Kyle City Council hears presentation on proposed $365.4M budget

KYLE — At a special meeting held on Saturday, July 27, Kyle City Council heard a presentation and held a discussion on the proposed FY 2024-25 budget ahead of its scheduled adoption in September.

During his presentation, Kyle City Manager Bryan Langley gave an overview of the budget process, strategic plan, key initiatives and focus areas.

In coordination with this year’s budget process, city staff proposed the first citywide Strategic Plan, incorporating community, council and staff feedback received over the past several months. The proposed Strategic Plan details objectives and tasks to be completed. Tasks with timelines are identified and items are assigned to specific departments to provide ownership and accountability. The plan includes more than 65 major items to be completed next year and each department will be asked in 2025 to create a strategic plan that ties into the city’s overall plan.

Key items for the plan over the next year include: design and construction of a new Sportsplex; creation of new parks and reinvestment in current park system; design and construction of various key water and wastewater projects; construction of the voter approved road bond program and various transportation initiatives; enhancement of customer service through 311 system by March 2025; and improvement of operational efficiency through lean government and performance management.

Initiatives and focus areas for the city’s budget include: operational improvements and cost containment initiatives; organization excellence and strategic service delivery; water/wastewater utilities; streets, transportation and drainage; enhanced public safety; and park development and improvements, Langley said.

As a component of the budgeting process, the city has looked at the following ways to manage costs:

• The current building inspection process was evaluated, and an in-house inspection program was proposed instead of outsourcing, to yield approximately a proposed $1.7 million in savings.

• A benchmarking analysis was completed and a new development services rate structure to offset actual costs incurred was recommended. Fee changes will generate approximately $1.75 million in additional annual revenue.

• Elimination of 18 positions proposed for a net increase of 36 positions, saving $1,993,816.

• Created new legislative program and applied for more than $100 million in grant funding.

• Prepared a new water and wastewater impact fee study and recommended fee increases to city council to cover a larger share of city costs, which is expected to generate an additional $6.2 million.

Through a community survey conducted by the city, 73% of 634 surveyed residents said that they are satisfied with life in Kyle. However, there was one bar graph that showed that the majority of residents reported that they are dissatisfied with the ease of getting around by public transportation. And when asked what is one thing they would change in Kyle, most residents said the words “traffic” and “road.”

Because streets and transportation are part of the city’s core infrastructure, staff proposed the following items for the FY 2024-25 budget:

• Continued construction of 2022 Voter Authorized Road Bond Program:

- $232 million in planned expenses over the 5 Year Capital Improvements Plan (CIP).

- Marketplace Ave. is expected to be under construction by October 2024/completion in April 2025.

- Kohlers Crossing, Windy Hill Road and Stagecoach Road are expected to begin construction in 2025.

• Kohlers Crossing roundabouts at Benner, Sanders and Cromwell Drive:

- $15 million included for FY 2025 construction.

• Intersection improvements planned in FY 2025:

- Marketplace Ave. at Kohlers Crossing: $1.5 million design funding in FY 2025, total project budget of $7.5 million.

- Kohlers Crossing at Kyle Crossing: $1.5 million design funding in FY 2025, total project budget of $7.5 million.

- FM 1626 at Marketplace Ave.: $1.5 million design funding in FY 2025, total project budget of $7.5 million.

- Marketplace Ave. at Kyle Center: $1 million design funding in FY 2025, total project budget of $5 million.

- Stagecoach Road at Veterans Drive: $1.2 million design funding in FY 2025, total project budget of $6 million.

• Expansion of Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) #4 to provide funding for Goforth Road Project

• Transportation Master Plan set at $400,000

• Roundabout and Corridor Beautification: $1 million in FY 2025, $5 million over 5 years

• Pavement Study Completed in 2024:

- Street maintenance funding has been increased from $1.5 million to $2.88 million to maintain streets at this level.

• Sidewalk and Vybe Master Plan:

- $200,000 annually for sidewalk gap program inception.

- $266,144 included in Community Development Block Grant (CDGB) funds for sidewalks.

- $650,000 included for Vybe Trails in FY 2025; $1 million in funding each year afterwards in CIP.

• New Transportation Director Position ($273,134): Will provide organizational oversight over all transportation projects and be responsible for the development of the Intelligent Transportation System.

During the transportation section of the special meeting, council member Michael Tobias said that the city of Kyle needs to be proactive in coordinating which detours are best for residents to take during construction of intersection improvements, roundabouts, etc.

“If we are going to start construction in this area starting next year, we need to, number one, be ahead of the game and start notifying residents within the year that there is going to be a lot of construction going on,” said Tobias. “We got a lot of headache right now with traffic [and] there’s going to be a lot of construction, especially on that side of town, so you need to start preparing yourself for that. And also, making sure that we start designing a plan ahead of time of any detours we need to take.”

