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Weatherford presents FY 2026 budget proposing $77.5 million in revenues; council accepts tax-rate notice
Summary
City staff presented the FY 2026 proposed budget showing $77.5 million in combined revenues, a marginal general-fund surplus and plans to add three firefighters; council accepted publication of truth-in-taxation notices and set steps toward proposing a tax rate in August and public hearings in September.
Weatherford city officials presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on Aug. 12 and the council accepted staff’s notice of calculated tax rates required under Texas’ truth-in-taxation process.
Bob Brooks, who presented the financial plan, said the city’s combined revenues across all funds are projected at $77,500,000 with total expenditures of $75,600,000, producing a modest surplus overall. He told the council the general fund projects $55,800,000 in revenues and $55,700,000 in expenditures, yielding a marginal general-fund surplus of $47,000 and maintaining more than 120 days of operational reserves.
“The FY 26 proposed budget represents a strategic and well balanced approach to municipal finance,” Brooks said. He highlighted that the plan preserves reserve levels, funds 25 separate funds and supports 332 committed employees. The presentation named Ashley Esquivel as budget manager who led the effort.
Key priorities in the plan include transportation improvements (notably Lamar Street and Claremont Boulevard), park and recreation enhancements, public-safety investments and design funding for Fire Station 5 and a public works equipment facility. Brooks said the budget includes adding three firefighters to complete staffing for Fire Station 5; other staffing changes were described as redeployments that result in no net increase in full-time equivalents except for the firefighters.
Brooks also outlined revenue assumptions: sales tax is projected at $22,300,000 (a 4.3% increase from the prior year), and property tax calculations used a proposed rate of 39.2246¢ per $100 of assessed value, which he said equals the no-new-revenue rate. Staff noted that new property growth is expected to generate about $615,000 in additional revenue.
On process, Brooks said council would continue reviewing the budget at upcoming meetings. He asked the council to accept publication of the calculated tax rates tonight as an informational step. Staff referenced a vote to formally propose a tax rate on Aug. 26 and public hearings in September; the transcript includes both Sept. 7 and Sept. 9 when discussing the schedule, which appears inconsistent and will be finalized in future notices.
The council accepted the tax-rate notice for publication; no vote on a tax rate was taken that night. The budget presentation was informational and staff said more detailed hearings and any formal rate proposals will come in subsequent meetings.
