WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — Wichita Falls City Council and city staff discussed the first pre-budget workshop ahead of the 2023 city budget.

The general goal of the day was to get a sense of how the three major funds are looking: general, water and sanitation, that make up more than 50% of the total budget.

During the discussion, Director of Finance Jessica Williams highlighted the overview of what could affect this year’s budget, like increased economic activity, home price acceleration, increased inflation, and interest rates. And while they are starting this process a little earlier this year, Wichita Falls City Manager Darron Leiker wants the council to know there’s still plenty of time left in this process.

“Please don’t take all these numbers to the bank. They’re not carved in stone today, in many cases it’s our best guess at this point based on preliminary information,” Leiker said.

The estimated budget for the city in 2023 is about $212 million, about a $16.7 million increase from last year.

Leiker added that he hoped to bring an updated version of the budget back to council in six weeks but the budget won’t need to be finalized until October.