Page 48 - CityofSouthlakeFY26AdoptedBudget

The budget also includes funding for a new initiative to enhance the City’s agility in firefighter recruitment
through a lateral hiring program. The goal is to attract experienced, credentialed paramedics who can
be deployed to operations more quickly than new recruits requiring lengthy training. This strategy
strengthens operational readiness, reduces training-related lag time, and supports service continuity. A
budget allocation of $72,906 is included to ensure internal pay equity for current team members with
comparable experience, reinforcing fair and consistent compensation practices within the department.

In the benefits category, the budget includes funding to support both increased insurance costs and
the City’s retirement obligations. Following a favorable 5% rate renewal with the City’s health insurance
provider, the budget allocates funding to cover premium increases as well as enhancements to the
City’s contribution toward employee dependent coverage. Additionally, funds are included to meet the
required contribution rate and support the City’s targeted amortization goals for retirement benefits
Budget Overview
provided through the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS). These investments ensure the City
remains competitive in the labor market while upholding long-term financial commitments.

In total, FY 2026 personnel expenditures in the General Fund are adopted to increase $1,582,792. These
expenditure increases represent 82% of the General Fund expenditure growth.

Operations: The General Fund includes the operational dollars needed to provide basic services such
as police and fire, public works, parks, recreation, library services, and inspections. There are requests
that maintain the City’s current service levels but require additional funding to do so. The full list of
expenditure highlights can be found in the General Fund expenditure highlights table.

Service enhancements: As a service enhancement, the City is adjusting its agreement with Rise Flag
Football to bring all participant registrations in-house through our Active registration system. This
change will provide a better experience for participants by eliminating third-party processing fees—
reducing the average cost per registration by $27. It also results in a net financial gain for the City of
approximately $12,815 annually. Additionally, this transition gives the City greater operational control
over residency verification. Unlike the previous process, which relied on self-selection, the City’s Active
system uses GIS-based address verification to ensure that resident discounts are accurately applied.

Transfers from General Fund to Other Funds: The General Fund is the source of funding for several
important other funds that support the maintenance of critical infrastructure or the acquisition of heavy
equipment. These transfers flow from the General Fund to the Strategic Initiative Fund with total
transfers for this purpose budgeted at $4,000,000. See the Strategic Initiative Fund information for a
detailed list of transfer funding.

Fund balance. The City of Southlake Fund Balance Policy, adopted in 1993, states that the “goal shall be
to maintain a fund balance in the General Fund equal to a minimum of 15% of General Fund-budgeted

Maintaining a fund balance at the optimum level identified in the City’s policy
addresses the focus area of Performance Management & Service Delivery and the
strategic corporate objective of “Safeguarding the public trust through a commitment
to thoughtful planning and responsible, conservative financial management.

48 FY 2026 City of Southlake | Budget Book FY 2026 City of Southlake | Budget Book 49