They are also not projecting to raise property taxes, keeping the 25-cent rate for the third consecutive year.

The city is currently in the process of adopting a budget for fiscal year 2010 and will schedule a public hearing date for the budget at the July 20 meeting.

The proposed budget totals $49 million and “allows all existing programs and services to be provided to the citizens of Tomball with no reduction in quality,” the city reported in a budget presentation to the city council.

The city is projecting that sales tax revenue, which the city’s general fund relies on for its primary source of income, will remain flat in 2010, just over $6 million, while property tax revenue could see a drop of more than $125,000. With commercial and residential development slowing significantly, the city is projecting seeing a decrease of $64,000 in building permit fees.

Overall, the city is planning to accrue $15.5 million in revenue, up 5 percent from last year’s $14.7 million.

Under the proposed budget, sales tax would account for 40 percent of all revenues, followed by money transfers into the budget (18 percent), service fees (14 percent), property tax (9 percent) and franchise tax (8 percent).

The city is projecting a 4 percent decrease in expenditures next year, with financial cuts in supplies ($146,000), fuel costs ($180,000), professional fees ($330,000) and training ($45,000). The largest expenditure increase cited in the proposed budget is $436,000 in health insurance, which is “mainly due to city wide health insurance premiums being transferred from GF (General Fund) to Insurance Trust Fund. A portion of the increase is due to rate increase.”

Total expenditures are projected to total just over $15 million, down from $15.5 million in fiscal year 2009.

The council is expected to approve the budget at the Aug. 17 meeting. The city could adopt the tax rate in October, depending on the release of tax rolls by the Harris County Appraisal District.

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