The city of Kyle is projected to face a budget shortfall at the end of fiscal year 2025-26. As outlined by city staff in a May 16 presentation, the city will need to make up a projected $14.2 million shortfall in its general fund.

At a June 2 meeting, the City Council approved an agenda item requesting options for an independent third-party forensic audit to evaluate any financial misconduct that has resulted in the budget shortfall.

What happened: The council approved the request for forensic audit options, including proposed scope, costs and timelines, with a 5-2 vote. The audit’s scope may include a review of potential fraud, misuse of taxpayer funds and financial transactions related to credit card expenditures, procurement practices, payroll and contract awards, according to agenda documents.

Looking ahead: City staff will now work to bring the council options for retaining an independent third-party firm to conduct the forensic audit.

A historic Kyle house reopened its doors in late May after six years of being closed to the public.

The gist: Closed to the public in 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the Claiborne Kyle Log House, built in 1850, reopened on May 30. The building debuted a new roof and new exhibits to the community.

Claiborne Kyle built the home on his property in Hays County along the Austin-San Antonio stagecoach route, according to the Claiborne Kyle Log House Commission.

The building is a four-pen liner dogtrot home, the only of its kind still standing at its original location, said Kate Johnson, chairman of the Claiborne Kyle Log House Commission.

The property is open to the public every Saturday and continues to raise funds to support the ongoing restoration of the historic site, Johnson said.

The Claiborne Kyle Log House will be closed in July due to the summer heat, allowing crews time to perform additional work on the building, Johnson said.

• 2400 Old Stagecoach Road, Kyle

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed June 3 that a case of the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly, was detected on a cattle ranch in South Texas.

The overview: The case marks the first domestic detection of screwworm in a decade and the first Texas case in approximately 50 years. The flesh-eating parasite is a threat to the state’s $15.5 billion cattle industry.

Zooming in: No additional infestations have been identified, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told reporters. Federal and state officials have emphasized that they do not anticipate issues with the food supply chain, as the screwworm only targets live animals and does not infest meat, fruit or vegetables.

However, experts have warned that a larger, prolonged screwworm outbreak could cause a spike in beef prices.

A widespread infestation is estimated to cost Texas at least $1.8 billion per year in damages, according to a USDA analysis of a 1976 screwworm outbreak. Texas cattle, sheep and goat producers would face about $732 million in annual losses.

Texans are on track to use more electricity this summer than ever before, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced during a board meeting this week.

The details: ERCOT, which operates the power grid for the majority of Texas, is forecasting high temperatures and moderate rainfall this summer. Coupled with the proliferation of data centers and other large projects, demand on the grid could surpass 92 gigawatts, officials estimated June 2.

This would break ERCOT’s current demand record of 85.5 gigawatts, which was set during an August 2023 heat wave.

What it means: However, ERCOT officials said a grid emergency or blackout is unlikely this summer. State officials have said this is due to:

• The addition of nearly 11 gigawatts of power capacity to the grid in the last few months
• A state law authorizing ERCOT to require large facilities to reduce their energy use in tight times