Lago Vista budget leans on tree fees for $360,750 in park plans

The budget's General Fund also counts on $200,000 in new tree fees and an $85,000 transfer from the tree fund.^5,6 On Sept. 25, the mayor's budget sheet asked Finance to confirm the fees are legally available for general operations.⁷

The three projects are $150,000 for the first phase of a park on Dawn Drive, a $137,000 walkway at Bowden Point Park, and $73,750 to plant trees at the golf course. The capital improvement plan marks all three "Planning" and lists the tree fund, not the General Fund reserve, as the money source for each.^8,9,10 Council Member Paul Prince said on Sept. 17 that each project "needs to have further definition and be brought before council."^11,12

Sums, averages, and percentages in this story are our calculations from the cited records. Every other figure comes from the records we cite.

What the tree fee is and who decides

The city's tree rule requires replacement trees to match the total caliper inches of protected trees removed. A caliper inch measures a tree's trunk 40 inches above the ground. If replacement is not possible or feasible, the owner pays a fee in lieu, which is a fee paid instead of replanting.¹³

The code says the fees "shall be placed in a special fund."^13,14 The City Council decides how the money is used.¹³ Until June 4, 2026, the code limited the fund to trees, trails, and "pocket parks."^13,15 The city books the fees as General Fund revenue.⁵ The General Fund pays for city services such as police, streets, parks, and the library.¹⁶

The city's 2025 audit sets aside $230,790 in the General Fund for parks. The audit has no separate line for tree money, so it does not show how much tree money the city holds.¹⁷

The budget's capital improvement plan covers large projects over five years.¹ The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) studies the parks and sends recommendations to the council.¹⁴ Keep Lago Vista Beautiful (KLVB) asked the council in a letter to clarify the group's status. The letter says the city's website lists KLVB as a committee of the city, set up by mayoral proclamation in 1992.¹⁸

Earlier coverage

Our story on the budget vote and the city's reserves reported the 4 to 3 vote adopting the budget.¹⁹ Our story on the failed budget cuts reported that two plans to cut it failed on Sept. 25.²⁰ Our story on the golf course fund covers the course's finances.

Tree money in 2024 and 2025

On June 6, 2024, the council voted to have staff move a grant from the Turnback Canyon Trail Conservatory to the city. Then-Council Member Durbin amended the motion so that any money needed to match Phase II of the grant, beyond volunteer hours, would come only from tree funds.²¹

On Sept. 5, 2024, the council changed the land use map for 21003 Dawn Drive from "Low Density Residential" to "City Park."²² Then-Council Member Roberts moved, Durbin seconded, and the vote was unanimous.^4,22

On July 17, 2025, the council voted on change orders for a project to repair one effluent pond and improve another, Pond #2.^23,24 Part of the project fixed an intake screen that pulls effluent to the golf course irrigation pump house. Staff said the required replacement was 295 caliper inches of trees, a $73,750 fee if paid directly. Replanting the trees would have cost $160,666.50.²³

Then-Mayor Sullivan moved to pay the $73,750 fee. Prince seconded, and the motion passed 6 to 0, with Councilmember Roberts absent.²⁴

The motion said staff would use tree mitigation funds to "replant the trees at location after project is complete."²⁴ The 2026-27 capital plan now puts the $73,750 into replacement trees throughout the golf course.¹⁰

On Sept. 11, 2025, the council held a budget workshop where KLVB's funding came up. KLVB had a plan for a concrete trail at "Bound Point," as the minutes spell it, estimated at $41,000 to $50,000. The council reached consensus to fund KLVB for everything except the trail, about $34,000. It also left open paying for the trail from the tree mitigation fund if PRAC and the parks director endorsed it.²⁵

Parks committee talks, February to May 2026

On Feb. 11, 2026, KLVB told PRAC it was moving forward with Bowden Point Park items. The minutes record that KLVB lacked funding and put the cost at $12,000 to $15,000.²⁶ On April 2, 2026, the council heard a presentation about a possible park on 2.2 acres of city land on Dawn Drive.²⁷

On April 8, PRAC's draft minutes record that KLVB sought funding for a walkway and swing set costing about $110,000. The same minutes put the tree fund at approximately $1 million, with no determination on what can be used.²⁸ On May 13, PRAC's draft minutes record concern that Bowden Point has "minimal usage" and sits between two busy streets.²⁹

