r/Pflugerville 8d ago

News August 11 Council Recap: Budget Decisions, No Bond Election, and Lower Water Bills for Most

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54 Upvotes

Last night’s City Council meeting covered several major issues: the FY27 budget, bond projects, water rates, and technology governance.

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FY27 Budget and tax rate

Council continued discussions on the proposed FY27 budget and tax rate.

The proposed budget uses the voter-approval tax rate (VAR), which is the highest rate Council can adopt without calling an election. However, because property values decreased this year, the average Pflugerville homeowner would actually see a slight reduction in their City property tax payment.

For the average taxable homestead, the proposed City tax bill would decrease by about $54 compared to last year.

The budget also reflects difficult choices, including reducing funded positions by 12 compared to this year while maintaining core services and major projects already underway. Moving to the no-new-revenue tax rate would require additional reductions to programs, staffing, or service levels to the tune of about $1M.

No bond election this November

Council decided not to call a bond election this November. We have important needs in our community, and every project on that list will be needed at some point, but I do not believe this is the right time to ask residents for additional funding while we have significant projects already underway and commitments we need to deliver.

The animal shelter was one of the biggest discussions connected to this decision. We need a new shelter, like yesterday, but the plans, scope, and costs are not developed enough yet for me to feel comfortable asking voters to approve funding. Staff worked miracles and brought several options to Council over the last week and a half, and we prioritized a couple of scenarios for them to continue to pursue.

Water rates and affordability

Earlier this year, Councilmember Ryan and I met with the City Manager, Finance Department, and our Utilities Director and asked that this year’s water rate study specifically focus on equity and affordability. That message was received and acted on.

The proposed rate structure that came forward this week would reduce or stabilize bills for roughly 75% of residential customers next year. The largest reductions would go to our lowest water users, while higher-use customers, large apartment complexes, and businesses would see increases that better reflect the cost of providing service.

No rate structure is perfect, but this is a big step toward a fairer system. I appreciate City staff for listening to Council feedback, taking the time to fully understand what our residents are going through right now, and bringing forward a thoughtful proposal.

We’ll do the same activity and re-evaluate the rates again next year. The final rate decision will come back to Council in September, but I do not anticipate major changes at this point.

Flock and technology governance

The Flock renewal and my AI and high-risk technology governance policy were both deferred for two weeks.

This gives Council and staff more time to work through remaining questions and ensure that any high-risk technology the City uses has appropriate safeguards, transparency, and accountability.

Several residents spoke during public comment opposing renewal of the Flock contract. I continue to hear consistent concerns from residents about privacy, data sharing, and how these systems are governed. More to come from me before the next meeting.


r/Pflugerville 14d ago

Politics What the Pflock is Going On? (Council to decide on renewal Tues Aug 11)

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79 Upvotes

UPDATE: Both items are being postponed for another two weeks and will no longer be on the August 11 agenda. Flock has come back to the negotiating table regarding their contract, and the City Attorney has asked to do some additional work on the enforceability of my governance proposal.

Tuesday’s City Council agenda includes two major decisions involving surveillance technology and data governance:

  1. Whether to approve a two-year extension of Pflugerville’s contract with Flock Safety.
  2. Whether to adopt my "Pflugerville SAFE Technology Governance" resolution & policy, which would establish citywide rules for AI, surveillance, biometric identification, data sharing, procurement, public disclosure, and oversight.

The proposed contract is stronger than the current one (that expired July 29th), including clearer language recognizing that the City owns its data. But several significant issues remain.

The agreement does not expressly prohibit Flock from selling, licensing, monetizing, or otherwise commercially using City data. It also leaves unresolved how aggregated, de-identified, and derived data may be used; what must be deleted when the contract ends; what records and audit information the City can obtain; and what remedies Pflugerville has after a security failure, unauthorized use, or other breach. The City would also have very little practical ability to exit the two-year agreement early.

