Agenda item 1.C, file 26-1038, asks Council to consider first-reading approval of the FY 2027 budget ordinance, and staff recommends approval.
Agenda item 1.D, file 26-1040, asks Council to consider first-reading approval of the 2026 tax-rate ordinance, and staff recommends approval.
New Revenue Would Fund Staffing and Street Work
The budget order attributes $845,000 of added revenue capacity to the higher proposed rate, plus $387,000 in recurring capacity and $237,000 in one-time capacity to updated sales-tax projections.
Recommended budget changes include $50,754 for a part-time criminal investigator, $217,736 for two fire inspectors and $406,332 for two school resource officers.
The same order recommends $300,000 for citywide concrete and street repairs tied to accessibility requirements, $20,000 for a traffic data counter and $84,419 for a crack sealer.
Other recommended changes include $351,429 more for General Fund employee compensation and a one-time $100,000 Humane Society contingency.
The proposed budget document lists $304,994,913 in all-funds expenditures and $120,089,880 in General Fund expenditures before the attached budget order’s recommended changes.
The Rate and the Example Bill Move in Opposite Directions
The rate ordinance divides the proposed $0.415613 rate into $0.221692 for maintenance and operations and $0.193921 for debt service. It also states that the full rate equals the no-new-revenue rate and remains below the $0.425030 voter-approval rate.
Comal.News first covered the city’s $1,150 Comal median-home estimate before the workshops, then compared the Comal and Guadalupe taxpayer examples after they were posted. The Sept. 10 packet now pairs those examples with the higher no-new-revenue rate.
Meeting Details and the Next Vote
The special meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, in the City Hall Council Chambers at 550 Landa St.
Residents can use the budget and tax-rate hearings to follow the proposals before Council considers the ordinances. The official agenda asks anyone who needs an interpreter, reader, large-print material or another auxiliary aid to contact the City Secretary’s Office at least two workdays before the meeting.
The points to watch are whether Council changes the recommended budget order and how each member votes on the two ordinances. The meeting page and agenda packet provide the official paths for checking the posted materials and, after the meeting, the recorded action.
If Council advances both ordinances on first reading Sept. 10, the tax rate is scheduled for second and final reading at 6 p.m. Sept. 14 in the same council chambers.