June 4, 2026, the council votes on the tree rule and Bowden Point

On June 4, 2026, the council held a public hearing on Ordinance No. 26-06-04-01.² The ordinance deletes the word "pocket" from the section that governs the fund.¹⁵ The staff report said the words "pocket parks" limit how tree mitigation funds may be applied.³⁰

Prince moved the ordinance, and Council Member Karen Van Ness seconded. The motion passed 7 to 0.²

At the same meeting, the council took up funding for Bowden Point and Dawn Drive parks.³¹ The joint PRAC and KLVB slides, later attached to the Sept. 3 packet, asked the council to use tree fees for both parks.^32,33 The slides put the Bowden Point walkway at a total of $75,780.³⁴

Mayor Shane Saum, who was leading the meeting, said of Bowden Point Park, "I just don't think that this is high on the priority list."^35,36 Council Member Adam Benefield then moved to have staff get three quotes for a concrete walkway and three for a decomposed crushed granite path. Van Ness seconded.³¹

Prince said a yes vote on quotes was "implicitly a vote for I'm prepared to approve a contract."³⁷ Benefield answered that the council had been prepared to approve the project in 2026, calling it a "low dollar budget item that doesn't affect our taxpayers." Benefield added, "It is money out of our mitigation fund."³⁸

The motion passed 5 to 2.³¹ Mayor Pro Tem Norma Owen and Council Members Benefield, Amanda Chavarria, Van Ness, and Jess Hall voted yes.^4,31 Saum and Prince voted no.³¹

July to September 2026, quotes, bids, and a rezoning

The city asked for a walking trail 1,400 feet long and 6 feet wide, with a pedestrian bridge.³⁹ Its request for quotes closed on July 21, 2026. Four firms sent quotes.⁴⁰

Concrete quotes ran from $125,283, from a firm listed as "LV Contractor," to $545,000, from Mills Construction. The lowest quote for any option was $89,000, from The Synthesist, for a decomposed granite path with limestone edging.⁴⁰

On Aug. 20, 2026, Prince said the budget spreadsheet assumed about $200,000 in new tree revenue. He said, "My understanding is the balance of the tree fund is a little over $900,000 right now."⁴¹ Saum said the June 4 vote "was just to see bids."⁴²

On Sept. 3, 2026, Benefield asked whether KLVB could build the trail itself if it were a 501(c)(3) organization, which he said would "save the taxpayers easily 40 to $100,000."⁴³ Saum submitted the Dawn Drive park item for the Sept. 3 agenda. The item report said the city may not have gone through the rezoning process after the 2024 land use change.³³

Prince moved, and Owen seconded, a motion on the park. The motion directed staff to begin rezoning and satisfy an easement issue. It passed 7 to 0.⁴⁴

During the budget work session that day, a council member asked whether the council agreed to use tree mitigation funds to resurface the pickleball court. Owen, called on as mayor pro tem, said yes.⁴⁵

Sept. 17, 2026, the budget names the tree fund

The three tree fund lines add up to the $360,750 the plan totals for the Tree Mitigation Fund.^1,8,9,10 For Dawn Drive, the plan counts $117,000 for phase one. It adds a $33,000 planning allowance for extra amenities, trails, or unforeseen needs. Phase one covers a concrete parking lot and driveway, decomposed granite walking paths, picnic tables, and benches.⁸

For Bowden Point, the plan averaged the two lowest proposals for each of five walkway options and rounded to the nearest thousand dollars.⁹ For concrete, the two lowest quotes were $125,283 and $149,200.⁴⁰ Their average is $137,241.50, which the plan rounds to $137,000.^9,40 The plan's five options range from $92,000 to $137,000, and the $137,000 is the concrete option.⁹

The budget also moves $85,000 from the tree mitigation fund into the General Fund.⁶ The parks budget lists $85,000 for "Turnback Conservancy Trails."⁴⁶ Asked on Sept. 17 what the transfer was for, Finance Director Nichole Navarro answered, "That was the conservancy trails."^44,47

Prince said the budget "doesn't explicitly say where" the $200,000 is being spent.¹¹ The budget moves $95,000 from the Parkland Fee Fund to the General Fund.⁴⁸ Prince said that transfer, not tree money, now pays for resurfacing the pickleball court.¹²

