“We took a very conservative stance at balancing rising costs.”
-- Sarah Buckelew, chief finance officer
City Council this week approved an annual budget of nearly $164 million showing a decrease in spending but a slight rise in the tax rate, resulting in a levy hike of about $7 per month on average for residents.
The budget total of $163.9 million for Fiscal Year 2026-27 is down 7.7% from the current budget year, the council heard Tuesday.
However, the adopted tax rate of nearly 48 cents per $100 of taxable property value is up slightly from last year’s 47 cents, or a 1.57% increase.
Councilman Joseph Macaluso said the city operates at a relatively inexpensive cost for residents.
“Of the $164 million budget, only $40 million is actually operating costs, to fund the operations of the city,” Macaluso said. “If you look at the population of Boerne, that $40 million, that is approximately $4.76 a day, per citizen. Which is less than $5.99 for a Whataburger on Bandera Road.”
Sarah Buckelew, chief finance officer, led the council through the budget adoption process Sept. 8.
Tax on the average home in Boerne — which rose in value from $485,421 last year to $495,167 this year — will increase about $83 for the year, Buckelew said, from $2,289 to $2,372.
“We took a very conservative stance at balancing rising costs in an economic environment of moderating revenue all while leaning toward strengthening our service offering and maintaining our employee choice status,” Buckelew said.
She added, “The tax rate we are proposing is less than three-quarters of a penny increase in the tax rate.”
The budget includes a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment for employees, along with merit increases based on performance. It also accounts for a projected 9.2 percent increase in the city’s health insurance costs while continuing to provide competitive employee benefits, officials said.
The budget includes one new patrol officer for the Boerne Police Department and 4.5 employees —three full-time, and three part-time seasonal hires — to maintain and care for the new Boerne Heritage Volkspark once it opens, projected for spring 2027.
The Heritage Volkspark is being funded primarily by $13 million from the city’s 2022 bond program.
The park’s impact on the budget includes figures “for operational upstart costs,” she said.
A breakdown shows the budget includes $320,000 for three full-time and three-part-time, seasonal positions; $145,000 in maintenance costs; and $255,000 for equipment, a total Heritage Volkspark expenditure of $720,000.
Among capital-improvement projects in the budget are partial funding toward the opening of Fire Station No. 2, the Old No. 9 bridge replacement, Adler Road drainage culverts and road reconstruction, and the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization-sponsored city sidewalks program, with the city responsible for matching monies.
The city will be able to fund the 22,000-square-foot new fire station with cash and issuing $20 million in certificates of obligation. The project, which will take between 14-18 months to complete, will not have an impact on the city’s tax rate.
Under state law, cities must lock in budgets by Sept. 29 in time for the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.
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