Del Rio City Council special meeting roundup
Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Six of the seven members of the Del Rio City Council were present. Councilwoman Carmen
Gutierrez was absent.
Here’s what happened at the meeting:
Council votes on proposed city property tax rate
• City council members voted 6-0 to approve a motion by Councilman J.P. Sanchez that the 2026
proposed property tax rate be set at $0.7070 per $100 of valuation. In a memo to the council and
included as part of the council’s informational packet, Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez
wrote the city is proposing to maintain the same property tax as that set in 2025. Also included in
the council’s informational packet is the notice of the tax rate that will be published and posted
on the city’s web site. Following Sanchez’s motion and a second by Councilman LeRoy Briones,
City Secretary Mari Acosta polled each of the council members for his or her vote, and all
present voted in favor of the motion.
•
Council sets public hearing on proposed solid waste service rates
• City council members voted 6-0 to schedule a public hearing on the city’s proposed solid waste
rates for the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget. Interim Finance Director Roxy Soto gave a detailed
presentation on the solid waste rate proposal during the council’s last regular meeting on July 28.
The public hearing on the proposed new rates, which will affect residential and commercial
customers, was scheduled to be included on the agenda of the council’s regular meeting Sept.
22.
•
Council hears presentation on special revenue funds in FY 2026-2027 budget
• City council members took no action following a presentation on the special revenue funds
included in the city’s Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget. Interim Finance Director Roxy Soto gave
the presentation and covered proposed revenues and expenditures for the city’s transportation
department, Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Nutrition and Social Services and the Del Rio
Economic Development Corporation (EDC). After going over the proposed budgets for each of
the special revenue departments, Soto and other city administrators present fielded questions
from council members.
•
Council members receive copies of the proposed Fiscal Year 2026-2027 city budget
• City council members took no action following the distribution of copies of the city’s proposed
Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget. Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez made a brief statement
about the budget, first thanking the city staff members and department heads who have been
working on the budget for the past months. Chavez asked council members to keep in mind that
the staff has presented a balanced budget and that he would be providing council with a list of
requests by department heads for review, but said “anything that gets added, we need to make
sure we find funds to fund it, or we take something out.” Chavez said the budget is a working
document and will remain so until its adoption in early September. Interim Finance Director
Roxy Soto told the council the proposed budget will be made available to the public
immediately.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
