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Home My WebLink AboutCC Minutes 2026 08 11 RegularMINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD August 11, 2026 THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD MET IN A SPECIAL MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2026, AT 8:01 A.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS, FRIENDSWOOD CITY HALL, LOCATED AT 910 S. FRIENDSWOOD DRIVE, FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, WITH THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS PRESENT CONSTITUTING A QUORUM: John Ellisor Sally Branson Trish Hanks Randy Hale Mike Foreman Morad Kabiri Karen Horner Raquel Martinez 1. CALL TO ORDER Councilmember Councilmember Councilmember Councilmember Mayor City Manager City Attorney City Secretary Mayor Foreman called the meeting to order with a quorum present at 8:01 A.M. All members were present with the exception of the absences of Councilmember Robert Griffon and Mayor Pro Tem Michael Ross, as well as Councilmember John Ellisor who later arrived at 8:16 A.M. 2. INVOCATION The invocation was led by Assistant City Manager Katina Hampton. 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE —United States and State of Texas Mayor Foreman led the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States and the Pledge to the State of Texas. 4. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REPORTS Mayor Foreman opened the item inviting the councilmembers to provide their comments. Councilmember Branson thanked Councilmember Hale for attending the Texas Municipal League (TML) Region 14 Summer Meeting. Councilmember Hale shared it was extremely informative and a great experience. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor Foreman announced no citizens had signed up to provide a public comment. The Mayor then took the agenda out of order to consider Ordinance Item 7.A. prior to Work Session Topic Item 6.A. City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 2 of 14 7. ORDINANCE A. Consider on first reading an ordinance repealing Section 2.1 of Ordinance No. 2002-16 and renaming a portion of Baker Road southeast of Stonewall Pass Road as Hackney Road. Community Development Department (CDD) Director Aubrey Harbin stated this item was a correction to fix a street naming issue since Friendswood has two streets named Baker Road. A map was displayed for Council that showed a portion of Baker Road that Ms. Harbin noted. has sometimes been called Hackney Road, but an ordinance in 2002 named this portion of the road Baker. Thus, staff wanted to clean this up. A motion was made by Councilmember Branson and seconded by Councilmember Hanks to approve the first reading of a Proposed Ordinance repealing Section 2.1 of Ordinance No. 2002-16 and renaming a portion of Baker Road southeast of Stonewall Pass Road as Hackney Road, as submitted and related to Item 7.A. The vote was the following: Ayes: Mayor Foreman, Councilmember Branson, Councilmember Hanks, and Councilmember Hale Nays: None Absent: Councilmember Ellisor, Councilmember Griffon, and Mayor Pro Tern Ross The item passed unanimously. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS, REPEALING SECTION 2.1 OF ORDINANCE NO.2002-16; RENAMING A PORTION OF BAKER ROAD TO HACKNEY ROAD; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES INCONSISTENT OR IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Mayor Foreman returned to the regular order of the agenda. 6. WORK SESSION TOPICS A. Receive and discuss a presentation regarding the City of Friendswood Proposed FY2026-27 Municipal Budget. Finance Director Rhonda Bloskas presented to Council the City of Friendswood Proposed Fiscal Year 2026-27 Municipal Budget with the following highlights: GENERAL FUND REVENUE — $48.1M Property Tax Sales Tax Franchise Tax $25.50M $I I.IOM $2.15M $2.6M over FY Actual Up $128K Up $33K 53.00/. ..................__.................------ 23.00% 4.5% ---........ __....... _ .......