Where Seguin’s Tax Dollars Go in the FY2027 Budget
Seguin’s proposed FY2027 budget contains hundreds of pages, dozens of funds and millions of dollars in transfers between accounts. For residents, however, the most important question is much simpler:
Where is our money going?
The City’s proposed budget totals approximately $234.5 million across all funds, but that does not mean Seguin is spending $234 million in property and sales taxes.
A large portion of the budget consists of the City-owned electric, water and wastewater utilities, bond proceeds, capital-project funds and other restricted accounts. The City’s primary tax-supported operating account is the General Fund, proposed at approximately $60.7 million for FY2027.
Public Safety Is the Largest Priority
By far, the largest identifiable departmental investment in the General Fund is public safety.
The proposed FY2027 Police Department budget is approximately $14.25 million, up from $13.31 million in the current budget.
The Fire/EMS budget increases from approximately $12.41 million to $13.38 million.
Together, police and fire account for approximately $27.6 million—roughly 45 percent of the entire stated General Fund budget.
The budget also adds public-safety personnel. Police is scheduled to receive two additional officers during the fiscal year, while Fire/EMS is funding additional firefighter/paramedics and a community paramedic as the City responds to increasing call volumes and continued population growth.
For residents who believe the core responsibility of local government is public safety, the budget clearly reflects that priority.
Streets, Parks, Library and Other Services
Other major General Fund expenditures include:
Parks and Recreation — $3.32 million
Public Works — $3.06 million
Planning and Codes — $2.90 million
Public Library — $2.32 million
Information Technology — $1.91 million
Finance — $1.28 million
Brush Department — $960,000
Animal Services — $858,000
These departments provide many of the services residents see every day—from street maintenance and parks to permits, code enforcement, library services and brush collection.
Personnel remains the largest overall cost of providing those services. The City Manager reports that salaries and employee benefits represent approximately 67.8 percent of General Fund expenditures.
The FY2027 proposal includes a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment beginning in January 2027, funding for the City’s merit-pay program and increased health-insurance costs.
Where the Money Comes From
Seguin does not rely on property taxes alone.
The General Fund expects approximately $24.45 million in property-tax revenue, including current and delinquent taxes and penalties.
Sales taxes are budgeted at approximately $15.36 million.
Other significant sources include right-of-way user fees, refuse and recycling charges, EMS revenues, development fees, franchise revenues and intergovernmental agreements.
This diversity matters because some revenue sources are much less predictable than property taxes.
FY2026 is a good example. Sales-tax revenue is expected to finish nearly $3 million above the original budget, partly because Seguin received several unusually large audit payments. Interest income and other revenues have also performed better than expected.
We believe there is value in the City taking a conservative approach when estimating revenues. It is better to finish the year with more revenue than expected than to build a budget around optimistic projections that fail to materialize.
Property Taxes Are Still Increasing
Conservative budgeting does not mean residents should ignore tax increases.
The current City property-tax rate is $0.5135 per $100 of taxable value. Staff is proposing a FY2027 rate of $0.5294, which is also above the calculated no-new-revenue rate of $0.5200.
The budget states that Seguin expects to raise approximately $1.21 million more in property-tax revenue than the previous budget, a 5.77 percent increase. Approximately $1.08 million of that additional revenue is attributed to new property added to the tax roll.
That is an important distinction in a rapidly growing community. Growth produces additional tax revenue—but growth also creates demand for more police officers, firefighters, streets, drainage, utilities and other infrastructure.
What About the General Fund Balance?
The proposed budget also shows approximately $3.99 million being drawn from accumulated General Fund balance.
After examining the capital schedules, that money appears tied primarily to capital equipment, technology, vehicles and projects rather than recurring salaries and employee benefits.
Seguin has followed a similar approach for years: budget revenues conservatively, allow favorable year-end results to accumulate, and then use some of those resources for capital needs.
That is generally more prudent than using temporary revenue windfalls to create permanent operating expenses.
The Bigger Question
Seguin is growing, and the budget reflects the cost of that growth.
More money is going toward police and fire protection. Streets and infrastructure require continued investment. Employee compensation must remain competitive. Aging equipment must be replaced.
The challenge for City Council is not simply whether any one expenditure is justified.
It is ensuring that the total cost of city government grows at a pace residents can sustain—and that new growth pays an appropriate share of the costs it creates.
As Council considers the FY2027 budget, that is the question Better Seguin believes deserves continued attention.
