Stafford's city council completed its final budget workshop for fiscal year 2026-27 on Tuesday, Sept. 15. Council members amended the proposed spending plan ahead of a Wednesday, Sept. 30 adoption vote.

The City of Stafford said on X that changes were made to the proposed budget during the workshop. The city did not detail what was changed.

Minutes from the Sept. 15 session have not been posted.

The budget heading into the workshop carried a projected $1,931,695 general fund shortfall. That preliminary plan, presented at a July 8 workshop, showed $31 million in revenue against $32.9 million in total expenses, according to council agenda records. That preliminary gap was about $399,000 smaller than the $2.3 million shortfall in the current FY2025-26 budget. Whether the Sept. 15 amendments narrowed, widened or closed the FY2026-27 gap is not yet public.

Stafford does not levy a city property tax. The city depends on sales tax revenue as its primary funding source, which means the shortfall would be covered through fund balance reserves or other non-tax adjustments rather than a tax increase on homeowners.

The preliminary budget listed $23.7 million in salaries and benefits for active employees, with 10 vacant positions excluded from that figure. Capital one-time spending requests totaled $1,498,576. Personnel proposals discussed in July included a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for non-public-safety employees at a cost of $246,353, market-rate adjustments for workers paid more than 10% below market at $238,474 and police pay options ranging from a 2.5% step increase ($195,492) to a combined step-and-COLA package ($430,082).

The city's fiscal position drew a vote of confidence from Moody's Investors Service in July 2026, when the agency upgraded Stafford's credit rating from A2 to A1, the highest the city has received. Moody's cited strong reserves, with the city's fund balance exceeding 40% of revenue, according to a city announcement.

Chief Financial Officer Alka Shah said in a July 17 city press release that the upgrade "demonstrates that our conservative budgeting and commitment to accountability are producing real results that benefit our residents … and strengthen Stafford's future."

Mayor Ken Mathew and council members Tim Wood, Alice Chen, William Bostic Jr., Xavier Herrera, Virginia Rosas and Wen Guerra are set to take the final vote. The Wednesday, Sept. 30 meeting will be held at City Hall, 2610 S. Main St. Residents can check staffordtx.gov for the meeting time and agenda.