Staff recommends Lewisville proceed without a July tax-election option; outlines accelerated and standard budget calendars

City staff walked council through two calendar options for the FY27 budget: a standard timeline that assumes no tax-election and an accelerated schedule that would be required if the council were to call a tax-election before the tax-rate vote.

Staff said the standard calendar would submit the preliminary budget to council on Aug. 3, hold a budget workshop on Aug. 8, publish required notices in late August and hold the public hearing on the budget at the Sept. 14 council meeting and the tax-rate hearing and vote on Sept. 21. Under the accelerated option tied to a potential election, staff said many dates would shift earlier: a preliminary budget submission on July 6, one-on-one meetings beginning July 27, a July 31 budget workshop and an Aug. 14 special session for the public hearing and vote on the budget, with an Aug. 17 regular session reserved for the tax-rate hearing and vote and as the deadline to call a tax-election.

Staff warned that the accelerated path would require preparing two contingency budgets (one that assumes the election passes and one that assumes it does not) and would compress public-notice and publication windows. Staff recommended proceeding without the tax-election option for FY27 because of those operational and timeline constraints; the recommendation was presented for discussion and not voted on, and council members present voiced no objections during the retreat.

Staff also emphasized that certified tax rolls typically arrive around July 25 and that statutory notice requirements (publication timing and web posting) constrain when hearings and votes can occur. The recommendation to proceed without the election option was framed as a staff planning preference contingent on projections and council direction; staff said they will return with the preliminary budget and one-on-ones under the standard calendar if that path stands.

The retreat discussion closed with general agreement to monitor projections and revisit the decision if major assumptions change.