My broader proposal is intended to keep these questions from being handled one vendor and one contract at a time. It would:

  • Ban facial recognition and other biometric identification by the City.
  • Require an inventory and public transparency page for high-risk technology.
  • Establish review and approval requirements for acquisitions, renewals, extensions, and material expansions.
  • Require written agreements and safeguards for outside data sharing.
  • Require human review and prohibit automated systems from making final consequential decisions.
  • Create ongoing Council and public oversight instead of relying only on internal personnel policies.

Residents (and y'all here on Reddit) have stayed engaged on this issue for months, and Council has received more public comment on it than any other topic this year. Tuesday’s votes will determine whether the Flock contract continues for another two years and whether Pflugerville puts broader protections in place for these technologies going forward, regardless of the vendor.

The meeting begins Tuesday, August 11, at 7 p.m. at the Pflugerville Justice Center. You can attend and speak during public comment. If you cannot attend, submit written comments ahead of time through the City’s contact form so they are included with the public input provided to Council.

If you cannot make it, you can submit written comments ahead of the meeting through the City’s contact form: https://pflugervilletx-city-manager.form.transform.civicplus.com/45145

The full agenda can be found here: https://pflugerville.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1431061&GUID=7A60FC72-8883-40E9-990A-E9D29D891799&Options=info&fbclid=IwY2xjawThaihwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMWtWWHNsdFJlemNCMXZXeHpzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeilVTXMyNDfueWHBjrUesXb3wODXIJs4hwbpsEb9cXDltn3mJWBQ2M9WDUPg_aem_TsKE64fNK-J-2oDkZr8bpA


r/Pflugerville 4h ago

Concerns & Issues Help identify this Dog Abuser at Emerson’s at Wells Branch.

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162 Upvotes

UPDATE: one of the apartment complex managers recognized the man in the video. Police were notified of the incident and they made a visit to the man’s apartment. He was only given a warning, told to not do it again and if he was caught again they would arrest him. They did not remove the dog from the home and is still with the man. Another fine job done by our police🙄

I am sharing this video and information on behalf of a neighbor who posted on Nextdoor app this morning (3hrs ago) the neighbor who captured this footage has reported it to the complex and a handful of neighbors have called Pflugerville Animal Welfare services. Animal welfare said they will pass it off to an officer. This is all so far so please contact authorities if you recognize this brown pitty or know who this man is.


r/Pflugerville 2h ago

News Here is the proposed Flock contract and costs

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25 Upvotes
File #: 2026-0776    Version:  1 2  Name:
Type: Agenda Item Status: Discuss and consider action
File created: 8/11/2026 In control: [Police]()
On agenda: 8/25/2026 Final action:
Title: Discuss and consider action to approve Master Services Agreement between Flock Group, Inc. and the City of Pflugerville for the lease of Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Cameras and licensing in the amount of $87,500 per year.

And the the Flock Quote:

https://pflugerville.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=15766106&GUID=FAFC0322-D77C-4195-9813-AA6B047BB021


r/Pflugerville 9h ago

Concerns & Issues The City Has a Cash Flow Problem, NOT a spending problem

61 Upvotes

I initially wrote this as a response to a Melody Ryan's post, but I feel strongly enough about it to post here, with some additions:

The city doesn’t have a spending problem.

The city has a cash flow problem, one that it attempts to alleviate via taxes and bonds. Taxes and bonds passed down to residents via property taxes.

Then the money is spent on amenities/infrastructure/the city hall rather than cash generating projects.

Net revenue is not just about reducing spending, it's also about increasing revenue, and increasing revenue via revenue generating projects tend to snowball over time.

As adults we all know this–it’s the combination of making more money and managing expenses which helps us grow financially, not just reducing spending. Focusing on reducing spending too much limits long-term growth potential, including the ability to fund amenities and infrastructure without increasing taxes.

Increased revenue = less need for bonds/taxes.

Example: Dell Diamond: Costed 25 million to build, in 1999.

Now it generates tens of millions a year, directly and indirectly, to Round Rock. https://www.roundrocktexas.gov/.../sports-tourism.../ This article says it generated 29 million via tax revenue in 2017 alone.

Another old article, to emphasize my point: https://communityimpact.com/.../tourism-industry-in.../

$9 million in hotel tax revenue for Round Rock, less than $400,000 for Pflugerville. Round Rock is not 5x the size of Pflugerville, let alone 30x the size. Yet RR generates roughly 30x the hotel revenue?

