City Council - Special Meeting

I want him to know

Good evening. The special workshop council meeting for the city of Cops Cove held June 23rd, 2026 is called to order 5 0 2 PM. Madam secretary, please call the roll.

Mary Yancy here. Christina strophes here. Rita Hogan here. Howard Hawk here. John Hale here. Dale Treadway here on your heart here. Jack Smith.

Here. All right. Everyone is present item C announcements.

None for me, Mr. Mayor. Okay. None for me, sir.

No, Mr. Mayor. Right.

Uh, just one, uh, to express our, uh, deepest, uh, condolences to the Fleming family. Um, Mike Fleming was a long time employee of, uh, the city of coppers Cove and our fire department, and he has recently passed away. So, uh, our thoughts and prayers go to the Fleming family.

thank you i have nothing sir nothing mr mayor i don't have anything okay no announcements all right we move straight into item d workshop items presentation discussion and possible direction on the city manager's physical year 2026 2027 proposed budget and plan of municipal services ryan havelaw city manager

Mayor and City Council, we provided the official proposed budget for fiscal year 2026, 2027 to you last week on Tuesday. It was a very long workshop of me just talking. Tonight, I'm not gonna talk much and I'm gonna actually ask Ms. Arianna Beckman to do a lot of the talking. She'll be going through all of the departments and revenues in greater detail than what I did a week ago. I would just encourage you that if you do have questions, please interrupt. Otherwise, Mrs. Beckman is just gonna keep on going through the presentation.

