Mesquite city leaders used a goal‑setting workshop to lay out budget priorities and a timeline for the coming months, emphasizing that council direction today will guide staff work while final tax appraisal numbers remain pending.

City Manager Cliff Kaheeli opened the budget segment by telling council members the workshop will shape department budget presentations but that the property appraisal data from the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) will not be available in a form staff can use until June. “It is a little bit premature to say we have what we can and cannot do,” Kaheeli said, adding staff will present strategy options through June and July and return with the formal budget allocation at a budget retreat currently scheduled for July 19.

Kaheeli said the council should focus on policy priorities rather than operational details during the workshop so staff can prepare options. He reviewed the city’s method for setting priorities — a citizen survey conducted every two years plus input from district meetings, town halls and service requests — and noted the main themes the survey yields: safety, attractive neighborhoods, improved transportation and mobility, a vibrant economy, transparent government and quality recreation and culture.

The manager also summarized recent accomplishments that grew out of prior goal‑setting: an animal shelter expansion, expanded on‑street parking enforcement, a behavioral health unit and coordinated homeless‑encampment response, a Mesquite Alerts system with “over 4,000 contacts,” additional K‑9 units and an expanded Star Now mobility program that logged more than 12,000 trips last year. He told council the goal of today’s session is to provide staff direction on programs, initiatives and capital priorities that should be considered during the formal budget process.

Council members pressed staff for more financial context as they gave direction. Councilmember Rodriguez Ross asked for the city’s debt schedule to be included with budget materials so members can better plan around fixed obligations. Kaheeli said staff will include current debt issuances and a capacity estimate for new projects in the budget presentations.

Several council members highlighted priorities they want reflected in staff’s work: expanded economic development in targeted areas (Town East/Motley was added to the target list), ongoing emphasis on downtown revitalization, continued focus on roads and alleys, and progress on a recreation/community center in South Mesquite. Councilman Burrows urged staff to begin design work so the project can advance when funding is available; Kaheeli said a contract for a recreation‑center feasibility and programming study is expected to be ready in May.

Kaheeli closed by reminding the council that staff will present strategy briefings at council meetings between June and August to help shape the formal budget and invited members to specify additional information they want included in those sessions.

Looking ahead, staff will provide: (1) strategy presentations by departments beginning in June, (2) continued community engagement and town halls (the manager said a May town hall will focus on rental‑housing programs), and (3) the budget retreat for allocation decisions in mid to late July.