EDC director presents FY26 proposal citing $1.2M sales tax forecast and $2.8M proposed expenses

The Brookshire City Council heard a presentation from Dr. Bautista, the city’s economic development director, on the Economic Development Corporation’s draft FY2026 budget at a special workshop on Aug. 13, 2025. Dr. Bautista said a sales-tax forecast prepared by HDL projects roughly $1.2 million in revenue for the coming year and that the city’s bank balance plus projected sales tax could put the EDC’s available funds “a little over $4,000,000” for budgeting.

Dr. Bautista told council the EDC separated operating expenses from capital projects to improve transparency. Operating costs, including salaries and beautification, were presented at a little over $600,000. Project and capital categories proposed in the packet include downtown improvements (including marked parking spaces), equipment and computers for events, capital outlay for facilities, grant-matching funds to support a planned city grant administrator, and an allocation for EDC board member–proposed projects.

Specific programmatic ideas cited in the presentation include creating clearly marked parking spaces downtown, upgrading event and office technology, the possibility of acquiring land inside the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction to address parking and detention (flooding) needs, and continuing infrastructure projects for roads and drainage. Dr. Bautista noted recent and ongoing grant-funded work, which the presentation termed MIT MOD and ARPA roads projects, and said the EDC would follow a similar model for future grants.

On totals, Dr. Bautista presented proposed EDC expenses of $2,800,000 and said that if the full amount were expensed the city would still have a cash position of about $1,200,000. Council members asked clarifying questions; no formal vote on the EDC budget occurred during the workshop. Dr. Bautista also said he would work with the EDC board and city leadership to identify specific Type-B projects for the coming year.

Context: The EDC presentation focused on near-term projects intended to support downtown visitation and business retention and to create flexibility for grant matching and potential land purchases; staff emphasized separating operating and capital lines to keep projected sales-tax revenue within budget.

No ordinances or statutory references were cited during the EDC presentation; staff said additional details on specific projects would be brought to future meetings.