Ryon Ray - City of Kennedale City Council Place 4

08/19/2026

🏛️ FY 2026-27 Budget & Capital Improvements Update:

Last night, the Kennedale City Council approved the City's Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget and a $5 million bond issuance to fund critical infrastructure and public safety investments.

Since June, Council has worked alongside our City Manager and department directors to review priorities, evaluate needs, and build a budget that serves our community while remaining fiscally responsible. Rather than asking residents to sort through hundreds of pages of budget documents, I wanted to share a few key highlights:

✅ Tax Rate Remains Unchanged

Despite projected reductions in property tax revenue resulting from lower taxable values reported by TAD, the City adopted a balanced budget without increasing the City's property tax rate.

• City tax rate remains at $0.696190 per $100 valuation
• Maintains reserve funding above the City's established requirements
• Continues funding for essential services across all departments

As appraisal values are updated in the future, I encourage residents to continue reviewing their notices carefully and utilize the protest process if appropriate.

📋 Budget Highlights

🚓 Public Safety
• New portable radios for Police and Fire personnel
• Replacement of the City's oldest patrol vehicle with a new Ford Police Interceptor
• Continued support for the Fellowship Academy School Resource Officer program

🚧 Public Works & Infrastructure
• Rehabilitation of the City's elevated water storage tank, extending its useful life for decades
• Improvements to dead-end water mains to improve water quality and system reliability
• Drainage channel restoration to improve stormwater flow
• Bridge improvements at Eden Road and South New Hope
• Continued investment in roadway maintenance and rehabilitation

👥 Employees & Operations
• 4% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for employees
• Technology and software upgrades designed to improve efficiency and reduce administrative workload
• Funding for a future Assistant City Manager position to support succession planning and anticipated growth

📚 Library & Communications
• Expanded communications resources to improve transparency and keep residents better informed
• Installation of an innovative percussion play area for children and families to enjoy

💵 $5 Million Bond Issuance Approved

Council also approved a $5 million bond issuance focused primarily on long-term infrastructure and public safety investments.

Projects include:

✅ Purchase of a new Ladder Fire Engine (approximately 3-year delivery timeline)

✅ Major roadway reconstruction and rehabilitation projects identified in the City's roadway study

✅ Completion of engineering and design for the Little Road expansion project

✅ Other Council-approved capital investments, including potential land acquisition opportunities

I am grateful for the tremendous amount of work contributed by our City staff, department directors, City Manager, and fellow Council Members throughout this process. Over the past three months, we worked collaboratively, remained focused on citizen priorities, and made decisions that position Kennedale for continued success.

This summary is intended to provide a high-level overview and does not cover every item included in the approved budget. I encourage anyone interested in reviewing the complete budget documents to visit the City's website.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve our community.

Ryon Ray
Kennedale City Council, Place 4

07/21/2026

07/21/2026

I want to express my appreciation to the previous members of our City Leadership including those members still active within our city government that chose to work together to produce this newest beacon of light in our community.

The dedication ceremony of Fire Station 59 today shows what can be accomplished if we work together.

We should all be extremely proud of this project. I am happiest for our first responders that have sacrificed comfort this past year as they continued to protect our community.

Thank you to all of those who had a part in this process. WE CAN BE MORE.

Mark your calendars for October 3 for a community open house event!

06/15/2026

Month ONE in Review:

Dear Kennedale,

This past month has been fast paced since being sworn into office. My goal in month one was to accelerate my onboarding process into my new role by meeting personally with all of our department directors and leadership. Over the past three weeks, I have held personal one-on-one meetings with all of our city’s department directors and many additional staff members. These were open conversations to better understand the dynamics of each of our city departments, their structures, their strengths, their weaknesses, their needs and, most importantly, to help me best understand how I can support each of them execute the direction we as City Council provide.

I will state that after completing this exercise, I am very proud of our current leadership team and can assure you that they desire success for our City and community. I am excited to serve with this team in place as they are the ones who truly execute on the directions and vision provided by your Council.

Annual budget workshops start tomorrow for the 2026/2027 fiscal year.

Please reach out directly to me or any Council member via email if you have any questions and or concerns.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

05/29/2026

Union Pacific - Train Stops Blocking Crossings:

We have all experienced it and some do on a weekly and or even daily basis. It’s not about inconvenience (although frustrating) as it is public safety. When trains stop on the tracks our emergency responders can not do their job. As the City administration continues to communicate with Union Pacific and work towards solutions that reduce the occurrences we must take steps to support our cause. Every call report into Union Pacific is recorded by the Federal Railroad Administration. Although there is no federal law on blocked crossings, these data points are invaluable to our effort to improve the ongoing situation that our city faces.

Please save the following number and crossing ID’s in your phone - and the next time you get stopped at the tracks, make that call! Every time!

05/26/2026

Dear Kennedale,

I have debated on how best to manage my social media presence and use thereof moving forward as a new member of our City Council. I personally want to communicate all at which is public, explain decisions, educate if needed and most importantly simply communicate current events and efforts so that collectively we are working together as a City and as a Community. As a council member there are limitations to this communication that I must follow and will.

As I got online today after a short break, there seems to be a lot of misinformation or simple misunderstandings being presented and published on different platforms that simply are not accurate. I’m not going to monitor all of this misinformation and subsequent strings (nor can I) but I will try to clarify when seen and needed when appropriate. I do truly guide everyone to direct any questions or concerns directly to the members of City Council rather than online.

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend with their families and that all of us remember the purpose of this day.

[email protected]

05/14/2026

This evening I was honored by formally being sworn into my elected position of City Council Place 4 for the City of Kennedale - City Hall. I am humbled and challenged by the confidence so many of you have placed in my ability and my mission for creating visible progress for our City and our community. This is an awesome time for Kennedale, there is so much opportunity that surrounds us. I sincerely appreciate the support that has been shared and it is that support which drives my dedication and desire to deliver results. You all have done your part, it is now my turn to do mine.

We can be more and we will be more!

04/28/2026

We did it! We voted! Local elections are critical but often overlooked but everything you see or don’t see in your community is most often related to local government. Go VOTE!

Thank you to everyone who has or plans on participating in our local elections!

04/26/2026

Dear Community of Kennedale - Today’s event is a great example of lack of community involvement.

First, it is not a requirement to be involved and or participate in the MANY community volunteer events hosted each year. Each of you pay property taxes and by law that is your only responsibility. I am also not shaming anyone who does not participate in the many opportunities the city provides as it is perfectly acceptable to pay your taxes and not expect any other requirements.

However, I would like to CHALLENGE each member of our community to choose TWO annual events held by the city to participate in. What impact could that have if we each made that commitment? HUGE!

Today’s Trash Off event generated 14 volunteers including two high school student volunteers and two volunteers that could be considered currently physically limited and or handicap (one being myself).

We pride our City on our Community engagement - We must reflect that in our events.

We can always do better.