------........._._ Fines Interfund Licenses & $923K Transfers Permits Do%"$I4K $3.79M $739K FY2027 AD VALOREM TAX RATE Total Tax Rate: $0.5597: M&O Rate: $0.441165 I&S Rate: $0.118558 1.9% Up $58K Down $261K 7.9% 1.5% _......................._......_._....._..._._.........._..__.gc..._.._....—_. Intergovernmental Charges fm• _......._..._..I.._...._......._...._..._ Misc. Interest $857K Services $1.14M Up$34K 51.91M Up St 19K 1.8% Do\vn$10K 2.4% 4.0% Use of Fund Balance $OK Down $500K 0.0% Debt Service $6,840,355 21% City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 3 of 14 Maintenance and Operations $25,453,505 79% Ms. Bloskas then addressed Councilmember Hale's question raised at the August 3rd Council Meeting regarding utilizing the emergency disaster tax rate in lieu of setting aside a Severe Weather Expenditures fund balance. It allows local governments in Texas to adopt a higher property tax rate without voter approval following a governor or presidential disaster declaration. However, Ms. Bloskas noted the timing issues if they adopted the emergence disaster tax rate. If they do have a natural disaster, they would have to wait a year to implement the emergency disaster tax rate and wait for those funds to come in. She believed the main thing, other than erosion of their tax base, is the hardship it would place on residents at a time when they have roofs off their homes and fences down. She expressed planning for a disaster is important and that is why staff added the $500,000 as a force at work this year in the budget for that. City Manager Morad Kabiri added that the federal and state governments would have to declare it as a disaster for the emergency disaster tax rate to be able to take effect. If a disaster does not qualify, the City would still be responsible for cleaning up the debris and would not be able to raise tax rates to offset the expenses. Councilmember Branson inquired about Certificates of Obligation, to which Mr. Kabiri confirmed if they have a disaster that impacted only Friendswood, the City can declare an emergency and say they need funds to respond. He also noted they have money in their 90-day reserve, but there is no mechanism by which to replenish that reserve. Whereas, in the past, the state or federal governments would reimburse the City for those expenditures, they have already put the City on notice that they would not. Mr. Kabiri noted the $500,000 amount for the Severe Weather Expenditures fund balance was based upon the premium that they were quoted if the City were to go out and get insurance for this type of the coverage. However, if Council were to choose a lower amount to set aside, that would be perfectly okay as any amount that we start saving is a good thing and let's hope for the best, that we do not have a disaster in the meantime. Ms. Bloskas proceeded to discuss the General Fund expenditures budget, which is up $2.7 million, primarily as a result of the forces at work and the decision packages they are asking to be funded. Excluding the forces at work, there is only about a 1% increase in the operating expenditure budget. Almost 50% of the total expenditure budget is public safety, and that includes police and our emergency services. The next largest function is the General Government, which includes the Mayor and Council's budget, City Manager's Office, City Secretary, City Attorney, Finance, Human Resources, IT, Communications, and Municipal Court. It is up about $493,000 from the prior year budget, and that is primarily related to software support services in IT's budget, as well as a funded decision package for one FTE in the City Attorney's budget. She presented the five-year comparison of expenditures chart, which shows the biggest part of the general expense budget is personnel, which is about 67% of the total Expenditure budget. In 2025, we onboarded the EMS, and then in 2026 we had the approval of the 16 FTEs. Mr. Kabiri noted that, as Rhonda City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 