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Colleyville finance director outlines budget calendar; health‑insurance RFP and June homestead‑exemption timing flagged
Summary
Finance Director Cassie Smith presented the fiscal 2025–26 budget calendar to the Colleyville City Council, noting an April RFP for health insurance, June workshops and a July proposed budget timeline; a council member reminded members that any homestead‑exemption decision must occur in June by statute.
At the Feb. 4 Colleyville City Council meeting, Cassie Smith, the city’s director of finance, reviewed the budget calendar and key deadlines for the coming fiscal cycle.
Smith said budget kickoffs with staff would begin the following week and that the city plans to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for health insurance in April. The finance office expects to receive RFP results in June and to use those results to finalize health‑insurance choices before budget workshops. Smith said department budget workshops are slated for June, with a proposed budget to be presented in August and a formal budget adoption process culminating with the fiscal‑year start on July 1 for certain budget elements.
Why it matters: Smith said the calendar is designed to keep statutory deadlines and benefit procurement on track. The council was reminded that a homestead‑exemption decision (a 7% homestead exemption referenced from last year) must be adopted in June if the council intends to offer it again; a council member noted that the homestead exemption is a statutory timing requirement and that staff should prepare detailed estimates.
Key steps Smith outlined
- April: Issue RFP for health insurance and continue department meetings to collect budget inputs. - June: Receive RFP responses; hold workshops on the capital improvement plan (CIP) and departmental budgets; deadline to adopt a homestead exemption if desired. - July 1: Certain budget elements and the fiscal‑year workflows take effect; first readings on tax rate and CIP occur in July. - August/September: Present proposed budget, hold required hearings on the tax rate and adopt the final budget in September so the fiscal year can begin as scheduled.
Smith said the city is working with health‑insurance brokers and expects responses primarily from major carriers; she mentioned Blue Cross Blue Shield and Cigna as examples of carriers the city works with but did not say staff were limiting the RFP to those firms.
What’s next
Smith will continue meetings with department heads to finalize requests and will return to council with RFP results and workshop materials this summer. A council member asked staff for detailed fiscal estimates related to any homestead‑exemption decision.
(Transcript excerpt: Cassie Smith presentation and Q&A at the Feb. 4 Colleyville City Council meeting.)
