shortfalls. “We scaled these estimates back just because of the slow growth and just to, this is our way to plan for any contingencies of any revenue shortfalls,” the staff member said.

The budget sets the general-fund sales-tax projection at $35,700,000, about $400,000 (1.1%) below the FY2024–25 budgeted amount even though FY2024–25 collections were reported at $36,462,000. The use tax is projected at $6,050,000, down from the FY2024–25 budgeted $6,200,000 (FY2024–25 collections were reported as $6,330,000). The presenter told the council that the conservative revenue estimates are intended to preserve flexibility if collections improve.

Major line items the staff member and council discussed include:

- Capital outlay of $1,157,000 budgeted across departments. - Cost-of-living adjustments: nonunion 2.8%, police 3% and fire 5.3% as presented to council. - Police capital outlay: $1,005,015, including eight new vehicles. - Fire capital outlay: $886,538, including a modular container training structure. - Projects funded by the half-cent and quarter-cent sales taxes and hotel-motel revenues, including street work (Jordan Drive, Northeast Seventh, Highland Drive and others), new restrooms at Buck Thomas Park, a Courage League field, electrical infrastructure at Buck Thomas Park, a playground fence at Central Park, a shade pavilion at Little River Park, a basketball court at Fifth and Markwell Park, drainage improvements at Phillips 66 Park, and replacement of the splash pad at Apple Valley.

The staff member said individual meetings with council members were held in late April and that there were no public comments at the June 2 public hearing on the budget. After brief council discussion, the motions to adopt both budgets passed unanimously. The council thanked department heads and staff for their work on a budget described by council members as conservative and fiscally responsible.

City officials did not provide a detailed funding breakdown beyond the line items above during the meeting; additional program-level allocations were not specified at the public presentation.

Votes: The motion to approve the city FY2025–26 budget and adopt resolution 11125 passed with all members voting yes: Kathy Griffith — yes; Sid Porter — yes; Louie Williams — yes; Adam Webb — yes; Rob Clark — yes; Mark Ham — yes. The Moore Public Works Authority FY2025–26 budget (resolution 27125) passed by the same recorded vote.

The council and staff said they will monitor collections during the year and adjust operations within the approved budget if revenues come in above or below the conservative estimates presented.