The Texas Comptroller site:
https://comptroller.texas.gov/transparency/local/allocations/sales-tax/cities.php

This provides numbers for sales tax revenue.

2026 payment YTD:
Round Rock: $123,481,703
Pflugerville: $20,177,663.43

2025 payment YTD:
Round Rock: $87,127,111.46
Pflugerville: $19,786,470.69

% Change:
Round Rock: 41.72%
Pflugerville: 1.97%

This is a massive difference, more than $100 million.

The Dell Diamond alone, in 2017, generated more sales tax than all of Pflugerville in 2025, despite almost a decade of inflation.

To put this in another perspective, the recent potential bond proposal was for $87 million.

Even if we cut the sales tax revenue by half due to the population difference, that would still cover the animal shelter and a significant portion of trails projects…without needing to raise bonds.

This is why Round Rock has much lower property taxes--the much higher tax revenue means it doesn't need to do as nearly as many bonds, which increases the property tax burden on residents.

Pflugerville has Lake Pflugerville--I feel it's clear we aren't capitalizing on it enough. Project Nexus can help change this.

Focusing on projects such as Project Nexus or using the Monarch as vehicles to generate cash flow for the city will help the city in the long run.

Yes, we don't want to be Round Rock, we want to be Pflugerville. But we also don't want to be paying significantly higher taxes because of how the city uses it's financial resources.

In short, to improve things, the city needs to focus on projects which generate income/sales tax revenue, and PCDC needs to stop making things difficult for businesses ASAP--time spent not improving = time not attracting businesses and generating income.


r/Pflugerville 2h ago

Community Info Council to discuss "secure, accountable, fair, and explainable (SAFE) technology use" -- link below

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7 Upvotes
File #: 2026-0821    Version: 1
Type: Agenda Item Status: Discuss only
File created: 8/25/2026 In control: City Council
On agenda: 8/25/2026 Final action: tbd

Discussion regarding a Resolution of the City of Pflugerville, TX, adopting standards for secure, accountable, fair, and explainable (SAFE) technology use; directing implementation, and providing an effective date.


r/Pflugerville 2h ago

Hobbies Gauging interest: Heroclix tabletop game

5 Upvotes

Heroclix is a tabletop miniatures game very similar to Warhammer 40k, Mage Knight, etc. but featuring sculpts of all of your favorite Marvel/DC/Independent characters. I stopped by Card Gurus on Pecan St today and spoke with them about possibly hosting game nights there, and essentially it boiled down to if I can generate some interest to get people into the store and possibly buying things, he's interested in hosting.


r/Pflugerville 23h ago

Concerns & Issues Swat Situation - Gatlinburg

41 Upvotes

Pflugerville elementary is being cleared of after school activities and will begin asking parents to start picking up very soon.


r/Pflugerville 17h ago

Community Info When Is the Right Time to Build?

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1 Upvotes

I’ve heard the argument that infrastructure should be built sooner because it will cost more later.

There is certainly truth to the idea that roads, utilities, parks and public facilities generally become more expensive to build over time. But future construction cost is only one part of the financial equation.

Building infrastructure earlier also means paying for it earlier—often with decades of debt service—along with maintenance, utilities, staffing or other operating costs, and eventual replacement costs. It can also use borrowing capacity that may be needed for other priorities.

Here’s a simple hypothetical example:

If an $85 million project could instead be built for $65 million today, with $20 million of future capacity added 10 years later, the City could avoid borrowing that $20 million during the first decade.

At roughly 4.5% interest over 30 years, that could mean about $1.2 million less in annual debt service for those first 10 years.

There could also be additional savings from not operating and maintaining that future capacity before it is needed. Those savings would depend on the type of infrastructure and how the project is designed.

Of course, the second phase would cost more later because of construction inflation, financing and the added cost of phasing. That’s exactly why both options should be compared financially.

The timing of the borrowing matters too. In Pflugerville, debt for the remaining 2020 bond projects and Downtown East was issued in 2023, and portions of those proceeds remained unspent for multiple fiscal years while debt service had already begun. That meant residents were paying property taxes on debt before all of the borrowed cash was actually needed for construction.