That is correct. It's a much larger discussion tonight, so we will be reviewing the budget by departments. So as I'm moving quickly through these slides, if you have any specific questions, please stop me and we'll address those as we go. Before we get into the department budgets, we're going to start with a quick overview of the proposed budget as a whole. The proposed budget includes about $75.9 million in revenues and $76.8 million in expenditures across all funds. The general fund remains our largest operating fund at about $27. million in expenditures, followed by water and sewer at $25.2 million. Overall, the proposed budget continues to support current service levels while addressing operational needs, personal costs, and capital improvements throughout the organization. So next, we'll focus on the general fund, which supports most of the city's core services, including public safety, public works, development services, parks and recreation, and city administration. Looking specifically at the general fund, we're proposing approximately $26.3 million in revenues and 27.1 As being proposed, expenditures exceed revenues by about 771,000. So the budget is not fully balanced at this point. Even with that, the ending fund balance is about $11.8 million, which is above our ideal. Fund balance, as you all know, we have a deal fund balance policy that requires us to have at least three months of operations, operating expense as fund balance. So general fund balancing options, since the proposed budget and general fund is not fully balanced, we have identified several options for council's concentration during the workshop, which city council has since provided direction on these options to include the tax rate adjustments. the use of fund balance and also deferring some of the tax supported projects that were to be included in the 2026 certificates of obligation. This chart here shows the city's general fund ending fund balance for the last three fiscal years. While fund balance is projected to decrease, we're still in a strong financial position. Again, that ending fund balance is well above the ideal fund balance. Looking at the revenues in general fund, they are projected to increase by 3%. from $25.5 million to 26.3, and that is mainly because the increase by property tax revenue, sales tax revenues, and other recurring revenue sources. As noted at the last city council meeting, while property values have remained flat or in some cases declined, property tax revenues are expected to increase due to the new construction and new properties added to the tax flow. Continued growth in sales tax collection also is a contributor to the overall increase in the general fund revenues. Taxes continue to be the city's primary general fund revenue source. Both property and sales tax are projected to increase approximately 3%. Franchise taxes and other revenues remain stable compared to the current year. Looking at other revenue categories, the largest increase is in administrative reimbursement. This increase is primarily caused by cost allocation from other city funds for the new assistant city manager position that for budgeting purposes, it's included in the general fund, but it will be primarily funded through other funds because that position's main responsibilities include oversight of the public works, development services, parks and recreation, and library operations. Permits and licenses also projected to increase, which is reflective of development activity and anticipated growth associated with Copper Scope being selected as the site for the VA facility. Miscellaneous revenues are projected to decrease slightly compared to current year, because there were one-time revenues that are included in the current year that we're not expecting to recur in the upcoming budget year. And that includes, uh, the reimbursement from EDC on these strategic marketing, uh, project. And also the railroad crossing elimination grant reimbursement that is included in this year's budget. Revenue expenditures in the general fund are expected to remain flat compared to the current year projection. While there was some shifts between departments, overall expenditures remain consistent with current service levels and operational needs. I just want to note that the $1.25 million vacancy factor that we had talked to council about including in the budget We have included that amount in the three major departments in the general fund being police, fire, and parks maintenance rather than allocating to every single department in the general fund. Public safety continues to account for the largest share of the general fund expenditures. The increases in public safety and also city administration are primarily related to personal cost and compensation adjustments. Parks and Recreation shows a significant decrease due to one-time expenditures included in the current budget. Some of those projects include Rode Park, parks master plan and also the construction of the new senior center facility. This slide provides an overview of the services funded through the general fund. We'll begin with the public safety, which includes police and fire operations. And again, it's the largest expense category in the general fund. Police administration expense budget is projected to increase overall by 9% when compared to the current year's budget. The increase is related to market pay adjustment for eligible employees. There's also increase in designated expenses funded through OPO settlement proceeds. The only new request included in the budget for police administration is the carpet replacement and installation. When looking at police services expenditures budget, the increase is 1% overall. While there were increases in fuel, ammunition, operational supplies, those increases were largely offset by reduction in contract labor and other operating expenses. Personnel costs include market adjustments. However, those were offset by the mental health grant program in the amount of $250,000, which we account for in the grant fund. And also, we allocated that 1.25 million budgeted vacancy factor in this department. There are several new requests listed in this slide that have been included under this department in the proposed budget. Fire EMS administration budget, there's a projected increase of 3%, which is related to compensation adjustments. Contractual services are decreasing because of the one-time costs that were included in the current budget that were associated with the interim fire chief position and recruitment process, which will not continue in the next year as now we have a new fire chief. Looking at the operations department, expenditures will increase overall by 2%. Personnel costs account for most of the increase. There is also decreases in maintenance costs due to roof repairs and lower anticipated vehicle maintenance expenses in the current budget. This list right here is all the new requests that have been included in the proposed budget for fire operations. Fire EMS training budget is proposed to increase by 18% and it's primarily due to the new request that you see listed on this slide that will provide a training environment for this department. Fire prevention is projected to increase by 15%. And again, most of the increase is related to personal costs from compensation adjustments. Other changes are minor equipment maintenance costs or related increases. Fire EMS emergency management budget is a small budget area. The