Josephine council delays budget and tax-rate schedule; staff says publishing requirements force September adoption

City staff told the Josephine City Council at a June 30 work session that state publication and property-tax certification deadlines likely make an August budget and tax-rate adoption infeasible and that the council should plan to adopt the budget in September.

The staff presentation laid out the planned sequence that had been discussed for August: a council meeting to discuss tax rates on Aug. 7, a regular council meeting and budget hearing on Aug. 11, budget adoption on Aug. 18 and the tax-rate public hearing on Aug. 20 (with an adoption option at that meeting), and a final deadline of Aug. 25 if the rate could not be adopted earlier. City staff noted they do not receive final property-tax certification numbers until July 25 and said that, because required public notices must be published in two county newspapers with weekly print schedules, the calendar is constrained.

"I have August 7 as the meeting to discuss the tax rates. August 11 will be the regular council meeting and we will do a budget hearing on that date. August 18 is the date we need to adopt the budget. August 20 will be the public hearing over the tax rate and it will be possible to adopt the tax rate at that meeting," a city staff member told the council. The same staff member later explained that the city must work backward from the statutory deadline for certifying tax actions and from the newspapers' publishing schedules.

Why it matters: moving the adoption timeline from August to September can restrict the council's ability to adjust the tax rate without voter approval, city staff warned, which would limit revenue options for staffing and operations in the coming fiscal year.

Council members flagged scheduling conflicts that would make the August dates difficult to staff a quorum. One council member asked staff to check a specific legal reference the member had found online—"statute 5 51.001, item 4"—and to consult the Texas Municipal League or the city attorney to confirm whether the tax-rate hearing can proceed with a quorum as the member’s memo indicated. The staff agreed to verify the legal requirements and report back at the July meeting.

City staff reiterated the operational constraints that drive the calendar: final property-tax certifications arrive from the county in late July, the city must publish multiple legal notices in two county newspapers that publish weekly, and statutory notice windows require working several weeks ahead of a hearing. Staff suggested drafting a budget for council review at the July meeting and returning with a confirmed timeline after checking publication dates and statutory details.

Closing: Council members asked staff to prepare alternate date options and to circulate confirmed dates by email. No formal action or vote was taken at the work session; the meeting was a workshop to seek direction and information for a July draft budget.