<p style="margin-left:0in;" data-pasted="true">The purpose of this work session item is to provide City Council with a conservative revenue forecast for FY2027 before staff presents the expenditure side of the proposed budget next month.</p><p style="margin-left:0in;">This discussion is intended to establish the revenue framework for the FY2027 budget. Council has already provided direction that staff should use conservative revenue assumptions. As a result, this update is not intended to seek direction on whether to use optimistic, moderate, or conservative projections. Instead, staff is presenting the conservative revenue baseline that will be used to determine how much recurring revenue is available to fund operations, transfers, capital needs, and other budget priorities.</p><p style="margin-left:0in;">The expenditure side of the FY2027 budget will be presented separately. This revenue update is intended to help Council understand the size of the available revenue base and where the City’s primary financial pressure points are likely to occur.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0in;">Summary of FY2027 Conservative Revenue Assumptions</h3><p style="margin-left:0in;">For FY2027 budget development, staff recommends using the following conservative assumptions for the City’s two largest General Fund revenue sources:</p><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><thead><tr><td valign="bottom"><p style="margin-left:0in;">Revenue Source</p></td><td valign="bottom"><p style="margin-left:0in;">FY2027 Conservative Planning Amount</p></td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><p style="margin-left:0in;">General Fund Property Tax</p></td><td valign="top"><p style="margin-left:0in;">$4,000,000</p></td></tr><tr><td valign="top"><p style="margin-left:0in;">General Fund Sales Tax</p></td><td valign="top"><p style="margin-left:0in;">$3,500,000</p></td></tr><tr><td valign="top"><p style="margin-left:0in;"><strong>Total Major General Fund Revenues</strong></p></td><td valign="top"><p style="margin-left:0in;"><strong>$7,500,000</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin-left:0in;">These two revenue sources represent the core recurring revenue base available to support General Fund operations. While other revenues such as franchise fees, municipal court revenue, permits, charges for service, investment income, and reimbursements will also be included in the FY2027 budget, property tax and sales tax are the two primary drivers of the City’s overall operating capacity.</p><h3 style="margin-left:0in;">Property Tax Revenue Assumption</h3><p style="margin-left:0in;">Staff recommends using <strong>$4,000,000</strong> as the conservative FY2027 General Fund property tax revenue assumption.</p><p style="margin-left:0in;">This amount generally holds the City close to the current budgeted property tax level and does not assume a significant increase from preliminary appraisal growth. While preliminary values indicate that the tax base remains strong, certified

Bastiat Liberty & Property Rights Analysis

This motion is scored as RESTRAINS_GOVERNMENT (Impact Weight: 2.6/10). Under the Bastiat Liberty Watchdog Index, voting YES on measures that cap or reduce ad valorem tax burdens, expand taxpayer exemptions, retire debt early, enforce competitive bidding caps, or remove regulatory/zoning barriers to private property rights earns a positive Pro-Liberty score.