Fair Oaks Ranch mayor outlines five priorities, touts clean audit and strong bond rating

Mayor Greg Maxton told residents at the city’s 2026 State of the City address that Fair Oaks Ranch remains financially stable while focusing city work on five core priorities: public health and safety; reliable and sustainable infrastructure; responsible growth management; operational excellence; and financial responsibility. "We focus on public health and safety, reliable and sustainable infrastructure, responsible growth management, operational excellence, and financial responsibility," Maxton said.

The city reported a clean annual audit and a double-A-plus bond rating, which Maxton described as the highest rating the city can receive given its size. The administration also highlighted a $78,000 state IT grant to replace aging equipment and ongoing state reimbursements that offset property tax exemptions for disabled veterans. City council approved a property tax rate of 28.53¢ for the coming year, unchanged from the prior year.

The mayor outlined the city’s budget process, which uses a five-year strategic plan and a five-year financial forecast to set priorities and project a property tax rate. He said council and staff refine the first year of that plan into specific projects and objectives that drive the coming year’s budget.

Maxton and city staff emphasized transparency tools already in place: an annual financial report, a new "budget in brief" eight-page summary, and public access to all financial documents on the city website. The finance department’s work was spotlighted with repeated state and national recognitions; the department received GFOA’s Triple Crown award for the fourth consecutive year.

The address positioned these fiscal safeguards as the basis for planned investments—road reconstruction, water infrastructure upgrades and wastewater capacity increases—while maintaining one of the lowest municipal tax rates in the region.