Bryan City presents first look at FY2026 proposed budget; public safety and conservative revenue forecasts drive spending

Catherine Tabscott, the city's chief financial officer, gave council its first look at the fiscal year 2026 proposed budget, describing conservative revenue assumptions and targeted spending priorities. "This is going to be your first look at the fiscal year 2026 proposed budget," Tabscott said as she opened the presentation.

Tabscott told council staff project a 0.6% decline in sales-tax revenue for the current fiscal year and adopted a conservative, flat assumption for FY26 at $30.8 million, while the five-year outlook includes gradual increases under a most-likely scenario. Taxable property values showed strong recent growth driven in part by a large annexation; staff estimated a working increase of about 7.5% for the coming year but noted the final certified roll is pending from the Brazos County Appraisal District.

Why it matters: sales tax and property tax together account for roughly 68% of general-fund revenue, so conservative revenue assumptions significantly influence available funding for services and capital commitments.

Budget priorities and key funds: the proposal includes roughly $3.4 million in new non-personnel spending (vehicles and capital), with no new permanent staffing requests. Tabscott said much of the proposed general-fund increase is driven by public-safety personnel adjustments to better align adopted budgets with actuals. Personnel still comprise about 71% of total general-fund expenditures and public safety accounts for roughly half of general-fund spending.

On debt and reserves, the debt-service fund is projected to receive about $17 million in revenues and transfers and to end FY26 with an estimated $5 million balance (about 106 days of reserve), well above the fund's 30-day minimum. Tabscott emphasized that debt-service receipts are restricted to debt service and cannot be repurposed for general-fund needs.

Special-revenue and internal-service funds: staff outlined the hotel-occupancy tax fund, which is projected to generate $3.0 million in revenue against $3.6 million in expenditures, and several TERS (tax increment) funds that vary widely by fund. Internal-service funds such as employee benefits and self-insurance both remain above policy minimums; the employee-benefits fund was projected at over 17.5 million in reserve (roughly 396 days).

Schedule and next steps: staff said the city expects certified property values later in July and will file the proposed budget with the city secretary shortly afterward, with public hearings on the budget and property-tax rate scheduled for August and September and final adoption targeted in September.

Council questions focused on the assumptions underlying sales-tax and property-value estimates, the ability to move money between restricted funds, and the timing of the appraisal district's certified roll.

Ending: staff will return with updated certified values and refined projections as the budget process moves into public hearings and tax-rate deliberations.