Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — The city of Dripping Springs is working on its fiscal year 2026 budget, anticipating to approve it, along with the tax rate, in September.
Dripping Springs City Council has had three budget workshops so far within the FY26 cycle, with the most recent being held July 15 to primarily go over the general fund.
As it is currently proposed, the general fund for the FY26 budget is sitting at $16,007,694.62 in revenue and $16,006,219.48 in expenditures. This is compared to the FY25 amended budget at $15,835,671.68 in revenue and $15,506,876.18 in expenditures, along with the projected FY25 budget — which is what the city is anticipating that it will look like at the end of the year — at $16,952,031.71 in revenue and $14,886,374.24 in expenditures.
Highlights of the FY26 general fund include:
$146,300 for office IT equipment and support
$319,428.93 for software
$2,655,000 for transportation improvement projects — including high visibility crosswalks, Arrowhead signal, ADA Transition Plan, development reviews, Master Plan update, etc.
$690,948.00 for street improvement projects
Additionally, $94,200.00 is proposed for office maintenance and repairs within the general fund, which includes $40,000 for electrical, HVAC and plumbing; $31,200 for office cleaning; $20,000 for preventative and corrective maintenance; and $3,000 for duct work, carpet cleaning and pest control. This line item has increased significantly since FY25, primarily because there are more facilities, such as Development Services, Dripping Springs City Hall, downtown restrooms and the visitors bureau.
During the July 15 budget workshop, city council member Geoffrey Tahuahua questioned why the city contracts office cleaning instead of handling it in-house. Deputy city administrator Shawn Cox responded, stating that it’s historically been done that way and he is unsure if it’s been discussed to do it internally.
“If we are getting all of these buildings clean for $31,000 a year, if we hire two people, obviously we are not going to get it done for $31,000 a year and even if we had our additional staff working to do it, we are not going to be able to pay them overtime at $31,000 a year,” said Mayor Bill Foulds. “So, I think, worrying about the office cleaning, it’s just a necessary product of it.”
The mayor continued, saying that the duct work could be combined with the HVAC line item and carpet cleaning could be eliminated, since the majority of it has been replaced.
“We want to be very clear what is in each of these line items, so we realize what money can and can not be spent on them,” Foulds said.
Dripping Springs City Council will have its next budget workshop at 6 p.m. Aug. 5, when council will go over utilities, impact fees and the Texas Water Development Board Project. To find more information or to look at meeting agendas, visit drippingsprings-tx.municodemeetings.com.
“We are ever-changing this as new estimates [and] new projections come through or as new projects come online or things change from fiscal year to fiscal year,” Cox said.
