Aledo: Council given budget presentation

New council member Ben Clark swears into office with his wife and children. Clark has lived in Aledo since 2017 and is filling Place 1 which was vacated when Mayor Shane Davis was elected.

Interim city manager Mark McDaniel talks about the proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

City council member Shawna Ford looks throught the binder containing the proposed 2025-2026 fiscal year budget for the city.

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Interim city manager Mark McDaniel led the meeting with discussing the action items on the agenda of a resolution to approve the tax tolls, estimated tax collection rate, and designating an official to calculate the no-new revenue rate and voter approval tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year. McDaniel was appointed as the city official.

Also on the action items was deciding that Sept. 4 would be the day where the public hearings for both the budget and the ad valorem tax rate, which is being proposed to be $.355353 per $100 valuation, which would be a decrease of 3.5 cents from the current rate and align with the voter approval rate.

For the main two general fund revenues, sales tax and property tax, both saw an increase with the sales tax budget increasing by 3.8% due to the trend of it exceeding budget including last year.

McDaniel showed how sales tax revenue has increased by 63% since 2021 and how even the $1,480,000 that they have budgeted for 2025-2026 is conservative, but since sales tax is such a volatile revenue stream, the 3.8% would be a safe route to go.

According to the budget the city of Aledo has surpassed $1 billion in total assessed property valuation.

During the budget presentation McDaniel explained some major changes to general fund expenses including:

• Non-departmental expenses like IT, insurance, leases, and transfers to capital projects
• New position salaries including police and public works positions
• Public works equipment and professional services
• New police equipment like vehicles and salaries

Some other key highlights from the presentation were how the city is adding seven new positions:

• Five police officers for the newly created police department;
• A library specialist; and
• A building inspector;

Also proposed is a 4% salary raise adjustment for city staff effective Oct. 1.

It was recommended that there be no utility rate adjustment this fiscal year. McDaniel recommended there be around a 3% rate increase every other year starting with fiscal year 2027. There will be a contracted 3% increase for refuse services in May of next year.

Other major funds addressed were the utility fund, the Economic Development Corporation fund, and capital projects fund. Included in the capital projects umbrella is a new fund that McDaniel recommends the city adopt a Strategic Initiatives Fund. The SIF will be funded by a $5,500,000 transfer from the General Fund.

Some items that would be funded through the SIF would be:

• A new citizen survey system done every other year
• IT enhancements
• Park improvements
• New police equipment

Along with the SIF McDaniel also talked about some of the projects under the Utility Capital Fund:

• Emergency sewer line oversizing
• A water/sewer master plan
• Pump station improvements
• Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition improvements

An in-depth look at the 2025-2026 fiscal year budget can be found on Aledo’s website at: https://www.aledotx.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif6511/f/uploads/fy_25-26_proposed_budget.pdf.

At the next city council meeting on August 21 there will be a budget workshop where council members can ask follow-up questions. Then there will be the public hearings on Sept. 9.

Other council business

Also during the meeting, new council member Place 1 Ben Clark was sworn into office with his family with him during the ceremony. Clark has been a resident in Aledo since 2017.

After coming out of executive session the council did not take any action.