RISING EXPENDITURES Over the past several years, local entities have seen their budgets rise.
Magnolia ISD: +19.41% from 2018-19 to 2022-23
Tomball ISD: +48.08% from 2018-19 to 2022-23
City of Magnolia: +91.76% from 2018-19 to 2022-23
City of Tomball: +41.63% from 2018-19 to 2022-23
$200M
$35M
$33.9M
$192.5M
$30M
$150M
$23.9M
$25M
$130M
$129M
$108M
$20M
$100M
$15M
$10M
$50M
$5.6M
$5M
$2.9M
0
0
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
2022-23
2018-19
2018-19
SOURCES: MAGNOLIA ISD, TOMBALL ISD, CITY OF TOMBALL, CITY OF MAGNOLIA/COMMUNITY IMPACT
Doering said he attributed the price increase to inflation, but despite lim- ited funds, Magnolia cannot hold off on some capital projects because of their immediate need. “Our main projects right now are water and sewer, and we don’t have a choice,” Doering said. “We have to go forward. So we really have not pushed projects into the future.” Still under a temporary develop- ment moratorium that was originally enacted last December, the city of Magnolia is working to build wells to increase its water capacity. Meanwhile, since 2021, Tomball has seen prices rise 55% for wastewater treatment chemicals, 27% for public works service contracts, 16%-18% for public works vehicles and 34%-46% for diesel fuel, according to Assistant City Manager Jessica Rogers and a March 3 State of the City presentation. When items cost more than planned, the budget gets evaluated to see where costs can be reduced, Rog- ers said. “Vehicles is one where we looked at, ‘OK, well we can maybe pause one vehicle purchase until the next fiscal year,’” Rogers said. However, Rogers said the city has seen costs decrease for construction. “We were looking at construc- tion materials [with] 20%-25% [price increases] in 2022,” Rogers said. “So when we were putting together budgets for our capital projects, we assumed that trend was going to con- tinue. What has happened is while there’s still inflation in that area, it’s actually started to slow.” In regard to capital projects, Rogers
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MAGNOLIA ISD BOND Although the bond does not directly affect budget costs, MISD accounted for inflation with its Total bond package: $228M
The city of Tomball has seen price increases for items such as vehicles, fuel and chemicals since 2021. TOMBALL INFLATION
5.2% year over year as of February— the latest available local data, a drop from a year-over-year increase of 5.3% in December. “If we look at what occurred from COVID[-19] years [and] from before that, this has been a huge increase that we’ve had to deal with for two years now,” Tomball ISD Chief Finan- cial Officer Jim Ross said during the district’s March 6 workshop meeting. “Even though we’re saying 5.3% [in December], we still aren’t recovered from [inflation] going up in the past.” Tomball city officials noted that while prices for some items remain high, other projects are costing less than projected, which frees up money to be used elsewhere in the budget. “We like to think that maybe infla- tion has turned the corner a little bit,” said Patrick Jankowski, chief economist and senior vice pres- ident of research at the Greater Houston Partnership, at a Feb. 3 Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon. Though inflation is slowing, city and school officials said they are still experiencing high prices, which is affecting capital projects, purchases and how overall annual budgets look. Overseeing city budgets In Magnolia, City Administrator Don Doering said while rising prices and inflation are hard to track, the city saw an increase in the cost of its sewer line project on Nichols Sawmill Road throughout its three phases from $1.27 million to $2.9 million.
Public works base trucks: 16%-18% increase
2022 bond package for $228 million.
Wastewater treatment chemicals: 55% increase
Diesel fuel: 34%-46% increase Service contracts for public works: 27% increase
85% ($193.8 million) of the bond package is associated with three new schools. $29.07 million of the budget associated with the new campuses is loosely associated with inflationary costs.
SOURCE: CITY OF TOMBALL/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
SOURCE: MAGNOLIA ISD/ COMMUNITY IMPACT
if there’s no need to encumber that money on just one project because we can project that [it will cost less], that gets moved to the next [project] just in case that [costs more]. It’s an ongo- ing process.” Administering school bond projects In Magnolia ISD, voters approved a $228 million bond package in Novem- ber for three new schools, future school sites, and safety and security projects, Community Impact previ- ously reported. The district received bond proceeds March 7, Assistant Superintendent of Operations Erich Morris said. Within the bond proceeds, Morris said MISD accounted for rising prices. “Obviously inflation has impacted construction cost, but our initial bud- gets ultimately reflected the current and forecast result of the inflation,” Morris said. “It’s probably accurate
said the Matheson Park upgrades that began Jan. 16 are costing the city around $1.3 million, according to the March 20 City Council agenda packet. Community Impact previ- ously reported the project would cost around $1.8 million to add a new play- ground, a splash pad and pickleball courts, among other improvements. Similarly, a project to improve alleyways in Old Town Tomball is set to cost less than projected, with Phase 1 anticipated to cost between $1 million-$1.5 million, Rogers said. A project to put a new water tower off of Boudreaux Road and the Grand Parkway may also cost around $6 mil- lion, less than its original $8 mil- lion estimate, City Manager David Esquivel said. “We try to update those numbers as we go along,” Esquivel said. “Because
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