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(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham City Council member Jeff Dickinson and Mayor Alex Heartfield look over documents provided by City Manager Eric Garretty during a budget workshop Aug. 7, 2025. The city approved raising the water and sewer rates during the meeting and will consider another increase this year. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) City Manager Eric Garretty speaks to the Graham City Council during a budget workshop held Aug. 7, 2025. A third reading of an ordinance raising the water and sewer rates was adopted by the city council during the meeting which started impacting city residents in October.
The Graham City Council will soon begin its upcoming fiscal year budget planning process with decisions on debt issuance and utility rate increases under consideration.
City Manager Eric Garretty presented a preliminary budget planning calendar Thursday, Feb. 5 with key dates from February through September where the city will take action and host public hearings related to the budget and tax rate.
Key items the city manager said the city will have to consider include the issuance of new debt, ordinances to increase the water and sewer rates, approving the new capital improvement plan and funding support for Graham Municipal Airport, Library of Graham, Humane Society of Young County and the School Resource Officer program.
The city will have four budget workshops, with the first set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 608 Elm St. During this meeting the council will receive a budget overview and discuss the draft capital improvement plan.
The dates of the meetings following the first budget workshop Feb. 17, which was approved Thursday, are preliminary and subject to change following city council approval.
The second workshop is set for Thursday, March 19 during a regular city council meeting.
During this meeting, the council will discuss the potential of new debt for a new fire truck for Graham Fire Department and a wastewater treatment plant rehabilitation project.
“If we’re going to borrow money, get that design process kicked off and select our engineers for the design process, we’re going to need to move with haste to get all that done in this fiscal year to set up for the Fiscal Year 2027,” Garretty said.
Between the second and third budget workshops in May will be a public hearing on the proposed new debt and two readings of ordinances to adjust the water and sewer rates.
The third budget workshop and a public hearing on proposed water and sewer rate increases will be held during another evening meeting Tuesday, June 9.
“On the water side, we’ve been increasing in accordance with the rate study that we did back in 2024,” Garretty said. “On the sewer side, this debt and then some other things. …Sewer lines that are failing and rehabilitating lift stations are going to bear on those sewer rates.”
During the third budget workshop the council will discuss the water and wastewater budgets for the city, which are funded through the rates paid for each of those utility services.
A third and final reading of the ordinance to increase the water and sewer rates will be Thursday, June 25.
The proposed budget will be presented at the regular city council meeting held Thursday, July 23 along with a first reading of the new capital improvement plan.
In August, there will be two readings of the budget and tax rate ordinances as well as a public hearing on the budget Thursday, Aug. 13.
The final budget workshop will be held Thursday, Sept. 3, during a regular city council meeting. This meeting will be just before a town hall meeting and forum is held Thursday, Sept. 10 for the community to share thoughts and concerns about any city topics.
During a regular meeting of the city council Thursday, Sept. 10, a public hearing will be held on the tax rate. A week later on Thursday, Sept. 17, the city council will have the final reading of the capital improvement plan and consider adopting the budget and tax rate.
“I do want to note that in the event the proposed tax rate will require tax rate election. In other words, a proposed tax rate that exceeds the voter approval rate, this timeline will be compressed,” Garretty said. “To hold a tax rate election, the budget and tax rate must be approved during early August in order to meet notice deadlines for November elections.”
