Stafford to pull $1.7 million from fund balance for 2025 budget – Houston Public Media

City of Stafford website

The city of Stafford on Monday passed a roughly $34.6 million budget for fiscal year 2025.

Council members spent months debating whether to put a property tax on the ballot after nearly 30 years without one. They ultimately failed to pass the measure in late August, leaving about a month for the city to finalize its budget.

Stafford will borrow roughly $1.7 million from its fund balance – the city’s savings account – to cover expenses.

Mayor Ken Mathew has been a staunch opponent of the property tax. He defended the new budget at a council meeting on Monday.

“This city is not for saving accounts,” he said. “Yes, we have to have enough money to operate the city. But at the same time, our job is not to have the higher … fund balance.”

Councilwoman Virginia Rosas – who led efforts to put a property tax on the ballot – cast the lone vote in opposition to the new budget.

“We should be the laughing stock of Fort Bend County,” she said at Monday’s city council meeting. “Our signs are fading, our streets are breaking up, our sidewalks are broken.”

During a public hearing portion of the meeting, Fire Chief Larry Di Camillo expressed concerns about a reduction in spending for his department. He said the cuts would impact vehicle maintenance and the department’s overtime budget.

“At the end of all of this, we are going to be operating at a $300,000 reduction from our current service levels,” he said. “The conundrum that we’re going to find ourselves in, in short order, is going to be that from an emergency response capability – and I’ve said this before – we are a zero-sum game. Police and fire are a zero-sum game.”

The fire chief’s comments sparked discussion among city council members, who expressed a desire to increase the fire department’s spending.

Di Camillo said he would provide updated numbers to restore vehicle maintenance and overtime spending to fiscal year 2024 levels at a future city council meeting, where members could revise the budget.