After council questions to staff, Owen moved to adopt the budget, and Prince seconded.¹⁹ Owen, Hall, Van Ness, and Prince voted yes. Saum, Benefield, and Chavarria voted no.⁴

Sept. 25, 2026, the mayor's sheet

The mayor's sheet for the Sept. 25 meeting excluded the $200,000 from General Fund capacity "until Finance confirms the fees are legally available." The same sheet said Finance should identify the eligible expense for the $85,000 transfer and the fund's beginning and ending balances. The records we reviewed do not include Finance's answer.⁷

At that special meeting, Benefield moved a plan to cut the budget to reflect a $0.42 tax rate. The plan also said the $200,000 in tree fee revenue "shall be classified as restricted."⁴⁹ In our transcription, the chair said Chavarria seconded.⁵⁰ The motion failed 3 to 4 in our transcription of the roll call.²⁰ In our transcription, Chavarria and Benefield voted yes, and so did the chair, Mayor Saum, the one member the chair did not call on.^4,20,49 Prince, Van Ness, Owen, and Hall voted no.^4,20

What it could mean for taxpayers

Tree fee collections in the four years from 2020-21 through 2023-24 add up to $894,040.^51,52 A June 2025 council packet gives the same total.¹⁴ The fee has swung widely, from $484,390 in 2021-22 to $16,625 in 2024-25.^5,51 The 2026-27 budget assumes $200,000, against $27,375 in its 2025-26 actual column.⁵

The $200,000 equals about 1.5% of the $13,399,604 in General Fund revenue the budget expects.^5,6 The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), a professional group for public finance officials, says it is "essential that governments maintain adequate levels of fund balance to mitigate current and future risks." It names "revenue shortfalls" among those risks.⁵³ If fee collections fall short of $200,000, the General Fund could face that kind of shortfall.^5,53

On the other side, the General Fund held $16,244,693 not set aside for any purpose on Sept. 30, 2025. A $200,000 gap would be about 1.2% of that.¹⁷

The annual upkeep cost of the Dawn Drive park has not yet been determined.⁸ KLVB mainly maintains Bowden Point today. The plan anticipates no significant increase to the city's operating budget at this time.⁹

Where it stands

Prince's request for staff to define the $200,000 has no follow-up in the records we reviewed.¹¹ The Dawn Drive rezoning that the council ordered on Sept. 3 is not complete in the records we reviewed.⁴⁴

PRAC meets next on Oct. 14, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. Its agenda includes "Discussion regarding funds used for Parks from the 2024 CO Bond." The agenda does not name the tree fund.⁵⁴

How to weigh in

PRAC meets in the Council Chambers at 5803 Thunderbird. To speak during citizen comments in person, complete the form at the meeting and give it to the Director of Parks & Recreation before the meeting starts.⁵⁴

What we could not find

• A ledger or audit that gives the tree fund's balance, because the 2025 audit's General Fund column has no tree line.¹⁷
• Which fund paid the $73,750 pond fee in July 2025, because the pages we reviewed do not say.²³
• The fee per caliper inch, which the code leaves to Appendix A, Fee Schedule.¹³
• The cost and vendor of the Dawn Drive park design, which the plan says was approved with available pocket park funding.⁸
• What the rest of the Dawn Phase 1 estimate covers. The five listed items add up to $93,660, which is $23,415 less than the slide's $117,075 total.⁵⁵
• A council vote awarding a Bowden Point contract.⁴⁰
• Where the assumed $200,000 in new fees would be spent.¹¹
• Finance's answer to the Sept. 25 questions about legal availability and the fund's balances.⁷

What you can do

• Ask City Secretary Robin Smith for the tree fee ledger, with every deposit and payment since 2020 and the balance at each year end.⁵⁴
• Ask Finance which fund paid the $73,750 pond fee and where it was booked.²³
• Ask for the Dawn Drive design contract and invoices, and the estimate behind the $117,075 Phase 1 total.^8,55
• Ask Finance for its answer to the mayor's Sept. 25 questions about the fees and the fund's balances.⁷
• Ask for any Bowden Point contract or purchase order.⁴⁰
• Attend the PRAC meeting on Oct. 14 and ask when the tree fund projects will return to the council.⁵⁴

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