increase is related to radio system maintenance costs that help ensure communication systems are reliable during any emergency events. We'll next move to city administration section, which includes city council, city manager's office, city secretary, city attorney, public relations, finance, budget, human resources, information technology, municipal court, and animal control. City Council's expenditures budget will significantly decrease compared to the current budget and the main factor there is that the strategic marketing plan is included in the current year's budget. City Manager's budget, the new budget 26-27 will increase by 86%. And the main contributor is the new Assistant City Manager position and all associated costs with that position are included in the proposed budget. City Secretary's budget remains flat. Um, while, uh, election related expense increased due to a scheduled election and fiscal year, those costs are, uh, offset by, um, one time projects that are included in the budget. And one, one of them being the digital conversion of records, uh, that was included in the current year's budget city attorney's budget. Um, We are proposing that that budget decrease by 6%, and the decrease is mainly related to one-time investigation costs that occurred during the current year that we're not expecting to occur in the proposed budget. Public relations is a department that is consistent year over year. The decrease is related to one-time consulting costs including the current year for employee survey, and then also reduced expenditures related to decorations and related supplies. The finance department's budget will increase by 5%. Most of the increase is related to personal costs associated with COLA adjustments. Other operating costs are stable with a slight decrease in professional development and training expenditures. The budget department expenditure budget will increase by 9%. The primary driver of the increase is an appraisal district and tax collection fees, which are reflected in the designated expense line item. Personnel costs are also increasing related to cost of living adjustments. Human Resources Department will increase 6%. The budget includes compensation adjustments and funding for the upcoming compensation survey, which allows city to stay competitive and along with the market. Information technology budget will increase by 8%. The largest driver of increase is the new request for the backup solution, which will help with data protection and cybersecurity efforts. Other increases are related to software maintenance, communication systems, and ongoing technology needs. Municipal court expenditure budget will increase overall 2%. Most of the costs are stable with increases related to prosecutor services, judges' compensation, and professional development. The current year does include renovation costs that are not continuing, hopefully, in the proposed budget. Um, just to note here that the staff has, uh, identified, uh, a need for additional bailiff staffing as the, uh, core operations continue to grow. Uh, we need to either hire another part-time bailiff or a full-time bailiff to support those operations. Uh, animal control expenditure budget will increase, uh, 12%. And the increase is related primarily to personal cost operating expenses that are associated with the, um, larger shelter facility and increase supply costs to include microchips and any shelter related supplies. We will next move to community services, which includes parks and recreation, athletics, aquatic, special events, libraries, cemetery, and the senior center. Parks and Recreation Administration budget will significantly decrease, and the primary driver there are, as I noted earlier, Rhody Park Campaign Project and Parks Master Plan Feasibility Study. Those costs were included in the current budget. Parks and maintenance expenditure budget will decrease 1% overall. And again, this is one of the departments where we applied that the vacancy factor under salaries and benefits. Athletics department expenditures will increase 7%, and that increase is primarily driven by the 3% cost of living adjustment. The aquatics budget, it's stable, increasing 3% overall. The increase is related to compensation adjustments while other operating costs remain unchanged when compared to current year. Special events, this is where we account for community events such as Fish in the Park and Easter Egg Roundup. There's an 8% increase there that is related to supply costs needed to support those events. Cemetery budget, it's decreasing by 21%, and the main factor here of the decrease is that current budget includes new software expenditure. Parks and Recreation Senior Center, so the costs are decreasing significantly there. There's the cost included in the current budget for the new senior center construction and also utility costs are now responsibility of Hill Country Community Action Association. That's why there's a significant decrease in the budget. Library's budget will increase overall 7%. The increase is related to personnel cost and other operating expenses such as communication, utilities, and professional development. Maintenance costs are decreasing due to HVAC repairs that were completed in the current year's budget. We'll next move to public works, which includes engineering, streets, and fleet services. The engineering budget will increase 5%, and the increase reflects additional engineering services to support ongoing projects and future infrastructure improvements throughout the city. Uh, streets, uh, expenditures budget will increase, uh, 10%. And this is associated with street lining, uh, throughout the community. Fleet services remain flat when compared to the current year. While personnel costs increased, those increases were offset by lower maintenance and equipment costs due to improvements that were included in the current year's budget. We'll next move into development services, which includes development services, building and development, and code and health compliance. The development services expenditures budget will increase 17% overall. The largest contributor to the increase is the addition of the new position, the development services manager position, along with all the related costs to support that new position. which is intended to help with continued growth and increasing development activity within the city. Building and development budget will increase by 23%. And the largest contributor here is third party plan review and inspection, um, which will have helped the city keep pace with the, uh, increased commercial development activity code and health compliance. A budget will increase, uh, 8%. Uh, increases related to cost of living adjustment while other operating costs are relatively stable. We'll next move into non-departmental section of the general fund. Janitorial services shows a 4% increase related to compensation adjustments and contractual cleaning services needed to support city facilities. Non-departmental budget shows a 19% decrease when compared to the current year. The decrease is primarily driven by one-time expenses for projects such as city hall feasibility study and grant matching funds that is associated with the railroad crossing elimination grant. Partially offsetting those decreases are increases in insurance costs and economic development incentive payments. That concludes the general fund. Before we go into water and sewer fund, any questions?

