City Manager Adriana Rodarte presented the City of Socorro’s proposed fiscal 2025–26 budget at a special council meeting Saturday, Aug. 2, and recommended publishing the voter-approval tax rate of 0.645233 as the maximum rate the city will consider for the coming year.

The recommendation, and the broader budget presentation, matter because the city faces rising property appraisals that could increase tax bills even if the tax rate falls. Rodarte told the council the proposed voter-approval rate "is the rate staff is recommending to adopt," and that under Texas truth-in-taxation rules the proposed rate of 0.645233 is above the city’s “no new revenue” rate and therefore will be classified as a tax revenue increase for notice purposes.

At the meeting the council voted to publish the 0.645233 figure as the maximum rate to consider and set Sept. 11, 2025, as the date for final adoption. Staff also received direction to move forward with the proposed changes presented during the workshop.

Rodarte outlined three legally defined rate options: the current (no-change) rate of 0.6669; the “no new revenue” rate of 0.634377, which would collect the same total tax revenue as the prior year from existing properties; and the voter-approval rate of 0.645233, which staff is recommending. Using city examples, Rodarte said a homeowner with a $100,000 taxable value would see an illustrative tax-bill decrease of about $30.33 under the proposed rate, though she warned that higher appraised values from the appraisal district can still raise an individual homeowner’s bill despite a lower rate.

Rodarte described several budget items and specific cost estimates included in the presentation: an intergovernmental support agreement (ICSA) to provide custodial services tied to a federal relationship that will be reflected in the budget as approximately $4,100,000 in both revenues and expenditures in the first year; creation of a new transit department and a proposed microtransit service budgeted at about $230,000; a request to reclassify the Parks and Public Works director to a city engineer with an estimated $25,000 budget increase; a proposed full-time crime analyst for the police department (estimated total cost including benefits about $78,000); outsourcing payroll related to grant management (estimated $45,000); and a grants and special projects coordinator position (estimated $65,000 including fringe).

Other line items Rodarte identified included $650,000 for Phase 5 of the city’s sidewalk program, $50,000 to digitize planning and zoning records, $45,000 for courthouse improvements, $50,000 for the city health service contract, and $105,000 in the city clerk’s budget to support upcoming November elections for Districts 1, 2 and 3. Rodarte also said police personnel eligible for step increases will continue to receive a 2.5% annual step increase over the next five years, per prior council approval.

Rodarte said the ICSA will not include indirect cost recovery for its first year, to keep the initial launch conservative and to prioritize an efficient start; future iterations could include indirect cost recovery after processes are refined. When asked whether the agreement would be net positive for the city, Rodarte said the first year is planned as “kind of a wash” with the payments and costs roughly offsetting one another, and that administrative overhead would be evaluated during audit and renegotiated in subsequent years.

City staff presented a multi-line financial snapshot during the workshop and said the proposed items would rely in part on use of reserves; Rodarte said staff considers the proposed reserve usage “acceptable and sustainable” for the fiscal year. City attorney or staff member Jim told council members that if the council wanted to adopt a rate higher than the voter-approval rate, state law would require calling an election and that an election call would have to be made by Aug. 18, creating a tight legal timeline.

Following the presentation, councilmembers voiced general support for the staff’s budgeting approach and thanked the administration team. The council approved a motion to publish the proposed voter-approval rate of 0.645233 as the maximum and to set the Sept. 11, 2025, meeting to consider final adoption. The council also approved routine consent items, moved to delete agenda items 8–10, and adjourned the meeting.

No formal roll-call vote with named tallies was recorded in the meeting transcript for the tax-rate motion; the record shows the motion passed by voice vote and the council set the Sept. 11 adoption date.