Public questions level of itemization in Bastrop sales-tax district budget

A member of the public urged Bastrop officials to provide more detailed, department-level line items and to consider a forensic audit before approving the proposed 2026–27 sales tax district budget, while a city official said the posted budget is itemized and cited specific line ranges.

Charles Henry Bradford, who identified his address as 32 South Washington Street in Bastrop, told officials he did not see department-by-department itemization in the budget document and asked for clearer breakdowns of staffing counts, salaries and line-item spending. "I didn't see anything to stipulate what each department had anything itemized," Bradford said, adding that more granular figures on uniforms, vehicles and salaries would help residents understand how tax dollars are spent.

An official who responded in the hearing (referred to in the transcript as Mr. Smith) said the budget is prepared using the state-recommended chart of accounts and is itemized in the posted document. The official cited the budget's internal line ranges as examples: revenues on lines 1–85; administrative items on lines 88–171; city marshal lines 173–182; airport lines 184–198; public works lines 200–234; fire department lines 236–278; recreation lines 280–320; municipal center lines 323–335; and police department lines 337–372. "We did present an itemized budget," the official said.

Speakers sought to clarify whether Bradford had reviewed the sales tax district document specifically or a different copy of the general fund budget; the exchange did not produce a formal amendment or vote. Officials encouraged review of the posted budget and noted the line-numbered structure in the public document.

The presiding officer closed the public hearing for sales tax district No. 1 at 5:23 p.m. and then called for a motion to adjourn; a motion and second were made and the meeting was closed. The transcript does not record any formal vote or adoption of the budget during this session, nor does it specify a meeting date in the provided text.

Next steps: the hearing record indicates the public-comment period for the sales tax district budget concluded at 5:23 p.m.; the transcript does not specify whether the governing body later voted on the budget or scheduled further review.