Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

New Braunfels City Council Special Budget Workshop: August 18, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, August 18, 2026

BodyNew Braunfels, Texas

SessionCity Council & Boards

DateTuesday, August 18, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 5:03:44

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:01

I call this special meeting of the New Bronxville City Council to order.

0:05

Today's date is August 18, 2026, and it's 5 o'clock PM.

Unassigned speaker

0:11

We

Speaker 1

0:11

requested all cell phones and other devices beyond silent except emergency on call personnel.

0:17

Madam Secretary Gale, can you please call roll?

Speaker 2

0:20

Councilmember Carter's not present at this time.

0:22

Councilmember Capizi.

0:24

Here.

0:24

Councilmember Edwards.

Speaker 3

0:26

Here.

Speaker 2

0:27

Councilmember Sproadley.

0:28

Here.

0:29

Councilmember Lebowski.

0:30

Here.

0:31

Councilmember Shaw here.

0:33

And Mayor French.

Speaker 1

0:34

I'm here.

0:35

So a quorum is present.

0:37

So we will now proceed.

0:40

And uh please join me for the invocation brought to you by Councilwoman Lebowski, and then followed by two pledges of allegiance.

Speaker 4

0:51

Please join me in prayer.

0:53

Heavenly Father, we come before you this evening, grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of New Bromfels.

1:00

As we discuss our city budget, municipal services and tax rate, grant us wisdom and guidance.

1:08

Remind us that the decisions before

Unassigned speaker

1:11

us

Speaker 4

1:11

are more than numbers on a page.

1:16

They represent our taxpayers, our city employees, and our services that our residents depend on, and the future of our community.

1:29

Help us to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us.

1:35

Guide us.

1:37

Guide our decisions with patience, respect, and understanding, and help us make responsible decisions that serve the best interests of our entire community.

1:49

We ask your continued protection over our first responders, city employees, residents, and family.

1:57

In Jesus' name we pray.

1:59

Amen.

Speaker 1

2:34

Thank you everyone for being here tonight.

Unassigned speaker

2:37

We're

Speaker 1

2:38

going to start off with the workshop, and it's a presentation and discussion regarding the fiscal year 2027 proposed budget and plan of municipal services and the 2026 no new revenue and voter approval tax rates brought to you by Camerino, City Manager.

Unassigned speaker

2:56

Thank

Speaker 5

2:56

you, Mr.

2:56

Mayor, members of council.

2:58

Today is the second of three workshops that we have scheduled for this week.

3:04

Today we will actually be going through a departmental goal.

3:07

So you'll hear from each one of our departments, they'll present to you departmental goals, and then NBSTAT highlights.

3:49

So we also looked at our sales tax revenues one last time after the proposed budget was presented to you last week on Tuesday.

3:57

In fact, it was after

Unassigned speaker

3:59

that,

Speaker 5

3:59

that we received a sales tax revenue report, which came in better than we had initially projected.

4:06

So we've adjusted sales tax revenues to reflect that.

4:09

So we'll we'll show you what that what that uh how much additional revenue that is able to provide to us as well as and incorporate that in.

4:17

We've incorporated that into the three budget scenarios as well.

4:21

Um then also um on the agenda for tonight is a vote on the proposed tax rate.

4:27

If you are ready, we've also posted it for tomorrow night as

Unassigned speaker

4:30

well, so

Speaker 5

4:31

that if you're not ready tonight, you can certainly take that action and vote on the proposed tax rate.

4:36

Understanding that what whatever whenever you do vote on the proposed tax rate, what you're doing is setting the ceiling, the maximum tax rate, you can ultimately decide to adopt something lower than that.

4:46

So I just want to make sure that that's very clear to you.

4:49

Earlier today, uh emailed to you a copy of all of the unfunded resource requests for each of the departments in the city.

5:00

And so happy reading with that.

5:04

If you have any questions, please reach out.

