Adopted Budget

Fiscal Year 2025-2026

This adopted budget ensures the financial strength of the organization by providing a balanced budget, including the structural balance of the General Fund. This adopted budget is built upon, and aligned with, the City Council’s strategic goals.

FY26 Adopted Budget

Budget Highlights

  • A $649.8 million city-wide budget. A modest 0.1% increase from the previous year.
  • A $210.3 million general fund budget to support core services like public safety, street and bridge maintenance, community and economic development, culture and recreation, and administration.
  • A $134.2 million Capital Improvement Program focusing on infrastructure modernization.
  • A $20.3 million investment in personnel compensation and benefits to provide competitive salaries for City employees.
  • A $9.6 million investment in fire and police for enhanced public safety services.

For this year’s budget preparation process, City departments undertook a rigorous efficiency evaluation considering anticipated inflationary and economic pressures. Through this initiative the City of Waco achieved $32.2 million cost savings by eliminating more than 70 vacant positions, restructuring employee positions and department functions, implementing process improvements and technology solutions, and reducing professional services contracts. These strategic cost-saving measures will maintain the high quality of core services provided to Waco residents while also enabling future service enhancements.

Impact on Taxpayers and Ratepayers

The average City of Waco homeowner and utility bill customer can expect to see an increase in their monthly payment for City services of $11.18. The adjustment breakdown includes:

  • Higher property valuations provided to the City by McCAD
  • $5.01 average increase for water, wastewater, and solid waste fees
  • $1 average decrease to the drainage fees
  • $2 increase to the street maintenance fee for single-family homeowners

Service Enhancements & New Initiatives

In the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget, many new service enhancements and initiatives were approved, particularly for Waco’s public safety departments, infrastructure and technology needs, community services, and quality of life amenities.

  • Public Safety: Additional firefighter positions, a public safety psychologist, a crime scene technician, emergency management compensation improvements, enhanced training, and equipment for first responders.
  • Infrastructure & Technology: Maintenance funding for the Foster Pavilion parking garage and Fire Station 15, intelligent voice agent software, and IT system reorganization with staff market adjustments.
  • Community Services: Continued operation of the Doris Miller Pool, enhanced parks and recreation programs, and improved customer service capabilities across all departments.

Capital Improvement Projects

The FY26 Capital Improvement Program represents a strategic investment in critical infrastructure that will enhance service delivery and support long-term community growth.

  • Comprehensive street and bridge maintenance, preservation, reconstruction, and rehabilitation projects to maintain and enhance our transportation network.
  • Modernization of the water treatment plants to expand capacity in addition to improving pump stations and storage facilities, upgrading and expanding wastewater systems, and enhancing drainage infrastructure including the Lake Brazos dredging project.
  • Implementing the pre-construction phase for the new Fire Station 8 facility.
  • Developing a new police crime lab and property room facility.
  • Airport runway rehabilitation project.
  • Cameron Park Zoo jaguar exhibit expansion.
  • Cottonwood Creek infrastructure improvements.

Timeline

The proposed budget and certified tax roll were presented to Waco City Council on Tuesday, August 5. Over the following weeks, the City Council will review and may initiate amendments to the proposed budget. A final presentation on the budget will be made to City Council on Tuesday, August 19, to summarize any additional updates to the budget before the final budget adoption on Tuesday, September 2. The approved budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 will go into effect starting Wednesday, October 1.

The public is welcome to view or attend any of the public hearings at a City Council meeting. Meetings are held at the Bosque Theater in the Waco Convention Center, 100 Washington Ave., and are livestreamed at mywacotv.com.

For more information, media partners may contact Blu Kostelich, Assistant City Manager and Chief Financial Officer, at bluk@wacotx.gov.

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