4 of 14 mentioned, the 2 uplifts in EMS in 2025, and the 16 FTEs, which were still predominantly public safety related. He added that on the next slide when they address the average employees per capita, even increasing our staffing by over 10%, we are still next to the lowest in the region, which speaks volumes to the doing less with more. GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES — $48.1M General Community Parks & Ree Government Development Facilities $9.8M $1.8M Maintenance Up $493K Up $57K $6.4M 20.4% 3.7% Up $32K 13.3% Public Safety Library Engineering $23.6M $1.6M $691K Up LIM Up $53K Up $5K 49.2% 3.3% 1.4% Public works Capital $3.1M Maintenance Down$135K Fire/EMS Vehicles 6.4% SIAM 2.3% 5 Year Comparison of Expenditures (GF) $50,000,000 $40,000,000 ql $30,000,000 $20,000,000 i j $10,000,0$00 �. IkI r. N"..n elR SeMdc Capital Total Oenefits 0.11, & olhet ■FY23 Actual ■FY24 Actual ■FY25 Actual u FY26 Adopted ■ FY27 Proposed Ms. Bloskas alluded to the staffing comparisons with the charts below and noted that as it relates to average salary per FTE, the City of Friendswood is not the lowest per average, but we are also not the highest: is 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 y�ooa "` spa FTE's Per Capita 585,000 $80,000 $75,000 $70,000 $65,000 $60,000 S55,000 $50,000 0 4 Qt Police Chief Josh Rogers was then invited to discuss matters concerning staffing and pay in the Police Department (PD) using the following charts. Mr. Kabiri pointed out that as Chief Rogers goes through these slides, he would like for Council to keep in mind the average data point in accounts for all salaries, not necessarily per project or per employee classification. He believes the bigger concern as the Chief will point out, is that there is a number of areas in which the City of Friendswood is significantly well below average. Chief Rogers stated his theme for his presentation is just what Mr. Kabiri alluded to earlier, which is about doing more with less. He noted the first slide indicates the starting salary as we compare ourselves to 26 agencies across the area. You can see on the right there, that is the top out salary for our sworn positions, which consists only of 67 and is not the entire 85 or close to 95 personnel inside the Police department, this is only the sworn staff. The chart indicates their starting salary and their top out salary. In the years' City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 5 of 14 past, we have tried to stay in the top 5 or 6, and you can see where we are at and how quickly we can fall down by not keeping up with the market there. Agency Memorial Wlages Svvurn 32 Population 15,000 2025 Crime 4.67 Officer Per 2-13 Sorting Salary $90,636.00 Top Out Base Officer Range 345,645.00 $136,281.00 Ba own 177 85,627 27.85 2.07 $84,049.00 $112,306.00 $28,257.00 Ka 76 30000 30-06 2.53 $70,414.00 $111,467.00 $41053.00 Pasadena 289 152000 2227 1.90 $78,671.00 $109,817.00 $31146.00 Houston 5496 2397315 47.81 2.29 $81,000.00 $109,290.00 $28,290.00 Deer Park 80 34,282 MIS 233 $73,070.40 $107,286.40 S34216.00 1 Peadand 185 138160 12.26 1.34 $77,112.00 $106,741.00 S29629.00 League C 149 130,000 1122 1.15 $78,886.00 $106,467.00 328,582.00 Sugar Lantl 182 110000 12.99 1.85 $78,260.00 $106,685.00 $27,435.00 LaPorte 84 40000 1122 2.10 $74,002.00 $106,460.00 $31464.00 Mont Belvieu 33 14000 13.73 2.38 $74,180.89 $105,341.00 $31,180.31 Missaud C' 113 77327 11.45 IA6 $75,615.00 $104,086.00 S28571.00 Stafford 67 19000 30.45 3.53 $76,308.00 $102,626.00 $26,318.00 He(Wage 19 2500 4427 7.60 $75,836.00 $101,210.00 $25,374-00 Shenandoah 29 5000 55.84 5.80 $76,000.00 $701,184.00 $26,184.00 Wesl Un'rversiry 31 15,158 11.00 2.05 $74,334.00 $99,899.00 $25585.00 1 Texas C� 101 59,733 15.41 1.69 584,662.00 $99,164.00 $34,502.00 Galveston 168 53636 28.03 3.13 $67,123.00 $97,322.00 $30199.00 Tomball 4B 16000 2260 3.00 $66,099.00 $97.302.00 $29,203.00 Bellaire 43 17600 27.65 2.46 $72.068.57 $97,292.57 S25,224.00 Webster 55 14000 47.56 3.93 $76,836.00 $97,079.00 $21243.00 Jesse ',,age 29 7729 22.31 3.75 $72,418.94 $95,774.05 $23,355.11 LaMarque 52 20,32A13 2.56 $62,631.00 $94,934.00 S32303.00 Rosenberg 81 42,701.90 $74,069.00 $94,806.00 S20,737.00 I 'F.riendswood. 