In short
- Main fund plan for 2026-27: $84.2 million.1
- Police and fire together: $38.1 million, about 45%. See Police and fire spending.1
- Everything else: $46.1 million, led by public works ($8.5 million) and parks ($5.5 million).1
Numbers marked “our math” are our estimates, not official figures. The notes show the inputs and the steps.
How it works
- The main fund (the “general fund”) pays for daily city services. Water and sewer have their own fund, paid by bills. See Water and sewer fund.
- The budget splits the main fund into about 30 departments. The police department has seven of them. The fire department has five, including code enforcement and emergency management.2
- A budget is a plan. These are amounts the council adopted, not what was spent.1
What the numbers show
| Department | 2024-25 actual | 2026-27 plan | Change (our math) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Police (7 departments) | $16.7 million | $19.7 million | +18% |
| Fire (5 departments) | $16.1 million | $18.3 million | +14% |
| Public works (streets) | $6.4 million | $8.5 million | +33% |
| Non-departmental (citywide costs) | $14.7 million | $8.6 million | −42% |
| Parks and recreation | $3.6 million | $5.5 million | +55% |
| Engineering | $3.5 million | $4.3 million | +20% |
| Finance | $1.4 million | $2.8 million | +101% |
| Information technology | $2.5 million | $2.6 million | +4% |
| All other departments | $10.0 million | $14.0 million | +40% |
| Whole main fund | $74.9 million | $84.2 million | +12% |
Source: the adopted budget’s main-fund table.1 Groupings and changes are our math.3
The other side
- “Non-departmental” swings a lot. It holds costs that belong to no single department, and some years it includes money sent to building projects. It was $21.3 million in the 2025-26 estimate. See The 2026-27 budget.1
- Big percentages can be small dollars. Finance doubled, but that is $1.4 million more. Police and fire grew less in percent, but by $5.2 million together (our math).3
- The city is growing. More homes mean more streets, parks and calls for help. A bigger budget does not by itself mean waste.
- Department names can hide work. “Emergency operations” is the fire department’s front line, and “uniform services” is police patrol.2
Questions to ask
- What new jobs or programs explain the growth in parks and finance?
- What will the non-departmental line pay for next year?1
Changes to this page
- Nov. 2, 2026: Rewrote the questions to ask so each is open, neutral and addressed to the public body.
What we still don’t know
- What was actually spent in 2025-26 and 2026-27. The audits are not out yet.
Footnotes
-
City of Leander FY2027 adopted budget, operating funds summary, General Fund-01: 2024-25 actual total expenditures $74,882,023; 2026-27 adopted $84,160,116; non-departmental $14,743,597 (2024-25), $21,264,855 (2025-26 estimate), $8,588,347 (2026-27); public works $6,379,501 to $8,497,108; parks and recreation $3,565,697 to $5,528,476; engineering $3,546,067 to $4,252,269; finance $1,377,982 to $2,768,309; information technology $2,541,204 to $2,636,189. Budget. Saved copy. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7
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Same budget, table of contents: Police Department (Administration, Uniform Services, Support Services, Animal Services, Criminal Investigations, Communications, Special Operations); Fire Department (Code Enforcement, Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Fire Administration, Emergency Operations, Fire Marshal). ↩ ↩2
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Our math. Calculation from the same budget table, saved copy. Police 2024-25 $16,690,149, 2026-27 $19,733,160; fire $16,065,374 and $18,329,273; together $38,062,433, 45.2% of $84,160,116. All other departments are the main fund minus the eight rows shown above them. Police and fire together grew $5,306,910. ↩ ↩2