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Bastrop manager outlines FY2025 draft budget, proposes 0.4994 tax rate
Summary
City Manager Sylvia presented a draft FY2025 budget showing $73M in projected revenues and $93M in expenditures, with $20M of bond proceeds bridging the gap; a proposed tax rate of 0.4994 would raise the average homeowner about $98 annually. Council asked for follow‑ups on retirement and parks staffing.
City Manager Sylvia presented the City of Bastrop’s draft fiscal 2025 budget at a pre‑budget workshop, saying total projected revenues are about $73,000,000 against $93,000,000 in expenditures and that roughly $20,000,000 in available bond proceeds are being used to cover the difference.
Sylvia said the draft assumes modest new revenues — roughly $562,000 net from increases in ad valorem and sales tax — and listed major expenditure drivers: two additional police officers (about $170,000), vehicle and equipment purchases, and a 3.3% cost‑of‑living adjustment for staff. She said the draft leaves an estimated ending balance of roughly $6.1 million, which is about 35% of the city’s fund balance policy requirement.
On property taxes, Sylvia walked the council through the calculations and said the proposed overall tax rate is 0.4994. Using an average homestead value rising from $288,371 to $308,325, she said the change would translate to about a $98 increase in the average annual tax bill (approximately $0.27 per day).
Sylvia emphasized that some valuation protests remain outstanding and that the city must adopt a legally balanced budget. She also flagged that the council will need to decide whether to make a one‑time payment to move the retirement plan from a 25‑ to a 20‑year vesting schedule — a change she estimated would cost roughly $100,000 one time and about $9,000 annually thereafter if the council directs staff to include it in the operating budget.
Councilmembers probed several line items and asked for clarifications in the budget book (missing FY25 columns on some charts, event funding levels). Sylvia agreed to add two community event requests (Juneteenth and rodeo) into the budget workbook if the council so directs, and to correct chart headings and line items that omit FY25 numbers.
The city manager said staff will bring revisions based on council direction at upcoming workshops and noted the formal public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Sept. 10, 2024, with final adoption targeted for mid‑September dates identified in the budget timeline.
The meeting adjourned after the council set follow‑up items including a deeper discussion of the retirement plan, severance/drag‑out pay policy, better tracking of legal expenditures, and potential internal reallocation to support parks staffing.