67 44,00152 $70,686.00 $91;666.00 $21,000.W zn 64 30,112.13 $72,966.00 $90,459.00 $17,493.00 Chief Rogers proceeded to discuss the next slide, which indicated the crime rate compared to the same 26 agencies, and noted that although the City is on the bottom for pay, we are on the top for our crime rate, which is an example of doing more with less. We are second on our crime rate, which is an extremely important performance measure; one of the most important performance measures in our performance as it is our report card. Year after year, we score an A++ on our report card. 2025 crime rate by agency MemOnal NIld9¢c Mend-od- 6.00 W¢5[Un.ers1ly{� J 11 ad ta.'Nrk � uI n League CLy-- n-22 l ".M1 1112 Mlssourl CM � u 45 ra.dl M � 1216 Sugar Land I199 "n l le Monl SeMeu� I5.)3 Ib5ente" 1519 Te4aa Cib, ISAI 22.51 22.50 N 2312 Salient 21.1 Baylenn = 11.1 Gar eston 2001 SWI.d 30.4s <aw 096 uedxq Vglage atv Mtbster 41SS i SSeNMeeU 55.641 ume rals City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 6 of 14 Mayor Foreman shared that these stats of the City are the ones he is the most proud of. He found it impressive that they keep the crime rate so low when they do not have as many officers per capita as other cities and are not paying them as well. Chief Rogers thanked the Mayor and stated they are riding the coattails of the success of the past. He also noted that just because today it looks good, that does not mean tomorrow it will. It can change very quickly, and there are a lot of moving parts to make this happen. Chief Rogers noted another example of doing more with less is the Officer Staffing Ratio, since the City's per thousand staffing level is 1.52, which is lean. As shown on chart, we are up top on operating the most leanest compared to the other 26 agencies. He reiterated that this is an example of us working together as a team, as a group, year after year. They will work with Finance, in order to get that number fixed and not come before Council and request a couple pennies on the sales tax, or on the rate at all. They will attempt to fix this in-house to get us back up to where they should be, and that is what we do better than anyone else as well. Officer staffing ratio by agency League City Pearland Missouri City Friendswood Sugar Land Texas City Rosenberg Pasadena West University Baytown LaPorte Alvin Memorial Villages Houston Deer Park Mont Belvieu Bellaire Katy La Marque Tomball Galveston Stafford Jersey Village Webster Shenandoah Hedwig Village Regarding pay, he stated they used an external benchmark to come up with the proposed $74,000, which is the average salary in the Houston area for a police officer position. Even though they are producing an A++ record, they just want to remain average, that is the best they can hope for at this point. The number is changing at a rate that is faster than what merit can keep up with and that is the challenge for all of us moving forward. Every 3 or 4 years, they will drop to the bottom with a 2.75% to 3% merit raise, it is not cutting it and the average will keep increasing in this market. Chief Rogers concluded his presentation and offered to answer any questions that City Council may have. City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 7 of 14 Officer pay compared with survey averages SWRing salary bpaut salary Councilmember Hanks expressed that she wants to plan for the future and leave this community as good as it is today or better. She noted Council talked a few years ago about police officers' salaries and they had made a jump that year. She wished to note that they did not think "Okay, that's it. We won't have to address that again." She stated that is just not the way it is. Thus, she emphasized they have to plan for that and it is