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Leon Valley council sets FY26 budget to 0.54 tax rate to fund three firefighters
Summary
After public comments urging better response times, the Leon Valley City Council voted to update the FY26 budget to reflect a 0.54 property tax rate, a move staff estimates would fund three additional firefighters and raise the average homeowner's annual tax bill by roughly $169.
The Leon Valley City Council voted unanimously Sept. 2 to update the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget to reflect a 0.54 property tax rate, a change city staff said would generate about $347,000 and allow the city to add three firefighters.
City Manager Dr. Caldera presented the budget and described the city's reserves and options for staffing. He told the council that, under the proposed increase, "0.54 will get you the 3 firefighters that you needed, and that would raise the average tax rate to $169.30," and warned the council that pending state legislation limiting tax-rate increases could make adding public-safety staff harder in future years.
The decision follows multiple public comments about delayed or missing local emergency response and a consultant recommendation the city add staffing. During the public hearing, residents told the council they preferred a tax increase rather than…
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