Council, any questions? Support? Okay.

All right. The proposed water and sewer fund includes, uh, approximately 24.5 million dollars in revenues and 25.2 million dollars in expenditures. Uh, while, um, expenditures exceed revenues, uh, as noted at the last city council meeting, the deficit is anticipated and it's part of the utility, right? Studies as far as long-term financial plan for the operations and capital improvements. Even with that, the fund is financially strong with a projected ending fund balance of $9.7 million, which is above the ideal fund balance, which is shown in this chart as well, which shows the ending fund balance for the last three fiscal years for water and sewer fund. Revenues in the water sewer fund show an increase of 9% from 22.4 to 24.5 million dollars and it's a result of those utility rate adjustments as part of the utility rate study. Water and sewer are the largest revenue category in the water and sewer fund. Water revenues are projected to increase 14% and the sewer revenues are projected to increase 4%. Other revenue categories are stable with increases in tap fees and late charges which are reflecting ongoing development activity. Proposed budget, it does include rate increases for both water and sewer services. Those specific new rates existing and proposed are listed at the bottom of the slide and we will be discussing rate changes this coming Thursday. Water and sewer expenditures are projected to increase 9% from $23.2 to $25.2 million. The increase reflects personal costs, operation needs, utility system maintenance, and ongoing infrastructure investments. When looking at expenditures in water and sewer, non-departmental is the largest expense category, being that debt payments are included in this department. The most significant change is in utility administration, and it is not because operations have changed or increased 426%. It's mainly because we have accounted for water purchases under the non-departmental department. And for accounting purposes, we have moved those in the utility administration. And that's why you see that significant increase. Other departments remain consistent and we will be reviewing those here shortly. Looking at Public Works Administration, the budget is projected to decrease 5% overall. And the decrease is related to one-time facility improvements, renovations, and the impact fee study, which were all included in the current year's budget. Utility administration, again, that percent increase is related to moving the water purchases under this department. The budget does include increases in AMI-related expenses, meter replacement costs, software maintenance, and payment processing expenses, which are associated with their operations. And again, these are ongoing costs necessary to support their daily operations and the customer service. Water distribution expenditure budget will increase by 9% overall. The largest driver is the addition of three new positions and their associated costs. So we have included an operator, one administrative assistant and a senior backflow prevention technician into the proposed budget. And also you see the new requests at the bottom of the list that are related to those three positions, being that that pickup truck is the largest expense that is associated with those positions. However, that's a one-time cost. A wastewater collection expenditure budget will decrease by 12%. The decrease is related to the generator project expenditure that is included in the current year's budget. wastewater treatment expenditure budget will increase by 7%. The increase is primarily related to training and professional development that are associated with compliance and also certifications for the operators that work in this department. South wastewater treatment plan expenditure budget will increase by 11%, which increases related to personal cost, chemicals, sludge disposal, and regulatory fees that are associated with the operations of wastewater treatment plan. The northeast plant shows an increase of 10% overall. Just like the south plant, the increase is driven by personal cost, chemicals, utility expenses, and sludge disposal costs, which are all shown here. Northwest budget shows a decrease of 7%. Even though operating costs increase in several areas, the decrease is primarily related to equipment repairs and replacements that were included in the current year's budget. The wastewater treatment plant laboratory expenditures shows a 5% increase related to testing supplies and other analysis costs that are needed to remain compliant and support operations of the treatment plants. Looking at the expenditure budget in non-departmental, there's a 33% decrease. And as you can see that third line there, water purchases were moved into utility administration's budget. Other changes include increases in debt service payments, higher insurance costs, and increases related to administrative reimbursement that are for that new ACM position in the general fund. The chart here shows the cost of water over the last three fiscal years. The good news is that those costs remain stable with a slight increase in the current year's budget, 2%, and then no change in the proposed budget. That concludes water and sewer fund. Any questions? All right, we're gonna move into Soil Waste Fund. The proposed Soil Waste Fund budget includes $9.2 million in revenues and $8.6 million in expenditures. Unlike the General Fund and Water and Sewer Fund, revenues here exceed expenditures. which results in an increased fund balance. That ending fund balance being at 4.4, which is over the ideal fund balance. This chart shows that increase. As you can see in the current year, there was a slight decrease, but then proposed budget shows the increase to the ending fund balance in soil waste, which is over the ideal fund balance. Revenues in the silo waste fund will increase 7 percent from 8.6 to 9.2, and the main driver here is the increased fees. Collection fees are the largest category of revenues in the silo waste fund. Those are projected to increase 8 percent. The other categories are stable with some minor changes when compared to