going to mean that sometimes they have to pay more. Councilmember Branson expressed her appreciation for the great job the police do. She knows they are doing more with less and hoped that soon they will have the flexibility in the budget to remediate that gap. Mr. Kabiri noted that the proposed tax rate and budget does not address this issue, it is a constant struggle with communities that are not fast growing, but they do have a lot of resources in terms of assets that they want to protect. Mayor Foreman commented he was shocked that every year there is a 2.75% merit pool since he has been on Council. He believed they are eventually going to have to start talking about eking that number up because they have some shortfalls. Mr. Kabiri noted that number has been what staff anticipated this Council and their predecessors could stomach. The Mayor reiterated they need to start thinking about putting a little more money in that merit raise pool, so they can allocate it to the people they want to keep. Further discussion ensued regarding matters concerning merit. Ms. Bloskas proceeded to discuss the City of Friendswood Proposed FY2026-27 Municipal Budget's General Fund, as follows: GENERAL FUND — FUND BALANCE $17.96M Nonspendable & Restricted S11,004,026 61.27% Available for t Capital Projects S194,330 rrPl.nnedUs, 1,08% ,818 % FY26 Uses of Fund Balance S5,197,603 28.94% Advanced Grant Funds $523,802 2.92 % General Fund — Fund Balance History $13,000,000.00 $12,000,000.00 $1100000000 $10:000:000:00 $9,000,000.00 $8,000,000.00 $7,000,000.00 $6,000,000.00 $5,000,000.00 OHO O�Q 01O O't� O'1ry 01� 01'A 01� 10NO1oX ti0\O'`O'010\�ry'ti0\�\�'10\1ry 10\� —90-Day Reserve —Balance above 90-day reserve City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 8 of 14 GENERAL FUND - FORCES AT WORK & DECISION PACKAGES Funded Forces at Work Unfunded Decision Packages Dept _Description Net Total _ Dept _____ _ _Descripion_ ___ Net Total DES Fire and EMS Equipment $600,000 DES EMS Three Full Time Paramedics $451,641 Replacement- Transfer to Vehicle __--- ._ (+3:Op-ML _ ____ ____ . _Replacement Plan .....__.—.____ .....__.................._..._ EMS__.. Ambulance Remount�77�_.__ 750__.__ FIN Deferzed Maintenance Allocation $500 000 .._DES DES EMS Cardiac Monitor and CPR __$225 $185,000 DES Severe_ Weather_ Expenditures__ $500000 Devices __._._.....--- _ ..._........_..................... _...... HR House Bill 4144 Retiree Insurance _..---.., _..._.. $5 0. 0 ...._...._._ _........--- LIB -....---.........-------.......-----..........__... Reference - Adult Services ._Librarian (tj.OPE)._. $107,643 _ IT Police Department MicrosoR_ $27,000 Licenses (Year I of 3) CSO/PR Office Records Clerk (+1.0 FTE) $68,573 IT Enterprise Resource Planning $55,000 _ _ P&R_Rec Seasonal Summer Staff Wage $18,095 Software Cloud Conversion .... _........-----....._.. ___......___......__. M Maria Police Policy Accreditation_Project FVFD ---_..........._..._....._.—`---_-_--._..__ Truck Remount _ PD Patrol Motorola Equipment Service _$25,000 $59,987 _DES PW Streets _Sport .__ Street Striping Machine $189750 _ Contract CDD GIS Vehicle $28x710_._._ FVFD Fire FVFD Contract Increase $312,067 HR _GIS_ _._.__.____....._.._...__. Wellness Committee - Digital _ $20,000 Total Forces at Work $2,084,054 Wellness Platform_ P&R_Rec Marketing Manager Mid -Year $22,832 Funded Decision Packages __. ..,..... Position Reclassification)_____ ___ P&R Roo Recreation Manager (Mid -Year $12,435 _.Dept__ _Description _ _Total _ _ Savings Net Total _ _ Position Reclassifcationj City Merit2.75% $751,210 $441,084 $310,126 LNG Infrastructure Asset Inventory & $160,000 Wide Asset M rot Framework CAO Deputy City $244,348 $94,348 $150,000 Total Unfunded Decision Packages for $1,840,429 Attomey (+I.O General Fund ...................... FTEL._....—___.._ ........._..._.._........ ._...__................ _.. Total Decision Packages $995,558 $535,432 $460,126 Next, Ms. Bloskas went through each department as it relates to the General Fund, as follows: GENERAL FUND BY DEPARTMENT Mayor & Council (Down 7.7%) City Secretary's Office (Down 2.3%) sw.wa Sm.wa S"'Wo S n.wo sw.wo s+awa $a,wa SM,Wo $Hk W mom ■ WMIfS URMES •fYSKRtlIE�il t,re, •flMR]ryleE aNKt •fT3SYeafME50m,le •fYE]P[(2'SM9We t M1000 $ Aw $ .000 $i ,am $1w.000 $a 1111 FfP IUF FMHIS SIRYIfS SFNNCEfi •fYtiKWtlEspfA�rel •flM4dWY-0Bd(et •fY26Yev EMFsertute � EYilPtgm[d0u.1;E1 City Manager's Office (Up 0.5%) $Im.m <Ip .m S WAN W,0W vmow PERS011l1EL6 SUPPLIES SERNCES CAPRALOURAY BEIEEt1S • MSRclual ErpxrdLres • F'26MelYad eidgel •MBYex FMEA ata aM7kegased Bud*t Finance (Up 4.01/o) st1f0.000 S1.W.w0 vw,ow 58a0Oro SSWpw S2w.aw SO PEPS010406 SUMIES SEPY.CES ck9I UfV.Y BEWRIS •Flti felualhperduree. sT16Ad,W BA'. •"zsyearEMFsamte .MmR sed Butl t Information Technology (Up 10%) $1AW,OW 93.BW.M - s1,40o.W0 - S2W.BW 56W,aW $soo,d W $0 111, SEE AMEN PER50NNEt8 SUPPLIES MNUM94CE SERNCES CARTRLOURAY 8WHIS ■MShtual EVp .Wres•nnMeV.dMget ■FYz6Yes End Esgmale PM7Repas08udgel City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 9 of 14 City Attorney's Office (Up 33%) $YW,OW $6 ,OW $soo,000 VW,BW $ AU.O W sm,oao rioo.00 S4 PERSONNFLB BElEF115 SUPPLIES SERNCES •FY25&tuat EspendMres•FY26Ma ed Budget XnnYearE Esbm to •FY22Roposed Budget Human Resources (Down 2%) $900,000 $=.am $)00.000 $600.0m $SW,oW $4W,OW $ .oW $Maw $1W,0$0 PER50NNEL&BFWF1S SUPPLIES SERNCES ■ FY25Mtua1 EyrendiNres ■ H26Mophd &dget ■FY26Year ErMESOMAte RM7Reposedeud9e1 Municipal Court (Up 1%) sm aw � I $iWaW $300.UW I OWN j PERs0NNELBBEWFff5 SUPPLIES SERNCES . n25MtualF�endiNms . n26Mapea &aEet ■n%YearWESOmate •n22Rows08udpet City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 10 of 14 Communications (Up 3%) Police Department (Up 2%) $50o.ow $14.000.000 S150,000 fv.Wo.Wo $400p00 5350,OW $1oaoo,000 $W0.0W Se,M.60o $250.000 S6,o0o.aoo 52W,oW $160,00o f4.Wo,oro $100,00 f2,000.oro $SO.WO so �mum MIEN 50 PERSONNEL&BENEMTS SUPPLIES SERNCES PERSONNEL& SUPPLIES EAINTENANCE SERNCES CAPTAL 6EMNTS OUTLAY ■FY25Actual ErpesHiWms � FY26AtloPNtl Libget • fY25Aewat EipenWwrez � fYeeAtlPptea &aiget ■EY26YeaIEnd Estimate ■FY27PIoposed Budges EPY26Yeal End Es6num IIIM7Ropasedaudbt Emergency Services (Up 13%) Community Development (Up 3%) $4.500,000 $1.600,0W $4.000,000 $1.600,000 $3,500,000 $1.400,000 S3,WO.WO $12W,000 $2,500.000 $1.M,WO $2.000,000 $SW,OW $I,5oo'm <(AI,IW $I,OW,OW III W0,0W s5t PERSONNEL& SUPPLIES MAINTENANCE SERNCES CAPOAL PERSONNEL& SUPPLIES MAINTENM4CE SERNCES BENEFITS OUTLAY BENEMTS •FY25Mtua1 EzpelldiNres FY26Atlopted Osdget ■FY25ActuaiDpendlMes■FY26Adopled Budget ■HnYeaIEnd Estimate ■FY27ft p sed Budget ■FY26Year End Estimate ■FY27Pioposed Budget Public Works (Down 4%) Engineering (Up 1%) $2.W0,000 S1.5W.000 51.M.000 So NEW PERSONNEL& SUPPLIES MIMNANCE SERVICES CAPITAL BENEMS OUTLAY E H25 Acluat blP WWS E H26 Adopted Budgt EPY26Yex Entl Es9.te EPY27ft.,,ed6udb!l $fioo.o W $s00.o W S<W.a W $W ,OW $200.000 $1W,oW PERSONNEL& SUPPLIES MAINTENANCE SERVICES CPPRAL BENENTS OUTLAY ■FY25AI:IualEzpeMlWles E FY Mopled Budget ■ EY26Year End Estimate EW7PIo Sed Budget Library Services (Up 3%) st.wd,066 - $t,400,0p0 4LxoB,Bdo sE,oca,ow seoo.000 56wp6d 5100,000 6zdo Rdo PERSONNEL& WMIES nFNEENNICE SEPNCES CPTE&WIIAY BENEnES • M5Pdual DmndiWms• EY20Ma dMw �M6VeaiEMEstlnate •Mrfloposetl Bud,p.[ City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 11 of 14 Parks and Recreation (Up 1%) $3,C0 c0 Si.E 'No Sx.Em,Eco $u6o,md $I.000,OLO PEB50NNR& SUPPLIES IWIIEEIUNCE SERNCES Cfm&OURAY SENENIS •fl35&Iual Eip Wtl s WrMMu[IMM,1 BF06Yea,Wftfi s,le SM714o , dBoVi Onto the Water and Sewer Fund, Ms. Bloskas presented the following: WATER & SEWER FUND REVENUE — $25.IM Water Sewer Administrative Fees $11.74M $12.45M $559K Up $539K Up $990K Up $44K Includes rate Winter months Includes late payment study average for penalties, recommended single disconnects/reconnection rates for FY27 family fees, same 47% residential day service, etc. customers 2% 50% Water Meter Mise.Iuterest Sales $308K $35K Down$56K No change <1% <1% 5 Year Comparison of Expenditures (W/S) $30,000,000 $25,000,000 $20,000,000 $15,000,000 $10,000,000 I $5,000,000 — 111 d Zile S �J44\ys c` iP ■FY23 Actual 0FY24 Actual ■ FY25 Actual FY26 Adopted WATER & SEWER FUND EXPENDITURES $25.IM Water Sewer $8AM - $9.7M Up $665K Up $1.8M 33% 39% Capital Improvements Debt Payments $800K $6.2M - Down $1.5M Up $557M 3% 25% WATER & SEWER WORKING CAPITAL — $12.9M FY26 Uses -- - Planned of Working Uses Capital _ $5,285,576 $4,725,035 41% 36% Available 90-Day. Working Reserve Capital City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 12 of 14 WATER & SEWER FUND — FORCES AT WORK & DECISION PACKAGES Funded Forces at Work Funded Decision Packages Dept PW_WO _Description_ ______ _Net City of Houston Raw Water Total _ $207,291 ..-Dept_ _ _Description __ City Merit2.75% Net Total $80,491 Settlement A reement FY27 FY35 Wide PW WO Southeast Water Purification Plant - �' � $488,371 PW WO Customer Service Com Rance _ p $160,655 - Program 2023-2027 (Years)...___.........-- Coordinator +Vehicle +1.0 FTE ---_....._.__.._..........---...........----. �.__.._....._.�......... __......------- .._....- -- - PW -CIP Sewer Line Maintenance .".._`.____—_............__ .. ----- $500,000 ENG Wastewater Analysis. Services ___..__.._ .._.._....._._._...._...... _ .___..___..._.-.._-_..._.._. $20,000 PW_SO _C�ital Blackhawk WWTP Operational $284,281 Total Decision Paclra es ................___.._......._...__..._.__......._..._.........___....�._..._--s__........._ $261 146 Increase Total FAW & Decision Packages for Water & $3,130,009 ---...----........._........__...._........_.....__.._._..........__...---.._......._ PW_SO _....._..----..._.._... Blackhawk WWTP Back -Up $348,920 Sewer Fund Generation PW_SO Blackhmvk WWTP CIP Program $1,040,000 Unfunded Decision Packages Yeo-1Z .._..._..--------- ------ of I For...._—...- - -----f Total Forces at work --- $2,868,863 Dept...._Description........._ �---� _...........--_.._.....—__-_...._....._ Net Total .-...._................. END Water System Infrastructure Planning & $950,000 _ ___ __ Hydmulic Model URdate Total Unfunded Decision Packages for water & $950,000 Sewer Fund Finance (Up 4.0%) ".ow $1w.ow $> .ow Exn,000 $Iw,Aw F£ASONNEf& SUAAr1ES WRIRMCE SEANCES CENT&WRAY OTHER BfNEPIS Nn5klo[E a iWms REr26MM-A"Xt 1EVE6Yeatad E541nte @VMR[ $ed8v1Vt Public Works (Up 23%) BY Haman Resources - Insurance (Down 1.0%) vw.ow SMAW MOW SKOW SIwAw 4w.wo 6EAVCES •MSKwilE(.nMWrs, .EY2dm"Jazot �FYMVevEMEsfm,le •fY2)R[goSMBr}yl Engineering (Up 7%) wv.ow $sw.ow W,ow M'Dw $M.ow $103.0m o CER60NNEl&BftEPFS WMIE5 EWN1 ICr SERVICES fYL6K[wlfgertBNrzs fYMMcyYE BAge•F!'6YPa fW nBTll<•FYEMWSH Wsl1 Ms. Bloskas closed the presentation with Council's next steps as follows: City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 13 of 14 8/24/2026 1 Proposed Budget Public Hearing (Special Meeting) Budget could be adopted at this meeting 9/14/2026 1 Budget & Tax Rate Mayor Foreman expressed he was ready to adopt this budget and would vote for it. Councilmember Hale stated he would not, and had promised his voters that he would do his best to keep taxes down. He believed there is some room to work on that in this budget; for example, the $500,000 disaster savings account. He was also counting on the $150,000 by not having the bond election and did not think it would transfer to the unfunded FTE for the City Attorney's Office. He also mentioned the vehicle replacement fund, which Mr. Kabiri summarized would not be a cost savings measure. Councilmember Hale relayed his perception was that it is a savings account to buy vehicles for the future and deferring some of that savings, as long as it would not negatively impact the ability to replace the vehicles when they actually need to be replaced was what he was looking for. However, he relayed what he was hearing was that would not work. Mr. Kabiri confirmed that was correct. Councilmember Hale stated he would look elsewhere. Mayor