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Levelland staff previews FY2025 budget, recommends ARPA to fill shortfalls and accelerate meter upgrades
Summary
City staff presented a FY 2025 budget preview recommending use of remaining ARPA funds (estimated $1.0'$1.5 million) for one-time capital items and revenue replacement, proposed a 0.535 tax rate, and scheduled an Amaresco water-meter presentation for Sept. 9; capital requests include police body cameras and a sanitation rear loader.
City staff presented the proposed FY 2025 budget and recommended using remaining ARPA funds to balance near-term shortfalls and fund one-time capital needs during the Levelland City Council meeting on Sept. 2.
Speaker 2 (city staff) told council the figures in the memo are unaudited and staff expect the audit to complete in time to finalize the budget. "We're still recommending 0.535," Speaker 2 said when asked about the proposed tax rate. Staff said ARPA funds can be used for revenue replacement and one-time expenditures, but cautioned about spending deadlines noted in the presentation (staff referenced both Dec. 1 and Dec. 31 as potential timelines for spending ARPA dollars).
Staff listed capital items included in the proposed budget: roughly $72,000 for a Motorola body-camera system and $9,000 for Axon tasers for police, about $85,000 for fire self-contained breathing apparatus and related cylinders, and a potential $400,000 rear-loader for the sanitation department if council approves internal capital financing and/or ARPA support. Staff also confirmed money has been set aside to fund a feasibility study for a new animal shelter to begin after October.
On utilities, council heard a summary of an Amaresco meter study of about 65 meters; Amaresco will present findings at a Sept. 9 session. Staff described smart-meter features including remote reading, a consumer app, and alerts (staff cited a 500-gallon threshold as an example). Staff warned that the wireless meters rely on communications infrastructure and that repairs to a damaged communications tower remain a concern for network reliability.
Staff asked council for direction to finalize the budget and deliver a final version by the end of the week so council will have two to three weeks before the public hearing on the tax rate; the public hearing on Sept. 9 and final budget adoption will follow the standard public-notice process. The transcript records discussion and recommendations but no formal budget vote at this meeting.
