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Bastrop council adopts FY2025–26 budget, sets tax rate at 0.5040 and allocates hot‑fund reimbursement for church repair
Summary
The Bastrop City Council unanimously approved the second reading of ordinance No. 2025‑71 adopting the FY2025–26 budget and set the tax rate at 0.5040. The motion included a $25,000 hot‑fund reimbursement tied to the Paul Quinn AME Church bell‑tower work.
The Bastrop City Council on Sept. 30 approved the second reading of ordinance No. 2025‑71 adopting the fiscal year 2025–26 budget and set the property tax rate at 0.5040 for the coming year.
City manager Sylvia, presenting the final public hearing, said the budget reflects a rollback in the maintenance-and‑operations rate and conservative revenue assumptions while preserving required reserves. “As of today, the estimated fund balance is about $309,000 surplus from above the 4.6,” she said, summarizing the year‑end cushion staff expects after line‑item adjustments. The manager also told council the par‑3 golf project no longer shows $800,000 in the book as originally printed but $550,000, with $50,000 earmarked for a feasibility study.
The ordinance funds priority capital work the council discussed during the retreat, including a development‑code update, work on Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 4, and a robust street‑repair program. The city manager said enterprise and special‑revenue funds remain healthy and that planned one‑time transfers and staffing adjustments were included to keep the general fund above the required 25% reserve. Council members asked for clarifications about Discover Bastrop staffing, hotel‑occupancy projections and how certificates of obligation will be sized for water and wastewater projects.
Separately, the council included in the motion a city manager proposal for a one‑time $25,000 hot‑fund grant to the Paul Quinn AME Church as a reimbursement upon completion of agreed repairs to the church’s bell tower. Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland moved approval; the motion passed unanimously. Council then approved ordinance No. 2025‑72, formally levying the tax rate at 0.5040.
The budget and the finalized ordinance will be posted online within seven days, the city manager said. No procedural changes to the voter‑approval rate were made; staff noted the adopted rate is lower than the city’s no‑new‑revenue rate.