Langley said that they expect the Kohlers Crossing roundabout (Benner, Sanders and Cromwell Drive) to go under construction first; the other areas will be under design and once those are complete, then, the city will transition to the other projects. He agreed with Tobias that the city needs to stay vigilant in its communication to residents.

“We want to make sure that we’re really over-communicating on all of these issues … On the engagement side, we are definitely going to be stepping that up and making sure that we are communicating very effectively to the residents directly,” Langley said. “And one of the things that I’ve also seen is making sure the information goes to the various mapping systems like Waze or Google to make sure we are sending construction updates through those particular services and then, when you are trying to navigate around town, hopefully your car or your phone can help you get to the right place a little easier.”

The entire city of Kyle will soon be under construction, said council member Robert Rizo, so it’s going to take patience during this time.

“It’s going to be a headache for a couple of years, well, for more than a couple of years, but once these roads are built and the connectivity is there, you’re going to see traffic flowing a lot better with the designs,” he said.

Council member Daniela Parsley suggested that the city look into having a separate webpage that residents can use to see the schedule of the road projects that are going to be worked on, along with the possible detours.

“I think that will mitigate a lot of the issues we have with lack of communication,” Parsley said.

The city is also wanting to continue to invest in new parks and the development of the existing park system, as stated in the proposed Strategic Plan and city staff has also engaged a consultant to update the Parks Master Plan to guide investments over the next few years, according to agenda documents.

Major parks capital improvement projects planned in the budget include the following:

• Parking lot design and construction: La Verde, Steeplechase, Waterleaf, Gregg-Clark and Lake Kyle parks.

• Landscaping, lawn, irrigation and planting: La Verde, Steeplechase, Waterleaf, Gregg-Clarke, Bunton and Heroes Memorial parks.

• Restrooms and amenity care: Heroes Memorial, Steeplechase, Waterleaf, Gregg-Clarke and Post Oak parks.

• Fencing, shade structures and seating: Steeplechase, Waterleaf, Gregg-Clarke and Post Oak parks.

• Lighting, security and internet functionality: Steeplechase, Waterleaf, Bunton, Lake Kyle, Heroes Memorial and Post Oak parks.

Other planned improvements for the current system are included in the budget — but will be updated once the master plan is completed — for the parks listed above, as well as Lineberger Lake and Mary Kyle Hartson Park.

As another component of communication and transparency, especially for the residents who may not have internet access or do not follow the city’s social media pages, Parsley said that she would like for the parks to have digital marquees or signs.

“Earlier this week, [Parks and Recreation Director] David [Lopez], [Assistant City Manager] Jesse [Elizondo] and I had a conversation about wayfinding parks and when you walk in, what’s the signage? Where do you go for what? How do you find your way through that? That’s already been identified by [Lopez] of something we need to do,” Langley responded. “We’ll definitely be bringing that back to you.”

Langley said that there is funding already in the budget for park signage, but there needs to be a plan for implementation brought back to city council for approval.

Across the dais, there was also mention of several parks that are in need of development and upgrades that are not listed in the budget, including Vista Park and Cool Springs, according to council members Lauralee Harris and Tobias.

Langley said that one of the challenges that they have faced is that there are “so many assets and so many things that we are trying to do, but there is not a plan for what we are doing [and] when.” He said that city staff wants to have a highly developed plan — a Parks Master Plan — that has good input from council and the community of what everybody wants to see in the parks.

The overall recommended budget for FY 2024-25 totals $365.4 million and is broken down into the following funds: capital improvement projects at $248,534,593 for expenditures, general fund at $67,941,203, water utility at $21,332,226, debt service at $13,584,004, wastewater utility at $12,514,225 and storm drainage at $2,415,401.

The current property tax rate is $0.4693 per $100 assessed valuation, but during his presentation, Director of Finance Perwez Moheet did not provide a proposed rate due to the city still waiting for certified tax rates from the Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector.

“Even though the city staff can do it, our financial advisor can do it, it’s not certified. It has to be completed or prepared by the Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office,” Moheet said. “We have submitted our request and we are anticipating that information back to us before Aug. 6.”

Kyle City Council will meet next on Tuesday, Aug. 6 to discuss several items including Water & Wastewater Cost of Service Study and the property tax rate. A public hearing and the first reading on the budget and property tax rate ordinances will be at 7 p.m. on Aug. 20 at city hall and the second reading will be on Sept. 3.

To learn more about the proposed city of Kyle 2024-25 budget, visit www.cityofkyle.com/finance/city-kyle-fiscal-year-2024-2025-budget.