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HARLINGEN — Many of the city’s employees are up for raises based on a new general fund budget while commissioners are pushing drainage upgrades and street repairs.
On Aug. 8, City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez declined to release details of his “conservative” proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year as commissioners review copies of what he described as a lengthy document.
“We’re presenting a balanced budget,” he said, noting commissioners are set to hold their first budget review during an Aug. 10 meeting. “I think it’ll take several meetings to get everything ironed out.”
Last year, commissioners passed a $54.2 million general fund budget coming with a $25 million cash reserve.
Setting tax rate
During their Aug. 10 meeting, commissioners are also expected to review the city’s property tax rate, which now stands at 61 cents per $100 valuation.
As they plan the budget, commissioners will consider adopting the so-called no-new-revenue tax rate or the voter-approved tax rate, under which the state caps governments’ tax revenue collection at 3.5 percent.
This year, the Cameron County Appraisal District’s newly appraised property values increased the city’s net taxable value to $4.76 billion, up from $4.02 billion this year.
While the no-new-revenue tax rate would be set at 0.519 per $100 valuation, the voter-approved tax rate would stand at 0.545 per $100 valuation.
Boosting employee pay
The city’s new budget will include city employee pay increases based on recommendations in a consultant’s study comparing city wages with those of like-sized regional cities.
In May, Evergreen Solutions, a Tallahassee, Fl., consulting firm, presented commissioners with the findings of a city-funded study recommending about a third of City Hall’s staff get about 5 percent salary hikes what would cost the city about $487,460, the study showed.
The study found most city wages stood at or below the market.
The study recommended officials consider boosting 133 employees’ salaries by an average of $3,665, or 4.9 percent.
Now, the city’s new minimum starting salary stands at $10 an hour, generating incomes of $20,880.
The study recommends boosting the minimum salary to $24,500.
“We are following the recommendations of the study,” Mayor Norma Sepulveda said, adding, “We’re trying to see how we can get there.”
‘Full-time drainage crew’
As Commissioner Daniel Lopez outlined his top three budget priorities, he called for “fully-funding our compensation plan so as to keep our hard-working employees and minimize unnecessary expenses related to turnover and training new employees.”
On top of his list, Lopez called for the “creation of a full-time drainage crew whose sole task is flood mitigation.”
To help fund city upgrades, he’s also proposing “supporting our grants department so we may leverage taxpayers’ money to fund street improvements, water and sewer projects, drainage projects and our park system, as well as other city-wide needs.”
Priority lists
Reviewing his priorities list, Commissioner Rene Perez said he’s pushing for drainage upgrades, street repairs, street lighting and the installation of street humps.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Ford Kinsley, who was on vacation, said he hadn’t drawn up his priorities list.
“My priority is no waste — that money go to important things in the city like public works and the police department,” he said. “I want to meet the challenges of the city as much as possible. I want to meet the needs.”
