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Eagle Pass council reviews revised $61 million FY2026 budget; approves preliminary plan with pay-scale amendment
Summary
Finance director presented a revised FY2026 budget that projects about $61 million in revenues and $60.7 million in expenditures, shows general fund personnel costs at roughly 63% of the fund, lists multiple requested new FTEs, and was preliminarily approved by council with direction to develop a performance-based pay plan.
Finance Director Feliz Castillo presented a revised version of the City of Eagle Pass proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and answered council questions before the council voted to preliminarily approve the plan with an amendment on employee pay policy.
Castillo told the council he had “apologizing for some of the errors that we made on the first draft of the budget. There is no excuse. I take the blame completely.” He then walked through the revised packet, noting the city’s fiscal year runs Oct. 1–Sept. 30 and labeling the presented fund balances and revenue estimates as unaudited and estimated.
The packet showed total projected revenues of about $61 million and total expenditures of about $60.7 million. Castillo summarized the general fund as having an estimated beginning fund balance of roughly $9.7 million and a projected small net increase of $33,409 under the proposed plan. He drew council attention to transfers between funds, noting the international bridge system and solid waste funds contribute significant transfers to the general fund, and described a change in accounting: “What we wanna do this year is record the money that the general government is contributing to the grants,” rather than touching fund balance.
Why it matters: Council members pressed staff on personnel costs and on sustainability. Castillo pointed out that personnel expenses make up about 63% of general fund expenditures and warned the city must “keep a close eye” on growth in permanent personnel costs.
Key details and council direction: The budget includes department requests for several new full-time positions and reclassifications (examples given in the presentation): a security officer in economic development ($46,515 total cost with benefits), a fire captain ($83,819), a police captain ($94,843), a recreation supervisor ($58,540), upgrades in bridge operations and other internal reclassifications. Castillo and staff emphasized the budget is a “living document” and that adoption is scheduled for Sept. 16; changes may be made before adoption.
Council action: Councilwoman Ramon moved to approve the budget while also requesting that the proposed pay-scale be changed from a time-of-service model to a performance-based system tied to employee evaluations. Councilman Diaz seconded. The motion passed, recorded as 3 in favor and 1 abstention. Council directed staff and the city manager to return with a performance-based evaluation and compensation proposal for council consideration at a subsequent meeting.
Other budget items discussed in the presentation included: the debt service schedule (noting long-term certificates of obligation remaining balances and interest), proposed capital purchases across departments (police tasers, specialized equipment for parks and streets, solid waste vehicle replacements), and city contributions to community organizations. Staff said organizations that request contributions will be required to submit a simple application documenting how funds will be used.
Ending: The council approved the budget motion preliminarily and asked staff to refine personnel and pay recommendations. Final adoption remains scheduled in September; staff emphasized the figures shown in the packet are estimates and the budget will be adjusted before formal adoption.
