At the Dec. 3 workshop, Public Works and finance staff reported estimated cost increases of about $5.65 million across the city’s fiscal‑year 2025 capital projects and proposed a funding package that would allow the city to proceed without delaying planned projects.

Public Works staff (identified in the transcript as David) described project‑level estimate increases informed by recent bids and updated design estimates. The increases include: $1.80 million for the residential paving program (including $1.75 million added for Bon Air Phase 1 street improvements and $220,000 for Vine and Wagner Way), $2.2 million across thoroughfare projects, and $1.65 million for utility projects such as Anthony Street sewer‑line replacement and Northeast Water Street water-line replacement.

David said some cost increases reflect adjustments to project scope (for example adding a right‑turn lane on Millett Drive near a school), while others reflect higher unit prices observed in recent bids. He also recommended considering more targeted street repairs (for example addressing the worst block segments rather than full‑neighborhood reconstruction) to reduce future costs.

Finance staff (Wesley Janacek) presented a funding plan to cover the approximately $5.65 million gap that would avoid delaying projects. The proposal identifies $2.2 million available from the city’s construction funds (composed of interest earnings and recent project underruns: roughly $620,000 from a 2024 mill-and‑overlay project and $329,000 from the 2024 residential project) and a projected $971,000 of interest income. Staff proposed using $300,000 from the TxDOT overpass fund as seed money and to increase the 2025 CO bond issuance by $1.75 million, which would raise the CO issuance to roughly $7.8 million total. Wesley said the tax-rate impact of the $1.75 million CO increase would be “about $0.2” (less than one cent) on the tax rate for a $250,000 home—roughly $6 per year using last year’s simple comparison, though council members noted that net year-to-year effects vary with appraisal changes.

Wesley also proposed modest amendments to the utility and sales‑tax budgets to absorb portions of the increase and noted that the utility fund would still be above its minimum reserves after the amendment. Staff emphasized these adjustments would allow the city to continue planned work rather than postpone projects.

Council members discussed the equity of neighborhood phasing, the trade-offs of full-neighborhood reconstruction versus smaller segments, and the operational capacity to design and manage more frequent, smaller projects in-house. Several members urged caution about committing to complete-neighborhood rebuilds when costs are rising.

Ending: Staff requested guidance to finalize a CO issuance resolution in January so the financing could close by March; council did not take a formal vote at the workshop. Staff said they will return with a final recommended financing resolution and related budget amendments for council action.