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Weatherford Council hears $77.5M proposed FY25 budget; reserves to exceed 120 days
Summary
CFO Dawn Brooks presented the FY25 proposed budget—$77.5 million in total funds—with investments in public safety, parks, streets and an animal shelter plan; council will consider a proposed tax rate Aug. 27 and hold a public hearing Sept. 10.
At the Aug. 13 Weatherford City Council meeting, Dawn Brooks, the city’s chief financial officer, presented the proposed fiscal year 2025 budget, which lists $77,500,000 in total budgeted revenues across all funds and $75,600,000 in total budgeted expenditures. "This budget's the result of months of careful planning, analysis, and teamwork," Brooks said as she opened the presentation.
Brooks told the council the budget covers 25 separate funds, 15 departments and 330 employees, and that the general fund is balanced at $53,500,000 in revenue and $53,500,000 in expenditures with a projected surplus of $13,000. She said the city’s reserves will exceed 120 days of operating costs by the end of FY25 and projected a fund balance of $30,400,000 (about 218 working days). Brooks outlined major investments including a reorganization of the police department (adding a lieutenant rank and two patrol officers and adding a K‑9), the addition of three firefighters to create a double company at Fire Station 1, $3,000,000 for street repairs, $2,500,000 set aside for upcoming capital projects, and $680,000 for vehicle and equipment replacements.
Councilmembers asked for clarification on revenue assumptions. Mayor Pro Tem Heidi Wilder pressed Brooks to repeat the sales‑tax buffer figures; Brooks replied that the budget includes a 10% one‑time buffer between projected receipts and amounts relied on for ongoing operations. The transcript records Brooks saying both $21,800,000 and later $221,800,000 when referencing sales tax budget figures; that discrepancy is noted for follow‑up and was clarified during the hearing that a 10% buffer was intended.
Brooks said the FY25 budget was prepared using the city's no‑new‑revenue property tax rate and that council will formally propose a tax rate at the Aug. 27 meeting before holding a public hearing and adopting the budget and tax rate in September. "As you review those budgets, I encourage you to contact myself or Ashley if you have any questions," Brooks said. The council did not take action on the budget at the Aug. 13 meeting; the item was informational with future votes scheduled.
Next steps: council members will receive the detailed budget books at upcoming meetings; the council will formally propose a tax rate Aug. 27 and hold a public hearing on the rate Sept. 10.
