By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
All seven members of the Del Rio City Council were present.
Here’s what happened at the meeting:
City staff presents educational resources on city property tax rate
After Mayor Al Arreola opened a required public hearing on the proposed property tax increase for 2026, City Interim Finance Director Roxy Soto presented city council members with two new resources the city will use in ongoing attempts to educate the public about the proposed tax rate.
She played the video, titled “How Texas Property Tax Rates Actually Work.” She also presented a flyer titled “Understanding Your Property Tax Rates: A Resident’s Guide,” developed by city staff.
Soto explained, “Anything above the ‘no new revenue tax rate’ is considered an increase in property tax rate, even if the city is opting to use the same tax rate as last year’s tax rate. That is why, our agendas and our notices have (to read) ‘tax increase,’ even if it is the same tax rate as last year. Because it is higher than the ‘no new revenue rate,’ technically it’s considered an increase.”
Citizen speaks to council during tax rate public hearing
Del Rioan Bea Vallejo was the only citizen to offer comments during a public hearing on the city’s proposed property tax rate for the coming year.
Vallejo expressed frustration about increasing tax bills and city fees. There was some confusion when City Secretary Mari Acosta attempted to stop Vallejo after she had been speaking for three minutes, the usual amount of time allowed for citizens who speak during the council’s “Citizen Comments,” but Mayor Al Arreola said Vallejo could continue speaking.
Vallejo then told council members of incidents she had observed during which city employees appeared to use their city-issued vehicles for private purposes. Arreola eventually also asked Vallejo to stop, saying her comments fell beyond comments on the tax rate.
City council holds public hearing on proposed city budget
Mayor Al Arreola opened a public hearing on the city’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget at 6:45 p.m.
Arreola invited Del Rio resident Bea Vallejo back to the podium to discuss the budget, but Vallejo, who had taken her seat in the audience, said she had already made the comments she wanted to make, adding only, “We need to see a real budget. That’s what we need.”
Councilman Leno Hernandez said he had a comment, asking if council members “could have conversations amongst ourselves” during the hearing. City Attorney Ana Markowski Smith said he could.
Hernandez asked Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez about the public’s response to the city’s “Budget Explorer” function on its website. Chavez said he did not have that figure available and said the city’s actual budget is available for review by the public on the city’s website.
City Purchasing Agent/Interim Assistant Finance Director Luis Menchaca said he would get numbers on how many persons had logged on to look at the “Budget Explorer.”
Arreola closed the public hearing on the budget at 6:49 p.m.
Council approves bingo lease with United Civic Organization
City council members voted 6-0-1, with Councilman J.P. Sanchez abstaining, to approve a resolution authorizing and directing Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez to execute a nine-month lease agreement with the United Civic Organization (UCO) for bingo operations at the Red Oak Ballroom in the Del Rio Civic Center.
Chavez told the council there was one change to the resolution and the lease agreement. Chavez said the resolution and lease agreement were for UCO to conduct bingo operations on Wednesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
UCO will pay the city $300 for each bingo session plus a $60 monthly storage fee.
Chavez told the council the lease agreement only covers nine months because the city is currently upgrading another city facility which UCO may be able to use in the future.
Councilman asks questions about city tax rate
Just before the council went into executive session during its special meeting, Councilman LeRoy Briones said he had a question about the city’s proposed property tax rate for 2026.
Briones said, “I know that there’s been some misconception, and I wanted to thank Ms. Roxy (Soto) for clarification, and just for council, that our property taxes are not going up. We’ve adopted the same tax rate as we did last year. So I just wanted to put it on record that our tax rate is not going up.”
Briones then asked Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez if that was correct, and Chavez replied, “Yes, and just to clarify, the rate hasn’t been adopted. That’ll be for the next meeting, but the recommended tax rate is the same as the current tax rate.”
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
