La Marque council hears concerns over proposed FY2025–26 budget as departments press for new staff and cybersecurity spending

The La Marque City Council met in a special budget workshop on Aug. 4 to review the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget, and interim City Manager “Miss Holly” told council members she could not support the document as presented because it contained multiple errors and had not been received by staff or council with adequate time for review.

The budget workshop drew extended presentations from department heads including IT Director Conrad, Communications Coordinator (Miss Agatha), and Human Resources Director (Miss Hobart). Council members repeatedly emphasized public safety, drainage and roads as top community priorities and discussed holding the current maintenance-and-operations tax rate rather than raising it; the council has previously discussed a general-obligation bond for a new police station.

Miss Holly told the council she received the budget late (after 5 p.m. on Friday before the workshop) and that the city charter requires presentation of budget material well in advance of adoption; she said department heads were still unclear about what the draft contained and that she would work with staff to reduce roughly $2 million from the requests to hold the current tax rate.

Why it matters: the workshop combined a review of line-item requests with department heads’ presentations that revealed operational gaps — most notably in information technology, communications and human resources — and flagged timing and process issues in how the budget was compiled and distributed to council and to staff.

IT director presentation: Conrad said the city’s digital infrastructure needs immediate investment. He told…