Brownsville manager outlines $110.6 million capital plan, broadband and public-safety projects

Brownsville City Manager Helen Ramirez on Thursday summarized the city’s major development and technology priorities, saying the administration has adopted a fiscal 2025 budget that includes $110.6 million in capital improvements and a five-year capital improvement program she described as about $300 million.

Ramirez told a Brownsville Chamber of Commerce audience that the administration has leveraged grants, federal stimulus and bond-market improvements to expand projects across downtown, the port and the airport. “One city is the philosophy that working collaboratively internally with the city and with our nonprofits, our churches, our businesses ... that’s the way we accelerate,” Ramirez said.

Why it matters: Ramirez said the package is intended to fund long-running infrastructure deficits and to enable the city to support a wave of private investment — from SpaceX’s Starbase operations to planned LNG and port projects — while improving public safety and downtown capacity for new businesses, hotels and housing.

What the city announced and detailed

Budget and capital program: Ramirez said the city adopted the FY2025 budget that includes $110.6 million earmarked for capital projects in the current year and a roughly $300 million five-year CIP for streets, drainage, sidewalks, trails and new facilities. Ramirez said the city has reduced its tax rate four years in a row and that Standard & Poor’s upgraded the city’s rating to double-A plus, which the city manager said will reduce long-term borrowing costs.

Grants and ARPA spending: Ramirez said the city’s grants office has secured more than $40 million in grant awards. The administration allocated $14.5 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds to strengthen downtown utility lines to…