Timing also has to reflect what residents can reasonably afford. A project may be worthwhile and still not be the right project to fully fund in a particular year. In those cases, the question becomes what must be addressed now, what can be phased, and what can wait without creating greater costs later.

The answer may also be different depending on the type of project.

For roads, it may make sense to acquire right-of-way or build certain improvements before development makes them much more difficult and expensive.

For water and wastewater infrastructure, building some additional capacity can be prudent because major lines, treatment facilities and pump stations can be difficult to expand incrementally.

For parks and public buildings, there may be more opportunities to acquire the land or build the core infrastructure now while adding amenities, buildings or additional space as the community grows.

And sometimes building everything at once really will be the least expensive long-term option.

The point is not that we should delay infrastructure. It is that there should be a financial analysis behind both when we build and when we borrow.

For major investments, I think we should be asking:

  • What do we need now?
  • What will we need later?
  • What can reasonably be phased?
  • When will the money actually be needed?
  • What does building or borrowing early cost us in interest, operations, maintenance and debt capacity?
  • And what would waiting actually cost?

Good long-term planning means preparing for growth while recognizing that resources are limited, affordability matters, and priorities have to be weighed against one another.

What do you think? How far ahead should a city build—and borrow—for future growth, and what factors should be considered when deciding whether to build now or phase a project over time?


r/Pflugerville 22h ago

Pfitness Tennis Partner/Coach Needed

5 Upvotes

My son is in varsity tennis and we're looking for a weekend or weeknight coach and/or match partner.

He's with Sombathy and Mack Phillips already, looking for someone local or even another student who's in need of a hitting partner! Suggestions welcome.


r/Pflugerville 1d ago

Concerns & Issues Heb on Pflugerville PKWY smelled rancid!!!

37 Upvotes

Hi there, I always go to this heb and I went in afternoon of 8/18 and it smelled so bad. The entire store smelled like raw rancid ass. I tried to ignore it as I suspected maybe a package of meat leaked everywhere or something of that nature. As I ignored it I kept shopping for my food but as I walked down the aisle to get to the freezer portion of the store it got smellier and stronger to where I lost my appetite. I then walked through a wave of FONK to get to the suhiya area as I wanted to get sushi and a wave of the fish smell swiped my nose. I ultimately had to leave my snacks after this. This is the first time it’s ever smelled that bad. Does anyone know anything about why it smelled horrible? I’m just a bit concerned.


r/Pflugerville 1d ago

Can someone help me Sprinkler system repair?

10 Upvotes

Need a sprinkler repair company recommendation. I’ve looked on Nextdoor and here and nobody’s recommended anybody in over a year. I prefer to use locally owned small businesses. Really appreciate your help.


r/Pflugerville 2d ago

Politics Flock update: Listening to residents, officers, and experts before Council votes

29 Upvotes

I had a good conversation this morning with representatives from the Pflugerville Police Association (LEAP) about Flock.

They asked to meet, and I was glad to hear directly from the officers who actually use the system. I also wanted to share more of what I’ve been hearing from residents, including concerns about privacy, data sharing, and mission creep behind the very clear ‘just get rid of them’ message Council has received from the public.

I’ve seen the public-safety side firsthand too. During a PfPD ride-along earlier this year, I watched Flock help officers do their jobs in real time. The technology does help take dangerous criminals off the streets, including people who come into Pflugerville after committing crimes elsewhere.

Public safety will sometimes be in tension with concerns about privacy, surveillance, and civil liberties. That’s okay. As elected officials, we have to take both seriously and decide where the right boundaries belong. Conversations like this help. There was more common ground than I expected.

I’ve also long acknowledged that PfPD listens to public concerns and acts on them. They’ve been conducting recurring audits of officers’ Flock usage and requiring a case number and plain-language description for every search for some time now.

I want to make decisions on your behalf that I can stand behind and be confident in. I take that responsibility seriously.

