Megan Navarro
DRIPPING SPRINGS — Dripping Springs City Council is continuing workshopping the fiscal year 2027 budget, with the latest review on the Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT), Dripping Springs Ranch Park (DSRP), Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau (DSVB) and farmers market funds at its Tuesday, July 14, meeting.
Hotel Occupancy Tax
Since the budget was filed June 30, there were some amendments made to the HOT fund, including:
• An amended $62,900 in FY 2027 grants — approved by the application review committee — as compared to the proposed $83,020, which is a change of $20,120.
• A transfer of $255,000 to the general fund in FY 2025, related to the downtown restroom project, was anticipated to occur before the end of the fiscal year. As this did not happen, this was carried over to FY 2026.
• A new line item, known as capital reserve, was reduced from $350,000 to $100,000, based on available funding. The reserve is intended for future capital projects supported by HOT funds.
In the proposed HOT budget, the revenues total $910,000 and expenditures at $1,199,428.
One of the main highlights is signage, with the city projecting to end FY 2026 at $121,200, according to the presentation given to council. Staff is also proposing $150,000 for FY 2027 for the second phase of a signage project that includes the remaining 10 wayfinding signs and one to two monument signs. The first phase, however, included 10 wayfinding signs in center city at $110,000 that was budgeted this year in the HOT fund.
The remaining monument sign is slated for phase three in 2028.
Other highlights include the following transfers and grants:
• Transfer to debt service: $88,528
• Transfer to DSVB: $425,000
• Transfer to Event Center: $330,000
• Capital reserve: $100,000
• Friends of the Pound House grant: $16,525
• Roller derby grant: $4,250
• Vintage Market Days grant: $12,625
• Outlast Austin grant: $22,500
• Art league grant: $7,000
Dripping Springs Ranch Park
For the FY 2027 budget, the total revenues for the DSRP fund are $999,475 and expenditures are $920,481.
On the revenue side, highlights of the proposed budget include the following: $111,500 for facility rentals; $15,000 for equipment rental; $51,755 for sponsorships and donations; $140,000 for Coyote Camp; $10,000 for miscellaneous events; $140,000 for ice rink; and $330,000 for transfer from HOT.
DSRP is proposing a significant improvement project for another year, according to deputy city administrator Shawn Cox.
Currently, the main facility restrooms — with residential-style tank toilets not designed for high-volume public use — have been causing significant challenges. These include frequent plumbing failures during large events, continuous need for repairs, increased maintenance costs and more.
“I think, originally, we were looking at $90[,000]. We bumped it to $100[,000] down the road and now, we're proposing $200,000 for this. Essentially, what it's doing is replacing the toilets in those restrooms with commercial grade. So, it's kind of residential grade. [They] tend to clog a lot [and] tend not to hold up to the usage that we have when we have those large events,” Cox said. “We've looked at it every year during the budget process. There's always, unfortunately, been bigger projects that kind of needed to be completed first, but now, we're over the hill on that one and so, we're bringing this one to council.”
Because of this, staff is looking at having the restrooms remodeled for a proposed $200,000 to replace nine toilets in the men’s restroom, as well as 16 toilets in the women’s restroom, with a commercial-grade flush valve design, as well as standardizing the fixtures throughout the facility.
“Every handle is different. Every bowl is different, so it’s just streamlining that [and] making sure that they are meant to handle the volume that we are seeing,” added DSRP manager Lily Sellers.
Council member Geoffrey Tahuahua mentioned that when he has attended events at the facility, he has found that the sink faucets are constantly left on. Due to this, he suggested that staff look at the cost for installing an automatic system: “My guess is that we probably lose quite a bit of water in some of those instances and so, that might be kind of a happy medium in terms of gaining some of that efficiency,” he said.
Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau
In his presentation on the DSVB fund, Cox noted that the following highlights make up the total revenue of $493,500:
• Wedding Showcase fees: $9,000
• Songwriters Festival fees: $500
• Songwriters Festival merchandise: $5,000
• Songwriters Festival sponsorship: $30,000
• Stars of Dripping Springs sponsorship: $24,000
• Transfer from HOT: $425,000
The expenditures total $548,811, with $121,500 of that being for advertising and marketing, which is a $10,000 increase from FY 2026, due to the state travel guides, according to Cox.
A total of $29,000 for improvements is also included as an expenditure highlight, with $26,000 annotated as stairs and walkway for the “springs that go down to the creek,” Cox explained, in which city staff is working with the property owner to help clean that area due to public interest.
“It's cool in the summertime, sometimes, and I know for the special events like Founders [Day] and everything, a lot of people were utilizing that walkway and hanging down there when it got a little hot,” he said. “It's been a project that they've looked at for a couple of years now, working with the property owner, just to get it cleaned up down there.”
Mayor Bill Foulds asked for clarification because he was told the $26,000 was for rebuilding the porch, or stairs, at the DSVB. However, Cox, along with DSVB manager Pam King, responded that this is a new line item for the stairs and walkway for the springs; the other project by the visitors bureau has already been budgeted for in the FY 2026 budget and will be done in August.
According to city administrator Michelle Fischer, staff sent the property owner an easement months ago to help the city in cleaning up that area. The easement, which has not been signed, would allow for public access as well, but “nothing could be done on that property with any city money without an easement that met the qualifications for us to spend those funds,” she said.
“My bigger issues is, it’s one thing if we're clearing a private easement for the purposes of just general public access, but stairs and walkway is an actual improvement that isn't transferable and I do think there are some local government code challenges with making improvements on private property,” said Tahuahua. “I know we're talking to him about a bunch of stuff, but I think we need some more clarification on this one. I like the idea. I just think there's maybe, we'll say, some legal hurdles before we can move full steam ahead on that.”
Understanding that there could be some legal hurdles, King emphasized that approximately 80% that walk into the DSVB office looking for visitor information and tourist spots want to see the springs that the town is named after, but the current access is not safe. Therefore, she wants it to be on the books that the project is a priority to have a tourism impact.
“I do have some legal concerns because it is technically still private property. If it was a property that was already owned by the city and we're talking about improving the access, that's a very different conversation. But especially if we're talking stairs and walkway, which isn't transferable. I mean, I guess we could technically repo the stairs if you were to sell it off to someone else, but again, logistically, they're just not,” Tahuahua said. “I feel like there's a step maybe before a different conversation we maybe need to have with them first and then, maybe this is step two of that conversation.”
Council member Ana Grace Husted agreed that the springs, as the city’s namesake, should be a tourist attraction, but she is hesitant on green lighting a large sum of money into something that is not guaranteed to be kept open to the public.
Farmers market
Finally, Cox went over the budget for the Dripping Springs Farmers Market, in which $93,896 makes up the revenue and $92,447 in expenditures. The latter has an increased line item of $2,000 compared to FY 2026 from the committee in anticipation of the move to the Stephenson Building, covering costs for signs, banners and other materials.
“They're looking at utilizing that parking lot area for the farmers market. I believe in addition or offsetting sometimes to DSRP, as well, depending on the weather and the temperature, but this additional funding is for signage, should they need to direct people to the Stephenson location of the farmers market,” the deputy city administrator explained.
Dripping Springs City Council is set to go over the debt service fund Tuesday, Aug. 4. To view the proposed budget and more, visit www.drippingspringstx.gov/city-treasurer/pages/budget-tax-rate.
