On Monday, August 10, 2009, the Richardson City Council and staff will discuss an overview of the budget for the 2009 – 2010 fiscal year. Ahead of that the City has released an overview. It includes no tax rate change and we go through some of the points of that overview. Many of the points represent a “tightening of the belt” due to current economic conditions

The proposed expenditure funds for 2009-2010 sits at $175,840,035. This is 2% above the 2008-2009 estimated expenditures.

Property taxes decreased only slightly at 0.3% as compared to last year. Sales tax is anticipated to decrease by 2.0%. The city will likely be introducing a number of new fees some of which apply to residents and some to non-residents. There will be no increases in water and sewer rates, golf rates, and commercial or residential solid waste collection rates. Further, there will be no compensation adjustments for city employees.

Several reductions have been proposed in supply and service contracts. Training and travel for City employees will also be cut back. The issuance of debt for infrastructure maintenance will continue.

At the work session on Monday, the City Council and staff will consider setting public hearings on the proposed tax rate for August 24, and August 31, 2009. They will also consider setting a public hearing on the budget itself on August 24, 2009. A link to the full City of Richardson budget is HERE.

The City Council will very likely vote on the budget on September 14, 2009.