5:06

We're happy to try to answer any questions that you may have.

5:09

But again, I hope that the budget scenarios that we present to

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety█████████████████████21%

Fiscal Sustainability███████████11%

Budget Equity Analysis████████8%

Economic Development████████8%

Airport Funding███████7%

Parks and Recreation███████7%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%

Technology and Innovation█████5%

Code Compliance█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

New Braunfels City Council Special Budget Workshop: August 18, 2026

The New Braunfels City Council held a special budget workshop on August 18, 2026, to review the Fiscal Year 2027 Proposed Budget and discuss the 2026 Tax Rate. Department heads presented strategic goals and performance metrics. City Manager Robert Camareno and Assistant City Manager Jared Werner led the presentations, highlighting updated sales tax revenue projections and three budget scenarios aligning with council priorities in police, fire, streets, and employee compensation.

Synopsis of Departmental Presentations & Council Deliberations

Transportation & Construction Services (Gary Ford): Presented goals including permit process improvements, ADA transition plan adoption, and the successful launch of a citywide microtransit system exceeding 50,000 rides.
Communications & Community Engagement (David Ferguson): Noted significant growth in media interest and social media following. Councilmember Carter inquired about the geographic breakdown of social media followers and the need for an additional staff member.
Economic & Community Development (Jeff Jewell): Discussed the downtown facade grant program (4:1 private-to-public investment), Civic Center operations (100k visitors annually), and the New Braunfels National Airport. Extensive council discussion centered on the airport's self-sustaining enterprise fund model, FAA grant funding, air traffic control hours, nighttime security, fire response capabilities (CFR 139 requirements), and the need for future growth forecasts.
Finance (Sandy Paulos): Announced the development of a public finance workshop for citizens and highlighted results from internal audits. Sales tax data showed significant contributions from HD Supply (wholesale industry) and the retail industry.
Fire Department (Chief Ruy Lozano): Highlighted a renegotiated ESD 7 contract increasing the annual payment to $3.9M. Requested four additional civilian fire inspectors to address over 5,260 commercial occupancies, noting two fires where inspections were missing. Reported that the Mobile Integrated Health program reduced super-utilizer calls by over 70%.
Human Resources (Becca Miears): Reported a positive trend in full-time employee turnover (7.9% year-to-date, down from 10.32% the previous year). The leading reason for separation remains compensation and advancement opportunities, accounting for 43% of separations year-to-date.
Information Technology (Tony Gonzalez): Stated cybersecurity metrics are below the industry average for the first time across all 12 months. Implemented a new network refresh strategy (20% per year) to avoid large capital expenditures. Requested a cybersecurity administrator position.
Library (Cole Johnson): Outlined a five-year goal to increase digital circulation by 50%. Detailed plans for the new Walnut Branch, including a playground and focus on digital collections. Council discussed staffing levels and workforce training programs for the public.
Neighborhood & Community Planning (Christopher Looney): Updated council on the Land Development Ordinance (LDO) adoption process and the Envision New Braunfels comprehensive plan update. Council expressed strong interest in developing a code compliance strategic plan and moving toward more proactive, equitable enforcement of city ordinances.
Parks & Recreation (Ken Wilson): Highlighted the need to update the park development impact fee ($2,038 per home), which has not been revised since 2021. Council supported reviewing fee structures. The operation of the downtown fountain during drought restrictions was discussed.
Police Department (Chief Osbaldo Flores): Announced the department will exceed its authorized sworn strength (173 officers) for the first time. Presented a reorganization plan including a power shift for patrol. Response times for priority 3 calls rose 53%, and priority 4 calls rose 72%. Discussed the need for 4 additional School Resource Officers (SROs), a real-time crime center, and support staff to handle rising calls for service.
Public Works (Matt Eckmann): Reported that recycling contamination is at a 10-year low (26.9%). Requested a dedicated roadway striping crew and additional funding for right-of-way beautification.
Convention & Visitors Bureau (Tanya Pence & Jonathan Packer): Presented the economic impact of tourism ($1.3B, 16k jobs, $31.7M directly to the city budget). The CVB is funded through Hotel Occupancy Tax. Council discussed the effectiveness of marketing expenditures and requested benchmarking administration costs against similar cities.

