Springtown adopts $6.32M budget, keeps property tax rate unchanged

The Springtown City Council unanimously adopted the city’s fiscal year 2026–27 municipal budget at a regular meeting on Aug. 27, approving a package of operating and capital expenditures that keeps the tax rate unchanged at 0.494822 per $100 valuation.

Staff presented a budget built on full valuation that projects general‑fund revenues of roughly $6.44 million and expenditures of about $6.32 million, leaving a proposed surplus in the neighborhood of $122,044. The budget funds a city‑wide 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment for all employees and a discretionary merit pool of up to 2%, with individual employees capped so total increases do not exceed 5% when combined with the COLA.

The council’s adoption preserved a number of capital and service items highlighted in staff materials: a funded replacement sewer line at the public library, resurfacing work for 5th Street, purchase of an additional SRO vehicle ahead of a planned elementary school opening, investments to meet upcoming ADA website requirements, and funds for two commercial mowers and expanded training.

Staff told the council the package was prepared on a proposed tax rate of 0.494822, but they also walked members through the “no‑new‑revenue” option that would reduce the rate slightly and lower the projected surplus by roughly $16,000. “This budget is built on a tax rate of 4 9 4 8 2 2, which is our current tax rate,” the budget presenter stated during the walkthrough (Staff member, budget presenter).

Council members debated the trade‑offs between preserving reserves and giving taxpayers a small immediate reduction. Ultimately the council voted to adopt the budget and then, in a separate recorded action required under state law, set the property‑tax components so the combined rate equaled 0.494822. City staff then ratified that the adopted budget will raise $116,642 more in property tax revenue than last year’s budget, including $84,753 from new property added to the tax roll.