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Rowlett city manager presents FY2025 budget proposal, flags $73M in unspent capital and wastewater cost pressures
Summary
City Manager Jim Andrew presented a proposed FY2025 budget showing about $72 million in revenues and $66 million in expenses, proposed to hold the maintenance-and-operations tax rate at 53¢ per $100 of valuation, and urged faster activation of roughly $73 million in carryforward capital projects; he also reported wastewater charges about $800,000 over budget and paused a $7 million bond issuance.
City Manager Jim Andrew presented the Rowlett City Council with a proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget that projects roughly $72 million in revenues against about $66 million in expenses and a projected ending reserve near $27.8 million.
Andrew told the council the proposal would keep the maintenance-and-operations (M&O) tax rate at 53¢ per $100 of valuation while an interest-and-sinking (I&S) component, increased by a voter‑approved action, adds roughly 5¢ and brings that component toward about 27¢ — yielding a combined ad valorem rate of approximately 76¢ per $100. "This budget proposes to maintain a steady maintenance and operation tax rate, 53¢ per hundred dollars in valuation," Andrew said.
Why it matters: the manager framed the reserve build‑up as a cushion against near‑term spending needs, including staffing two planned fire stations and continued public‑safety and public‑works personnel increases. Andrew said some modeling showed possible negative net changes in coming years if the city did not address capacity and costs.
Key figures and personnel moves cited by Andrew include beginning reserves of about $21.5 million, a net positive change of about $6.28 million in the plan, absorption of nine firefighters who were funded by an expiring SAFER grant, and 27 additional employees included in the staffing plan (8.5 of those counted as new FTEs in the general fund). He said ongoing costs tied to new positions total roughly $645,000 and that the budget adds about $2.1 million in ongoing funding to reserves. "We have to continue to grow our police department. We have to continue to grow our other areas of operation," he said.
Capital and carryforward: Andrew disclosed approximately $73 million in carryforward funding — money previously appropriated for capital projects that has not yet been spent. He said some projects may be held or abandoned because of gaps and inflationary impacts, and that the city has posted for two project manager positions to accelerate project activation. Andrew asked the council to appropriate $73.7 million in carryforward funding as part of the September appropriation process and said a separate, more detailed CIP work session will follow.
Debt, bonds and utilities: the manager said the city paused the usual $7 million annual capital bond issuance this year because it could not timely activate projects tied to that debt; pausing the bond lowered near‑term debt service by about $800,000 and helped restrain utility rate growth. He also reported wastewater charges are running about $800,000 over budget year‑to‑date due to inflow and infiltration (I&I) and said staff will present a mitigation program in the next few months.
Council response and next steps: councilmembers pressed for clearer project status reporting and faster use of capital funds. One councilmember said the $73 million carryforward figure was "blood boiling" and urged the manager to deliver results; others praised compensation gains for public‑safety staff and expressed cautious optimism about the plan. Andrew said he will return with regular status updates, a detailed CIP discussion and recommended project prioritizations.
What’s next: Andrew asked the council to consider the appropriation request and scheduled a dedicated CIP work session to provide more granular project timelines and decisions about projects that may be delayed or abandoned.
