Reinvestment Zone board appoints vice chair, secretary and recommends Sonia Jumpin as chair to City Council

The Reinvestment Zone Number 1 board on Tuesday appointed a vice chair and a secretary and voted to recommend Sonia Jumpin to the Eagle Pass City Council as chair for the 2025 calendar year.

The board, convened by Mayor Salinas at 5:10 p.m., voted on a motion presented by Judge Cantu that asked the city council to appoint Sonia Jumpin as the zone’s chair while installing Councilman Garcia as vice chair and Commissioner Ramos as secretary for the board’s internal operations. Judge Cantu moved the recommendation; Councilman Garcia seconded. The board recorded the vote as unanimous on the internal officer appointments and moved the recommendation to council for the chair position.

The board’s attorney, Juan Aguilera, explained that state law requires the mayor to serve as the initial chair of a newly created tax increment reinvestment board and that the council (not this board) formally appoints the annual chair thereafter. Aguilera told the board the statute does not prescribe which other officer positions (for example, vice chair, secretary or treasurer) must exist, leaving those selections to the board.

During the discussion members said a vice chair was important to ensure someone could run meetings if the chair is absent. Judge Cantu formally recommended Sonia Jumpin for the chair recommendation to council and proposed Garcia and Ramos for vice chair and secretary, respectively. The board’s motion to forward that recommendation to the city council passed with no votes against.

Because the council, by ordinance and state statute, must name the zone’s official chair, today’s action is a recommendation for council consideration; the board directly appointed the vice chair and secretary for internal purposes.

The board did not set a treasurer or other officer at this meeting. Members said such positions can be added or changed at a future meeting as needed.

The board adjourned after completing officer selections and moving on to project updates.