Gonzales City Council to hold public hearing on $31.3 million budget

The Gonzales City Council will hold a public hearing at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, to discuss a proposed fiscal year 2023-24 budget that calls for more than $31.3 million in expenditures and nearly $29.7 million in revenues.

The council will not take formal action on the budget or a proposed tax rate of 29.38 cents per $100 valuation until the next regular council meeting on Thursday, Sept. 14.

The budget is broken down into 13 different funds. Six of those are the General Fund (including JB Wells), Electric, Water, Wastewater, Solid Waste and Debt Service. The other seven are special dedicated funds for Tourism, the Gonzales Memorial Museum Fund, Forfeiture Fund, Municipal Court Fund, Robert L. Brothers Library Fund, PEG Franchise Actvities Fund and Economic Development.

With the exception of the Solid Waste, Tourism, Memorial Museum and Economic Development funds, all are budgeted to spend at the same level or less in 2023-24 than they did in 2022-23.
The budget calls for total expenditures of $31,308,637 and total revenues of $29,668,945. It anticipates the city will use $1,639,692 of its $14,159,721 combined total fund balance to balance the budget, leaving the city with an ending combined total fund balance of $12,520,029 on Sept. 30, 2024.

The General Fund, which includes the JB Wells Park, Arena & Expo, is anticipate to generate $10,065,560 in revenues against expenditures of $10,065,559. This represents a decrease of more than $2.1 million from the $12,170,044 budgeted this past fiscal year.

The largest percentage of general fund expenditures is the Police Department, which is expected to spend $2,850,480, or 31 percent of the general fund budget when excluding JB Wells, followed by the Fire Department, which has projected expenditures of $1,537,690, or 17 percent of the budget excluding JB Wells. Parks ($739,238, 8 percent), Streets ($698,051, 8 percent) and Finance ($605,583, 7 percent) are the next largest expenditure areas. The biggest decrease in expenditures came in the streets department (down from $2,425,296 in 2022-23) due to the conclusion of grants the city had received.

JB Wells has projected expenditures of $932,121 against revenues of $670,850. The lion’s share of expenditures for JB Wells comes from personnel expense ($465,294), operational expenses ($294,127) and maintenance costs ($89,000), while biggest revenue sources are from the Texas Junior High Rodeo ($177,500), horse stall rentals ($100,000), RV site rentals ($85,000) and arena and expo rental fees ($70,000 each).

The Electric Fund is projected to produce $11,212,245 in revenues and to expend $11,193,048, while the Water Fund will collect $3,208,440 and will spend $3,192,759 and the Wastewater Fund will collect $1,741,600 and will expend $1,541,943.

The Solid Waste Fund will generate $876,750 in income and will expend $850,468. The Debt Service Fund (DSF) revenues are estimated to come in at $828,200 with expenses of $815,200.

Tourism is  estimated to receive $575,000 in revenues and $603,284 in spending. The Memorial Museum is estimated to receive $2,500 in revenues and $9,000 in expenditures. The Forfeiture Fund is estimated to receive $4,300 in revenues and $20,500 in spending.

The Municipal Court Fund is estimated to receive $2,350 in revenues and $8,000 in spending. The Robert L. Brothers Fund is estimated to receive $1,700 and $30,600 in expenditures. The PEG Franchise Fund is estimated to receive $14,550 and to spend $75,000. The Economic Development Fund will have $1,135,750 in revenues and $2,903,275 in spending.