Laredo advances $1.01 billion proposed FY2026 budget; council approves CIP while holding $4.5M for Slaughter Park turf

At a City of Laredo budget workshop, City Manager Joe Nebb presented a proposed $1.01 billion fiscal year 2026 consolidated budget and a five‑year capital improvement plan that city staff said is “structurally balanced.” Council approved the package of budget motions and the CIP after debate about a $4.5 million artificial‑turf project at Slaughter Park.

The budget covers core services including police, fire and streets and keeps the city’s tax rate unchanged, while using reserves and debt tools to fund capital work. “This budget is our budget,” City Manager Joe Nebb told the council as he outlined revenue assumptions, reserve targets and a multi‑year approach to financing major projects.

Nebb said the proposed consolidated budget totals about $1,010,000,000 and that the general fund appropriation is roughly $287,800,000. He told council the administration built the plan to preserve legally required reserves and to plan for labor and capital needs: “We are required by law in our general fund to have 15% reserves,” Nebb said, and the budget estimates a budgeted general‑fund reserve near 20% during FY2026.

Why this matters: the plan funds public safety increases negotiated with unions, uses bridge toll transfers and sales‑tax growth to balance recurring costs and expands capital spending to address aging streets, utility infrastructure and parks. City staff said public safety will make up about 62% of general‑fund spending in the proposal and that bridge transfers are projected at about $43 million toward general‑fund operating needs.

Major elements and council action - Consolidated proposed budget: $1,010,000,000; net operating budget after interfund transfers presented by staff: approximately $723,000,000. - General fund proposed revenues: about $287,831,145; property taxes estimated at about $98.2 million; sales tax estimated about $57.6 million; bridge transfer about $43 million. - Public safety pay and contract changes were built into the budget; managers said a 4% general cost‑of‑living allowance and additional negotiated increases for police and fire are included in the plan.

Budget staff briefed how the consolidated number includes interfund transfers and why the document shows both gross appropriations and net operating figures. “So even though we have a billion dollar budget, I don't wanna count the appropriation in general fund, which is going to a health department twice,” Jesus Esparza, director of the budget department, told the council while explaining how transfers and enterprise fund revenues are shown in the published figures.

Capital plan and turf debate Assistant City Manager Ramon Chavez and CIP staff presented a five‑year capital improvement plan with an FY2026 capital budget of about $82.7 million and a five‑year program totaling roughly $2.9 billion. Staff said roughly 30% of FY2026 CIP funding would come from bond proceeds and tax notes, with grants and developer contributions also used for specific projects such as State Highway 84 improvements, the Buena Vista Sports Complex access and bridge projects.

A contentious council discussion focused on a $4.5 million proposal to convert multipurpose fields at Slaughter Park to artificial turf. Parks Director JJ Gomez said the fields are heavily used by multiple youth and adult leagues and argued artificial turf would reduce recurring maintenance and water costs and support more intensive year‑round use. He also described how the Buena Vista Sports Complex will reserve weekdays for local play and weekends for tournaments.

Council members raised competing priorities, noting the city is funding a large new sports complex and that other neighborhoods have trail‑lighting and playground needs. After debate, the council approved the overall CIP but directed staff to remove the $4.5 million Slaughter Park turf item from the FY2026 list and hold those dollars in an unallocated parks contingency so the council can revisit the item with more detail later.

Formal actions reported - Approved holiday schedule motion (motion passed). - Approved transfer of $4,200,000 from general‑fund reserves to police personnel lines to cover negotiated contract increases (motion passed). - Approved the FY2026 proposed budget as presented, with those motions included (motion passed). - Approved the FY2026‑FY2030 capital improvement plan; council removed and reserved $4,500,000 for park improvements (motion passed).

All votes in the workshop were taken by voice; staff recorded the motions as carried.

Next steps and public materials Budget staff said the budget calendar calls for final ordinance introduction and public hearings in September with adoption to follow. Esparza reminded the council that full budget and CIP documents and quarterly project updates are available on the city website and via project QR codes on engineering vehicles and project pages.

What council and staff said next: City Manager Nebb said the budget is a living document that will be adjusted through amendments during the fiscal year. Jesus Esparza said budget documents and CIP details will be posted and that staff will return with any required ordinance readings and fee updates. Parks staff said they will return with project‑level cost and operating‑cost estimates if council wishes to reconsider the Slaughter Park turf proposal.