Lakeway mayor previews growth, budget priorities and seven charter amendments ahead of special election

Mayor Tom Kilgore and City Manager Joseph Molise delivered Lakeway’s 2025 State of the City briefing on April 8 at City Hall, outlining population and development trends, budget priorities and seven charter amendments set for a special election.

Kilgore opened by saying the city’s population has risen since the 2020 U.S. Census and that the city’s estimate—based on new trash-service sign-ups—is “conservatively” about 22,000 residents, up from roughly 19,000 at the 2020 count. He said the growth has driven an increased focus on redevelopment as undeveloped land becomes scarce.

The briefing laid out why those changes matter: city officials said Lakeway’s fiscal health remains strong, but long-lived assets such as roads, buildings and fleet vehicles require sustained funding. Kilgore told attendees the city holds roughly $5.3 million in capital reserves, $1.9 million reserved for road maintenance and about $1.5 million in special revenue accounts. The city’s operating budget for the current year was presented as roughly $20.6 million in revenues and expenditures.

To increase transparency, City Manager Joseph Molise said the finance department plans to deploy an online budget transparency platform (Questica) this summer to allow residents to review real-time spending and budget comparisons. Molise also framed internal priorities such as workforce retention and a “culture of excellence,” saying the administration wants staff to be better equipped and more visible to the public.

Kilgore summarized seven charter amendments that will appear on a special election ballot, describing them in brief: renewal of a sales tax that must be reauthorized under state law, revisions to residency requirements for the city manager, elimination of the city treasurer, a change to the police department approval process, changes to appointments for certain boards and commissions, and elimination of the board of ethics and the city building commission. Kilgore reminded listeners that city property is a limited forum for advocacy and encouraged voters to research the measures online before voting.

Officials reiterated budget priorities in order of emphasis: public safety, parks and recreation, routine infrastructure maintenance and long-term capital replacement planning. Kilgore emphasized the city’s AA1 credit rating and several recent bonds to fund police, roads and parks projects. Molise described ongoing efforts to track performance indicators and to present budget data more clearly to residents.

The presentation closed with several near-term public engagement dates: a community dialogue on the comprehensive plan update scheduled for April 15 and a council meeting with an engineer’s Highlands Boulevard safety report on April 21. Molise said the comprehensive plan update and related future land-use and transportation maps will be available for in-person and online public comment.

Officials said the administration and council plan to continue outreach and small “micro town halls” in neighborhoods to gather resident input on land use, transportation and emergency planning.

Kilgore and Molise invited questions after the presentation and noted staff and department heads were available to discuss specific projects.