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Council trims Tri County Chamber membership to lower tier, debates Cibolo magazine and budget transparency in FY26 discussions
Summary
Cibolo councilors directed staff to reduce the city’s Tri County Chamber membership to the lowest tier and debated cutting the city magazine from two issues to one during FY26 budget discussions, while seeking clearer documentation of reductions from departmental requests.
The Cibolo City Council provided direction on several fiscal-year 2026 budget items during a detailed budget discussion, voting to reduce the city’s Tri County Chamber membership to the lowest tier and debating whether to cut one issue of the city’s Cibolo magazine to save roughly $24,000.
Council members questioned line-item reductions and requested clearer documentation showing reductions from department requests rather than year-to-year comparisons. Staff said the reductions shown in the manager’s proposed budget are reductions from current-year departmental requests and offered to present an additional column showing original departmental requests, the manager’s proposed budget and the final proposed figures for council review.
On outside memberships, councilors discussed duplicative memberships with a local chamber and the Tri County Chamber. Staff reported the city’s current payments to both organizations were in the mid-thousands; council members raised concerns about value and visibility from Tri County and debated dropping membership entirely or moving to the lowest tier. The council was split 3-3 in initial direction; the mayor broke the tie and directed staff to move Tri County membership to the lowest tier for FY26. During the discussion staff displayed membership tiers: nonprofit $100, government/business $650 (two representative seats), and higher tiers with greater benefits. The exact dollar adjustment will be reflected in budget documents; staff pledged to update the budget line to reflect the council’s decision.
Council also discussed the city-produced Cibolo magazine (two issues per year) and whether to reduce to one issue to save approximately $24,000. Supporters said the magazine serves residents who do not rely on online channels and provides a reference guide; others said the cost should be deferred while revenues are constrained. Council did not record a final vote on the magazine during the excerpted discussion; members suggested returning with a content proposal and cost comparisons.
Other budget items discussed: the capital improvements (CIP) manager position was converted to the assistant public works director title with no pay change; staff said the org chart will be corrected so the CIP manager is shown as 0 FTE in FY26 because duties were reallocated. Council asked staff to bring clearer documentation of reductions and original departmental requests for a future meeting.