Tax Rate Scenarios & Budget Discussion

Updated Revenue: Jared Werner announced an additional $385,000 in recurring revenue and $237,000 in one-time revenue due to higher-than-expected June sales tax collections.
Scenario 1 (No New Revenue Rate): Proposes a 0.67 cent tax increase, providing $1.47M in new funding. This scenario funds a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase from 2.5% to 3%, 2 fire inspectors, 2 SROs, a legal assistant, a criminal investigator, a street crack sealer, $300k in additional concrete/ADA street work, and a contingency for the Humane Society.
Scenario 2 (One Cent Increase): Increases the COLA to 3.5% while funding the same items as Scenario 1.
Scenario 3 (Voter Approval Rate - 1.6 cent increase): Funds a 3.5% COLA, 4 fire inspectors, full street/ADA request ($400k), a cybersecurity administrator, a second MIH paramedic, and a second detective.
Council Direction: Councilmembers largely expressed support for moving forward with Scenario 1 (No New Revenue Rate) as the proposed tax rate ceiling, allowing flexibility to refine specific initiatives before final adoption.

Key Outcomes

No Vote on Tax Rate: The council postponed the vote on the Proposed 2026 Tax Rate (Item B) to the following scheduled meeting.
Future Dates Announced:
- Public Hearing on the tax rate and Proposed Budget: Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 6:00 PM.
- Adoption of the FY 2027 Proposed Budget and 2026 Tax Rate: Monday, September 14, 2026, at 6:00 PM.
The meeting adjourned at 10:06 PM.

Meeting Transcript

I call this special meeting of the New Bronxville City Council to order. Today's date is August 18, 2026, and it's 5 o'clock PM. We requested all cell phones and other devices beyond silent except emergency on call personnel. Madam Secretary Gale, can you please call roll? Councilmember Carter's not present at this time. Councilmember Capizi. Here. Councilmember Edwards. Here. Councilmember Sproadley. Here. Councilmember Lebowski. Here. Councilmember Shaw here. And Mayor French. I'm here. So a quorum is present. So we will now proceed. And uh please join me for the invocation brought to you by Councilwoman Lebowski, and then followed by two pledges of allegiance. Please join me in prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you this evening, grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of New Bromfels. As we discuss our city budget, municipal services and tax rate, grant us wisdom and guidance. Remind us that the decisions before us are more than numbers on a page. They represent our taxpayers, our city employees, and our services that our residents depend on, and the future of our community. Help us to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to us. Guide us. Guide our decisions with patience, respect, and understanding, and help us make responsible decisions that serve the best interests of our entire community. We ask your continued protection over our first responders, city employees, residents, and family. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you everyone for being here tonight. We're going to start off with the workshop, and it's a presentation and discussion regarding the fiscal year 2027 proposed budget and plan of municipal services and the 2026 no new revenue and voter approval tax rates brought to you by Camerino, City Manager. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of council. Today is the second of three workshops that we have scheduled for this week. Today we will actually be going through a departmental goal. So you'll hear from each one of our departments, they'll present to you departmental goals, and then NBSTAT highlights. So we also looked at our sales tax revenues one last time after the proposed budget was presented to you last week on Tuesday. In fact, it was after that, that we received a sales tax revenue report, which came in better than we had initially projected. So we've adjusted sales tax revenues to reflect that. So we'll we'll show you what that what that uh how much additional revenue that is able to provide to us as well as and incorporate that in. We've incorporated that into the three budget scenarios as well. Um then also um on the agenda for tonight is a vote on the proposed tax rate.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com