Greenville Council adopts 2025–26 budget, sets tax rate at 0.568 per $100

The Greenville City Council on Thursday approved the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget and adopted a tax rate of 0.568 per $100 of assessed valuation. A council member moved to set the rate and the motion passed unanimously after a brief public hearing.

"I move that the property tax rate be set at 0.568 per $100 of assessed valuation for the 2025 fiscal year," a council member said during the vote. Mayor (unnamed in the transcript) later thanked the city manager and staff for the budget work: "I'd like to say really on behalf of the city council, I wanna thank the city manager and her staff for a successful budget process."

City staff told the council they had reviewed departmental requests since February and made several adjustments to the capital improvement plan and IT accounts, including moving Spillman maintenance and subscription fees into the IT budget. Staff reported a target general fund balance of 16% and said the packet shows roughly $2.44 million under that target after the presented updates.

The council considered a proposal from a member to increase the rate by one cent to fund two capital items — a street paver and fire-station generators — which staff said would leave an estimated $25,008 in excess of the targeted fund balance while keeping that target unchanged. Staff also noted the city remains below the state-defined 'no new revenue' rate, so no additional public reposting or hearings were required for the change.

Why it matters: Council members stressed infrastructure priorities, with the mayor highlighting ongoing water projects — including raw water-line replacement and plans for a new treatment plant — as part of the rationale for the adopted budget and continued capital spending.

What’s next: The council ratified the ordinance to adopt the budget and then voted to adopt the tax rate; staff will finalize any required ordinance language and publication steps.