the current year. Proposed budget includes rate increases, as I noted earlier, to the residential and commercial customers. And those changes are reflected on the bottom. And again, we'll review all those this coming Thursday. Expenditures in the Sideways Fund are expected to decrease 10 percent from 9.5 to 8.6, and that change is mainly related to one-time capital costs to include equipment purchases. This chart here shows expenditures by operational areas within the site waste, the non-departmental and hauling at disposal being the largest expense categories in the site waste fund. Non-departmental, again, it's where we make those debt payments for site waste. The most significant decrease, as you can see to the right of the chart, is within disposal and transfer station operations, again, due to those one-time capital expenditures included in the current year. And we'll see those as we review that department. Solid waste administration budget will increase by 14 percent. And the increase, it's related to the professional rate model services and compensation adjustments. Residential collections, this budget will increase 8%. Most of this cost increase is related to personnel costs, while fuel, maintenance, and operating costs are projected to decrease slightly when compared to the current year's budget. Recycling collections budget will increase 30 percent, and the increase is, Doesn't mean that something significantly is changing is just those vacancies savings that were realized in the current year. That's causing that increase. That makes sense. Brush and bulk collections budget will decrease 4%. The decrease is related to lower fuel, maintenance, and operating costs that are partially offset by compensation adjustments. Commercial collections budget will increase 8%. Personal costs account for majority of the increase, while fuel and other operating expenses will decrease slightly. Keep Copper Scope beautiful. Budget remains stable overall, decreasing 2%. Most costs are consistent with lower maintenance expenses offsetting personnel increases. Landfill expenditures budget overall will increase 10% due to groundwater monitoring costs that are associated with Subtitle D requirements and environmental compliance. Disposal transfer station expenditures budget will decrease by 35%. There are one-time capital projects and equipment purchases, including the current year's budget, including improvements to the slideways complex and then purchase of the tire cutting machine. The chart here shows hauling and disposal costs the last three fiscal years. These costs continue to increase. As you can see in current year's budget, there's a 15% increase, and proposed budget includes an additional 4% increase. A non-departmental budget in sideways shows a 14% increase related to debt payments, insurance costs, and administrative reimbursement costs related to the ACM position. That concludes sideways fund. Any questions? All right, we'll next move to the golf course fund. The proposed 26-27 budget for golf course includes $642,000 in revenues and $641,000 in expenditures. The revenues and expenditures are balanced but the fund still has a negative fund balance for prior year. We just continue our efforts to improve this fund as we move on. This is the ending fund balance for the golf course. Revenues in the golf course are projected to increase 11% from 580,000 to 642. And it's mainly based on anticipated growth in course activity. These are all different categories of revenues in the golf course and the projected increase with the green fees, car rentals and driving range increases as you can see in this chart. Looking at expenditures, there's a projected increase of 16% from 552,000 to 641. Operations are projected to increase 19% and maintenance 11%. Increases include golf cart lease cost, facility maintenance, utilities, and operation supplies. The budget also includes a new program, golf camp, and you see the revenues and the costs at the bottom of this slide. Golf course maintenance expenditures budget is projected to increase 11%. and the increase is mainly related to irrigation system repairs, pump maintenance, equipment repairs, and then consulting services, which are focused on turf management. Non-departmental includes debt payments for previously issued debt for a golf course, and those will remain unchanged. That concludes the golf course. We next move to other funds, which includes several smaller revenue and debt service funds maintained by the city and other funds. So we begin with interest and seeking fund. We are proposing total revenues of $6 million and total expenditures of $6.6 million. As we have discussed with council, we will be utilizing $750,000 from the fund balance to utilize in this upcoming fiscal year for those debt payments because all the funds in this fund can only be used to make those principal and interest payments. With that being said, we will still have an ending fund balance of $760,000. Drainage Utility Fund, well, it does support drainage infrastructure, maintenance and debt service. The proposed budget includes a total of $2.1 million in revenues and $1.7 million in expenditures. which results in an increase to the fund balance. This slide here shows the changes in this fund. It does include COLA increases for employees, we do see increases in debt service payments, and then increases to the admin reimbursement to the general fund associated with the new ACM possession. Moving on with street maintenance fund. This fund supports street managed operations, projects, and related debt service. The proposed budget includes $3.4 million in revenues, and expenditures, um, ending in a stable fund balance. The changes, uh, included in the budget for this fund is that we've included $1.6 million for street maintenance projects. We do see that, uh, increase in reimbursements to the general fund. Um, COLA adjustments for employees. There's new positions including the proposed budget and the related costs for that new position. We also want to note that the sales tax authorization will expire March of next year and the reauthorization will be listed in November 26 ballot.

