By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
During Tuesday’s special meeting, five of the seven Del Rio City Council members were present. Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez and Councilman Leno Hernandez Jr. were absent.
Here’s what happened at the meeting:
Council postpones decision on appraisal district budget
• City council members voted 5-0 to postpone a vote on a resolution approving the 2027 Val Verde County Appraisal District adopted budget. Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez asked the council to postpone a decision on the appraisal district’s budget until its regular meeting on Aug. 11. Council members voted unanimously to accept Chavez’s recommendation.
Council approves agreement with school district for street sweeping services
• City council members voted 5-0 to approve a resolution authorizing Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez to enter into an interlocal agreement for street sweeping services between the city and the San Felipe Del Rio Consolidated Independent School District.
Chavez told council members school district officials have asked the city to provide street sweeping services twice a year, sweeping each school’s parking lot at the start of the school year and again after the district’s winter break.
Chavez said the school district will be charged a fee to cover the maintenance and operation of the equipment. Council members voted unanimously to accept Chavez’s recommendation.
Chief appraiser presents 2026 property tax appraisal roll for the city of Del Rio
• City council members voted 5-0 to accept the 2026 property tax appraisal roll for the city of Del Rio.
Val Verde County Appraisal District Chief Appraiser Jackie Casanova presented the 2026 certified totals. Casanova said the total market value for the city is $2,975,579,096.
Casanova said the total taxable value for the city this year is $1,933,108,869. She said there are 6,822 homestead properties with an average taxable value of $172,822.
Casanova told the council there is $27,855,032 in new market value for the year.
She said the city’s value reduction this year “stems from House Bill 9,” a measure approved by the Texas Legislature that increased the business personal property tax exemption from $2,500 to $125,000.
She said the new measure resulted in “an approximate value loss” to Del Rio of $44 million in taxable business personal property. Factoring in the new market value, the net value loss is $24,192,722, about 1 percent above last year’s taxable value.
City finance staff won’t recommend property tax rate increase
• City council members took no action after hearing a report from Interim Finance Director Roxy Soto on the proposed 2026 city property tax rate.
Soto reminded the council the annual tax rate the city adopts includes two parts: the interest and sinking (I&S) rate and the maintenance and operation (M&O) rate.
She said the I&S rate is the rate the city must set to make its debt payments each year, and the M&O rate funds the city’s general operating expenses.
Soto said the city’s no-new-revenue rate is $0.702311, and the voter-approval tax rate is $0.710250.
Soto said city administrators will recommend a proposed city property tax rate of $0.707000, the same rate the city has this year.
Council hears presentation on proposed Fiscal Year 2026-2027 city budget
• City council members took no action following a presentation by Interim Finance Director Roxy Soto on the proposed Fiscal Year 2026-2027 city budget.
Soto presented a detailed overview of the city’s general fund and explained highlights and proposed changes.
Soto told the council city administrators are recommending eliminating 13 currently vacant positions from the city budget.
She emphasized no city employee will lose his or her job because of the proposed cuts, which she said were developed with the assistance of the city’s department heads.
Soto said the proposed budget also includes a 2 percent cost-of-living increase for the city’s non-civil service employees.
She said the city will absorb a 5 percent increase in employee health and dental insurance costs, and administrators are recommending a decrease in transfers from the city’s enterprise funds into the general fund.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
