Amarillo manager presents $569.6 million proposed budget, highlights public safety pay and capital priorities

City Manager presented the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget as a $569,600,000 plan that “funds more than 250 programs and services, supports nearly 2,400 full time employees,” and frames the document as a blueprint to turn the council’s priorities into action. Chief Financial Officer Laura Storrs said the workshop is intended for high‑level review and that council change ideas will be modeled and returned after staff runs numbers.

The proposal includes pay proposals aimed at public safety and staff retention: Storrs outlined “a 5% raise for our sworn police officers and 4 percent for our sworn firefighters,” and the budget includes civilian pay adjustments driven by a recent pay study and a proposed COLA and merit package. Storrs said the budget also contains a step to implement a higher TMRS (Texas Municipal Retirement System) cost‑of‑living adjustment for retirees.

On capital, Storrs emphasized several large items in the proposed plan: a $25 million grant for the design phase of the wastewater treatment facilities; continuation of the fleet leasing program and planned replacement of heavy equipment; a proposed new enterprise fund dedicated to street maintenance; and ongoing funding for public safety apparatus and other infrastructure. She said grant funding accounts for “over half” of the increase from the current year’s total and therefore does not fully rely on local tax or sales tax increases.

Storrs urged council to raise issues during the workshop so staff can analyze structural impacts rather than making unvetted changes in real time: “pulling one lever could pop another one,” she told members. She and the city manager said staff will incorporate council requests and return with vetted options.

The budget book and supporting schedules show proposed transfers, enterprise fund changes and a recommendation to change the city’s reserve policy to exclude internal service fund charges (IT, fleet, health plan) from the general‑fund reserve calculation; the city manager and finance staff will bring a formal financial‑policy resolution when the budget is presented for adoption.

City staff signaled several follow‑up items council asked for during the workshop, including: a one‑page summary of key revenue projections for use in public communications; detailed reconciliations of interfund transfers and excess reserves suggested for one‑time capital use; and departmental backup showing how proposed personnel and operating changes map into line‑by‑line figures.