By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Bowie City Councilors learned Monday night there are limited ways to increase budget revenue to help fund badly needed infrastructure as they reviewed and debated the budget draft for 2023-24.
All the council members attended with the exception of Jason Love. It was an opportunity for councilors to ask questions about budget requests and needs. The workshop lasted two hours.
Overall budget expenses are offered at $21,805,000 for the utility and general fund. Finance Director Pamela Woods presented the draft last week noting this is about $600,000 above last year’s budget. The draft does not include new debt service or vehicle lease details for the new year, but uses the prior year’s amounts as the figures are finalized.
The budget includes a 3-5% salary increase that would be administered by the department heads to their staffs based on merit pay policy. Health insurance is expecting a 12% raise and property liability and worker’s compensation will go up 15%, and those figures are being finalized. The city also is awaiting the arrival of certified property values in mid-July to put a final projection for ad valorem taxes.
On the revenue side there will be a rate increase for sewer rates which was part of an overall rate plan connected to repayment of the Texas Water Development Board $9.7 million loan for replacing 10 miles of sewer line. For base residential the rate will go from $23.90 to $24.86 the per 1,000-gallon rate above base will go from $4.16 to $4.33.
New employees will include those who staff summer recreation as the parks department tries to revitalize that program with 10 part-time workers. Previously it was stopped due to a lack of staffing. The fire department has asked for three new workers and one part-time person.
In finance, it has been sharing a worker with water, but has asked to make that person full-time. The police department also reflects the two new school resource officers that were added mid-year. The legislature has now mandated security officers at various levels based on district size.

There were questions about funds for improvements, additional staffing and how they were going to pay for some major infrastructure projects.

Read the full story on the workshop in the mid-week Bowie News.