Foreman took a moment to note that he felt like part of the problem because over the last ten years he has served on Council, the Council always forced the lowest possible tax rate. Then, they realized a few years ago they need half a million dollars for Deferred Maintenance. They were hoping they could take care of Deferred Maintenance out of sales tax revenue or to just take it out of the fund balance, but that is not working anymore. On large vehicles, Mayor Foreman stated about a year ago when they bought a $2.1 million fire truck, they realized they are going to have to replace these engines. Thus, they need to have that vehicle replacement fund. He also noted this year they found out FEMA is not going to pay for disasters such as Beryl, and now they need another half a million dollars to start saving to basically insure themselves against those kinds of problems. The Mayor shared that, yes, he was sitting up here and rallying, even last year, for shaving off a penny. He believed they have to stop doing that. They have to realize this is how you fund a city that is doing as well as they are. He expressed you do not try to cut corners and go "yes, we need half a million for that... but let's just make it $400,000 and hope." He stated hope is not a good strategy. They have to make the best possible decisions for their residents. They do not want to just rely on hope that the state will come through with some money or hope that a storm does not hit. He further noted that when he walks out this room, can he explain to Farmer Ted, for example, of why his tax rate is this? The Mayor stated he was comfortable explaining that to him because staff has laid it out so well and have done a magnificent job. Councilmember Hanks added that she has been on Council for eight and a half years and does not remember anybody coming up here in open session complaining about their taxes. However, she did hear people complaining during the last storm event, that it took too long for the debris to get removed from their property. She mentioned a survey that was done many years ago in this community where about 70% of dads have a bachelor's degree or higher and 80% of the moms have a bachelor's degree or higher. She expressed they have an educated populace, and they understand what it takes to run things. But yet, she noted the percentage of people that come out and vote was less than 30%. She believed that most people are involved in their own lives and trying to make their own lives work. They are comfortable, they feel safe, and they want Council to do the job. Thus, she does not want to take away services that their people are used to and expect, and she does not want to roll the dice. Councilmember Hanks expressed they have cut here and cut there to try to keep the tax rate the same — which she was not saying is not a noble thing to do or a responsible thing to do. But, at some point, they got to face the facts and say, "Do we want what we have, or do we want less than what we have?" She City Council Special Meeting Minutes August 11, 2026 Page 14 of 14 stated she has not heard anybody telling her they want less than what they have. Thus, she has no problem with this budget. Mayor Foreman agreed, adding to the point that people will come out and vote if things start to go bad in the city. When the City does not pick up debris, the park does not get mowed, or a police officer does not show up for a call, he noted that is when people will make a political point out of something and will be gunning for Council because they will be fed up. But, as long as things are going well and people are happy, he observed they are a little bit apathetic about voting. With that, the Mayor thanked staff and closed the discussion of this item. 8. ADJOURNMENT With there being no further business to discuss, Mayor Foreman adjourned the August 11, 2026, City Council Special Meeting at 9:27 A.M. Mike reman, avor Attest: OF FKIC/VOS Raqu M rt1 ez, City Secretary U1.� o (P, .)"OFTE-