Council approves Midland Development Corporation budget amid public concerns over downtown hotel and transparency

The Midland City Council voted 6–1 to approve the Midland Development Corporation(MDC) fiscal year 202526 budget after a public comment period that raised questions about MDCoperations and the financing and oversight of a downtown hotel project.

The vote came after more than an hour of council discussion, public comments and answers from city staff. Residents and activists asked for clearer accounting of MDC expenses, questioned whether the hotel project should have been presented to voters and said residents were being stonewalledwhen seeking records. The council majority approved the budget after staff said MDC commitments are structured to be payable over a multi-year timeline and certain budget line items match audited financial statements.

Why it matters: The MDC is a city-authorized type A economic development corporation (Texas Local Government Code, Ch. 504). Its budget and projects can involve large sums and multi-year commitments. Speakers at the meeting warned citizens that the MDC had committed projects that exceed current cash and asked the council to press MDC for better transparency and accounting. Council members said they wanted to preserve oversight while allowing the MDC to continue economic development work.

Key facts: The council considered the MDC budget after the item was deferred from the July 22 meeting. Public commenters highlighted a line item in the MDC budget they said listed $90,000 in government expensesthat they felt should be classified differently (administrative vs. government expense). City staff responded that the budget presentation was formatted to match the audited financial statements. A public speaker estimated MDC had roughly $67 million in committed projects that would be paid out over a multiyear period.

Council reaction and next steps: Several council members said they want to review MDC line items individually and voted to approve the budget while reserving the right to scrutinize specific requests that come before the council. One council member said she would not support the budget in a block in the future until she saw changes in MDC governance and clearer answers about the hotel and accounting entries. The mayor and staff said they had offered meetings to community members and would forward FOIA requests to the city office when appropriate.

Ending: The motion carried 6 to 1. The council directed continued oversight of MDC items when they return to council for separate approvals, and staff said they would continue to respond to records requests and follow-up questions from council and the public.