The Southlake City Council has officially approved the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY 2025) Budget, focusing on tax relief, planning for smart growth, and maintaining Southlake’s high quality of life as the city continues to grow. Crafted with the City’s core values—Integrity, Innovation, Accountability, Commitment to Excellence, and Teamwork—the FY 2025 Budget ensures funds are allocated effectively, responsibly, and with the citizens' best interests in mind. Each decision reflects the City’s financial guiding principles, ensuring a balanced approach that supports both current needs and future growth. Take a look at a few key highlights included in the approved FY 2025 Budget. Tax Impact: The FY 2025 Budget features a $0.3050 tax rate, which is below the no-new-revenue rate, and represents the 7th consecutive year of tax relief measures aimed at helping property owners manage rising costs. In addition, the City continues to provide a 20% homestead exemption, the highest allowed by law, ensuring even greater savings for homeowners. Priorities and Focus Areas: Safety and Security: Continued investments will maintain the highest levels of safety for Southlake schools and all who live, work, or visit the city. This includes ongoing funding for School Resource Officers (SROs) and upgrades to public safety equipment. Funding is also included to enhance safety at City parks and other public facilities. Infrastructure and Development: Funding is allocated for essential infrastructure projects that support sustainable growth and enhance mobility throughout the city. This includes investments in vital services such as water and wastewater management. Ongoing investment to enhance in the City’s public infrastructure and open spaces also continues with this budget. From landscaping and public amenity upgrades in Town Square to supporting tree planting across the City through reforestation funding, this budget maintains the City’s commitment to high quality public spaces that are inviting and engaging to residents and visitors. Furthermore, each year, substantial investment is essential for Southlake’s technology infrastructure to maintain reliable and accessible city services. This budget allocates funds to ensure the ongoing maintenance and security of this critical infrastructure. Partnerships and Volunteerism: Volunteerism and partnerships are critical to not only the City’s services but also to developing and maintaining strong connections with key stakeholders and individual partners and volunteers. Volunteers play a crucial role in supporting and enhancing Southlake’s programs and events. In the past year, 1,149 volunteers contributed over 23,743 hours, which is valued at more than $755,000. This budget continues funding for our volunteer programs and community events. . Also, new for FY 2025, this budget provides for exciting new holiday progamming (hint – get ready to practice your ice skating skills!) that would not be possible without vital partnerships with key community stakeholders. We’re dedicated to continuing to strengthen partnerships in the coming year to enhance city services and boost community engagement and connection. Performance Management: Attracting, developing, and retaining a talented workforce is crucial for lasting world-class performance. Allocations have been made to recruit and retain top talent in our organization, ensuring we continue to deliver exceptional service aligned with our resident and customer needs. The FY 2025 Budget reflects Southlake’s commitment to upholding the best fiscal practices while prioritizing citizen’s needs. It ensures that the city remains focused on its mission of providing exceptional services, fostering community, and planning for a prosperous future. View this week’s Southlake City Spotlight to hear Mayor Shawn McCaskill talk more about the Approved FY 2025 Budget in the video below. For more detailed information on the FY 2025 Budget, residents can visit the City's Budget webpage.
