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Stafford mayor outlines 2025 goals as residents press for fiscal details on property tax
Summary
Mayor Ken Matthew presented departmental achievements and goals for 2025 and reiterated resistance to a city property tax. Residents and council members pressed for more financial context, an efficiency audit and concrete revenue options; no tax decision was made.
Mayor Ken Matthew delivered the City of Stafford's annual state of the city message on Jan. 29, 2025, outlining department accomplishments, capital projects and a stated goal to maintain zero property tax while pledging an efficiency audit and further study of revenue options.
The mayor's presentation listed public-safety, information technology and public-works metrics, including a fire department average response time of 6.13 minutes and a planned General Street Repair Project estimated at $2,000,000. Mayor Matthew said the city's combined fund balance rose from about $14.5 million in fiscal 2021 to roughly $32.5 million in fiscal 2024 and stated, "Our city is not broke," during his remarks.
The numbers matter because the council and residents are weighing whether Stafford should keep its long-standing practice of not levying a municipal property tax. The mayor and several council members said any change would follow further study; residents called for more detail and for the city to explain how services would be funded without a tax.
Mayor Matthew read a prepared message listing department leaders and accomplishments,…
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