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Council advances 2024–25 budget work with proposed tax rate, utility rate plan and truck appropriation
Summary
Interim finance director Todd Simino presented the city’s proposed 2024–25 budget priorities including a 7.7% police pay increase, a recommended 5.5% water-rate increase to help fund a $96 million five‑year utility capital plan, a proposed tax rate of 0.52877 per $100 (record vote taken), and an ordinance amendment to reappropriate about $1.35–$1.4 million for sanitation trucks.
The Nacogdoches City Council continued work on the 2024–25 budget on Aug. 20, 2024, hearing a brief summary from interim finance director Todd Simino and taking required procedural votes, including a record vote on a proposed property tax rate.
Simino said the proposed budget targets several priorities by structuring and directing salary increases, maintaining existing employee benefits, adding a chief of staff position and reclassifying several fire and sanitation positions. He said staff adjusted police starting pay through a 7.7% increase to place entry salaries above $60,000, adding roughly $234,000 including benefits to the proposed budget.
On utilities, Simino said the city’s five-year capital plan lists about $96 million in projects and that the city currently has roughly $40 million set aside, leaving a shortfall of about $56 million. To address part of that gap, staff proposed a 5.5% water-rate increase recommended by a rate study; Simino said the average residential water customer (4,000 gallons/month) would see a bill increase of about $2.50 per month if the change is adopted.
Because the proposed tax rate (0.52877 per $100) exceeds the 'no-new-revenue' rate, state law requires a record vote and public notice; the council took the record vote to propose the tax rate for public hearings and notices required under state law. A council member moved to record the proposed rate and the motion carried.
On a separate item, staff described an ordinance amendment to appropriate carryover funds for sanitation trucks originally budgeted in FY2022 but delayed by supply-chain issues and specification returns. Simino asked the council to approve reappropriating about $1.35 million to $1.4 million to cover the correct trucks and provide a buffer; council moved and approved the amendment unanimously.
Simino also noted staff recommendations to defer some new hires to a midyear review if revenue projections require it. Council discussed scheduling the budget hearing for Sept. 10 and the tax-rate hearing for Sept. 17 and agreed to those dates.
Next steps: the council will hold the public budget hearing on Sept. 10 and the tax-rate hearing on Sept. 17, after which the council may adopt the budget and tax rate following required notices and hearings.