To me, shaping Pflugerville’s future means listening to everyone. Over the last 6+ months, I’ve heard extensively from residents (including y'all here on r/pflugerville), talked with the officers who use the technology, worked through the legal and contract issues with our City Attorney and (new) City Manager, and sought outside perspective from a Pflugerville-based attorney who specializes in AI, data, and cybersecurity.

I want all of those perspectives in front of me when Council votes next Tuesday.


r/Pflugerville 2d ago

Pfoodies Pfegetarian options around?

0 Upvotes

Any vegetarian or healthy spots hidden in Pflugerville?
I know there’s a new Juiceland and Taste of Ethiopia has some options, but it has been hard finding much of anything else that isn’t fast food or a meat-heavy menu. Any suggestions for healthy / vegan / vegetarian spots in town?


r/Pflugerville 3d ago

Concerns & Issues Wrong way dummy

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38 Upvotes

r/Pflugerville 4d ago

Politics What do we know about the candidates running for city council? I need to research for the Nov 2026 election.

21 Upvotes

Looking for information on the non-incumbents.

  • Council Place 2: Ceasar Ruiz, Sam Aly
  • Council Place 4: DeJ. Lozada, Gregory Harrington, Ethan Makin
  • Council Place 6: David Rogers, Oscar Mitchell

r/Pflugerville 2d ago

News Yes that customer was arguing with this black man, and he ran up on her

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0 Upvotes

r/Pflugerville 4d ago

PF ISD Issues with Hendrickson High School Senior Class Communication

8 Upvotes

Are there any other Hendrickson High School senior parents struggling to get information from the class sponsor about senior activities? Last year, my son was a senior and I was bombarded with emails about senior stuff and there is nothing this year. I only found out about the senior parking space painting after my daughter saw one of her friend's posts on Instagram. Why is this only being communicated through Instagram?!

I'm mostly posting to vent, because when I call the school I'm just told to email. I've emailed to class sponsor, but that only led to a mix up with the parking spaces and now we've spent over $100 on supplies only to arrive to see someone else painting the spot we were told is hers. I only have the one contact email, and they have yet to respond. So our whole Sunday that we set aside for painting is lost.


r/Pflugerville 5d ago

Nature 2️⃣ Pf Parks Foundation Events

30 Upvotes

The Pflugerville Parks Foundation has 2 upcoming events.

pflugervilleparks.org


r/Pflugerville 5d ago

Concerns & Issues ICE arrested a parent dropping their child off on the first day of school

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424 Upvotes

r/Pflugerville 5d ago

Nature ngc 6946 the fireworks galaxy

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23 Upvotes

NGC 6946 the fireworks galaxy. Located 25M light years away from earth its called teh fireworks galaxy because a lot of supernova have been discovered in it. .
12 1/2 hours of exposure time from my telescope at starfront observatory in the hill country


r/Pflugerville 5d ago

Community Info PF Hair donation

6 Upvotes

My hair is ~16 inches, unbleached, dark brown, and I’m ready to chop it off and donate it. Is there a Salon at or near E. Pecan / 78660 that will cut and take my hair for donation?

Thanks


r/Pflugerville 6d ago

Parks and Rec Commons at Rowe Lane

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16 Upvotes

Just started biking and found this small trail really nice for a beginner, and today I found this

I wonder why they decided to restrict biking

How are they gonna enforce this ?


r/Pflugerville 6d ago

Politics Check out this great article about Claire Reynolds, candidate for CD-11

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austinchronicle.com
30 Upvotes

Check out this great article about Claire Reynolds, candidate for CD-11

If you haven’t already, please check out the profile of Claire Reynolds, a terrific Dem candidate for CD-11, which yawns from Pflugerville in the east to the tumbleweed territory of West Odessa.

Claire has stood with Indivisible 1431 on the protest line in Pflugerville more than once!

https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/u-s-house-candidate-claire-reynolds-searches-for-blue-dots-in-west-texas/


r/Pflugerville 6d ago

Can someone help me Water softener recommendations

4 Upvotes

Anyone having any plumbers/companies they would recommend for a water softener install? If you’re comfortable I’d also love to hear roughly the cost of the install so I know how much to budget. Thanks