Mayor, I wanted to make sure council was aware of the very middle line on here. Under new request is the second point. It says brine project, $163,000. That is something that we have not done ever in Copper's Cove. And basically what this is is it's to get the appropriate equipment to actually apply brine on our city streets. TxDOT does it when a freezing storm is coming they'll go and brine all of the TxDOT roadways, which is why TxDOT roadways, for the most part, do not freeze over terribly and they thaw out more quickly. We have not done this on any of our city streets, and we typically just apply aggregate after it's already frozen, which is trying to just give traction. This would actually bring us more aligned with what TxDOT does on those TxDOT roadways, especially for some of our more extreme hills. Uh, in town and, uh, providing, uh, that safety, uh, for better safety for, uh, our residents to make it up and down those Hills in those events. So thank you.

Thanks Ryan.

The Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund, it accounts for all revenues collected from local hotels and the proceeds must be used in accordance with state law. The proposed budget includes $210,000 in revenues. Funding requests for these funds have been received and you will be hearing from those agencies on Thursday about their funding application. The PEG fee fund, this fund accounts for fees received from cable and video providers and can only be used for public, educational, and government access purposes that are allowed under state law. The proposed budget includes $48,000 in revenues and expenditures resulting in no change to the fund balance. Employee Benefits Trust Fund. This fund supports the city's self-funded employee benefit program to include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and related costs. Proposed budget includes total revenues of $2.1 million and $2 million in expenditures resulting in an increase to the ending fund balance. The next two slides are related to courts. So we have the Court Efficiency Fund and Court Security and Technology Fund. Those are rather small funds that are specific in usage, what those funds can be utilized for. The last slide here lists other miscellaneous funds to include park improvements, special events, citywide donations, citywide grants, police, state and federal seizure funds, law enforcement, Explore and Block grant, and court-related funds. The next couple slides you have in front of you will list some upcoming dates. So on Thursday, you'll get an opportunity to review the changes to the fee schedule. Non-city organizations will present their funding requests for general fund and hotel occupancy tax funds. On July 30, by then we have fully received our certified values and we will discuss the tax rate. You'll have the public hearing on a proposed budget. On August 4, you will have the opportunity to take a record vote to propose a tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year, set the public hearing on the tax increase, set the date and location to adopt the tax rate, and any changes to the budget on august 18 it's when we'll have the public hearing on tax increase and we will adopt the proposed budget the tax rate the long range plans and the fee schedule that concludes my presentation so take any questions directions comments

Mayor, thank you. Mayor and council, we just handed out the presentation that you have here. It's also on the city's website. So any residents that would have any interest in reviewing that, it's posted onto the city's agenda and as well as the presentations for Thursday also. But just real quick, does anybody want all of Thursday's presentations printed? No, okay, thank you.

You only had to ask me. Council, do you have any questions or comments today? I just a few comments.

I just, you know, thank the state manager and budget finance, the directors and the rest of the state staff that put this budget together because I know it's been ongoing the past few months and probably some weekends and some long hours. So I really appreciate it.

As do we all. Anything else? All right. Anything else to add, Ryan?

No, sir. Well done, Mrs. Bankman.

Thank you, Arianna.

Thank you. All right. That concludes our agenda for tonight. We have another meeting Thursday, as Arianna said. The time is 5.55, so we stand adjourned.