Seabrook city finance staff presented the August 2025 financial report on Sept. 16 and the City Council accepted required tax-rate calculations and set a public hearing on a proposed 2025 rate.

Mike, city finance staff, told the council that general fund collections through August were "just over $15,000,000" and that collections trailed the adopted budget by roughly $800,840. He said expenditures were under budget and projected fund balances remained healthy.

Council action and why it matters
Council accepted the statutory computations used to produce the no-new-revenue rate (0.428233) and the voter-approval rate (0.49577) and later approved a proposed city property tax rate of 0.464152 and called a public hearing for Sept. 25, 2025. Under state law, the no-new-revenue worksheet and the voter-approval rate must be placed in the official record before a final tax rate is adopted; the council complied with that requirement.

Key figures presented by staff
- General fund revenues through August: just over $15,000,000, approximately $800,840 below budget.
- General fund expenditures through August: about $13,300,000, under budget by about $1,700,000.
- Enterprise fund revenues through August: about $11,600,000, roughly $1,000,000 below budget.
- Hotel occupancy tax and EDC revenues were noted as running above budget in August.
- Average taxable homestead value used in the taxpayer impact statement increased from $303,000 last year to $317,000 this year; staff used that figure to calculate taxpayer impact under state worksheet rules.
- Staff presented the two-part property tax structure: maintenance and operations (M&O) and interest and sinking (I&S). The proposed increase in I&S to 0.126 was cited as the source of a roughly 2-cent increase in the overall rate.

Votes at a glance (official actions recorded Sept. 16)
- Consent agenda (minutes of 09/02/2025): Moved by Councilmember Hamlet, seconded by Councilmember Cabana; outcome: approved (unanimous).
- Item 4.1 — Acknowledge receipt of the certified appraisal roll from the Harris County Appraisal District: Moved by Councilmember Hammond, seconded by Councilmember Sanford; outcome: approved (unanimous).
- Item 4.2 — Accept 2025 no-new-revenue rate (0.428233) and voter-approval rate (0.49577) into the official record: Motion by Councilmember Hammond, second by Councilmember Sessum; outcome: approved (unanimous).
- Item 4.3 — Approve proposed 2025 property tax rate of 0.464152 and call public hearing on Sept. 25, 2025: Motion by Councilmember Hammond, second by Councilmember Cabana; record vote: Cabana yes, Sanford yes, Hammond yes, Cervantes yes, Sisson yes, Mayor Boats yes; outcome: approved (unanimous).
- Item 4.6 — Approve resolution authorizing city participation in a national opioid settlement agreement and authorize the city manager to execute related documents: Moved by (council member), seconded by Councilmember Sessom; outcome: approved (unanimous). Staff estimated Seabrook's share at roughly $9,000.

What council members said
Council members asked for clearer presentation of encumbered EDC funds and multi-year projections to avoid public confusion about what funds are actually available for new projects. One council member requested that staff include details showing which portions of EDC and other fund balances are already committed to projects.

Ending
The council placed the proposed rate (0.464152) on the schedule for a public hearing on Sept. 25 and accepted required state worksheets into the record. Staff will return with additional detail on encumbrances and multi-year projections if requested by council.