Leander's net position: what the city owns minus what it owes

In short

• The city’s net position was about $1.21 billion on Sept. 30, 2025. That is up about $121 million in a year (our math).¹²
• About 81% is capital assets, such as roads, pipes and buildings. The audit says these “are not available for future spending.”³
• The part left over, “unrestricted,” is about $110 million. It is above zero.¹

Related: what the city owns · water and sewer fund health

Numbers marked “our math” are our estimates, not official figures. The notes show the inputs and the steps.

How it works

• Net position is what the city owns minus what it owes. The audit splits it into three parts.¹
  • Net investment in capital assets: what the city’s roads, pipes, buildings and land are worth on its books, minus the debt still owed on them.
  • Restricted: amounts that can be used only for set purposes, such as debt payments or building projects.
  • Unrestricted: whatever is left over.

What the numbers show

Sept. 30, 2025	City services	Water, sewer and golf	Whole city
Net investment in capital assets	$553,751,440	$427,381,356	$981,132,796
Restricted	$36,716,105	$79,026,744	$115,742,849
Unrestricted	$34,496,066	$75,988,303	$110,484,369
Total	$624,963,611	$582,396,403	$1,207,360,014

Source: the city’s fiscal 2025 annual financial report.¹

• It has grown every year since 2016, when it was about $297 million. That is about 4 times as much in nine years (our math).⁴²
• The unrestricted part has stayed above zero in each of those ten years.⁴

The other side

• A big number is not spare cash. The audit says the capital assets are used to serve residents, so they “are not available for future spending.”³
• The debt on those assets still has to be paid from other money. The audit says “the assets themselves cannot be used to liquidate these liabilities.”³
• The ten-year table is not audited. It is in the report’s statistical section.⁴
• Compare with care. Williamson County and Leander ISD both report an unrestricted part below zero, for reasons their own audits give. Leander ISD’s year ends June 30; the city’s and county’s end Sept. 30.

Questions to ask

• How much of the unrestricted amount is already planned for, by the city’s account?

Changes to this page

• Nov. 2, 2026: Rewrote the questions to ask so each is open, neutral and addressed to the public body.
• Nov. 2, 2026: New page.

Footnotes

1. Same report, condensed and full Statement of Net Position: governmental activities net investment in capital assets $553,751,440, restricted $36,716,105, unrestricted $34,496,066, total $624,963,611; business-type $427,381,356, $79,026,744, $75,988,303, $582,396,403; primary government $981,132,796, $115,742,849, $110,484,369, $1,207,360,014 (2024: $1,086,625,152). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Our math. 1,207,360,014 − 1,086,625,152 = 120,734,862. 1,207,360,014 ÷ 297,082,900 = 4.06. ↩ ↩²

3. City of Leander, Texas, Annual Financial Report for fiscal 2025, management’s discussion, Statement of Net Position, p.9: net position $1,207,360,014 at Sept. 30, 2025; “The largest portion of the City’s net position (81.3%) reflects its investments in capital assets… consequently, these assets are not available for future spending… the resources needed to repay this debt must be provided from other resources, since the assets themselves cannot be used to liquidate these liabilities.” ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Same report, statistical section (unaudited), Table 1, “Net Position by Component,” pp.97-98: primary government total net position 2016 $297,082,900; 2025 $1,207,360,014; unrestricted positive each year 2016-2025 (low $19,669,260 in 2016). ↩ ↩² ↩³