El Paso City Council to vote on new budget and no-new-revenue tax rate

EL PASO, TX (KVIA) -- El Paso City Council is set to vote on the proposed budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which includes a no-new-revenue tax rate.

The no-new-revenue tax rate is designed to keep the city's revenue from property taxes at the same level as last year, despite rising property values. This means that while many homeowners have seen an increase in the appraised value of their homes, the proposed lower tax rate aims to prevent a significant increase in the city's portion of their tax bills.

ABC-7 spoke to Chief Financial Officer and Deputy City Manager for the City of El Paso, Robert Cortinas who explained that this approach has been a priority for the mayor and city council, “All of the city staff have worked extremely hard in this budget. It is a significant achievement for the city to be able to do this now for two years in a row,” he says.

The proposed budget includes continued investments in public safety, infrastructure, and city employee wages. It includes funding for police and fire academies, street improvements, and operational costs for city facilities like La Nube, the new children’s museum.

Cortinas says the investment in the city’s workforce was a priority when developing the new budget. He says city council approved an increase to get to a target wage of $15 per hour for all civilian employees, “With the budget that will be approved tomorrow. It'll put us at $14.11 effective in March of 2025. So we're doing a $0.50 increase in September, a $0.50 increase in March for all of our civilian employees,” he explains.

If approved, the new tax rate and budget will take effect on September 1. Residents can participate in today’s City Council meeting, either in person or virtually, to provide input during the final public hearing before the vote.

City Council meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall. You can count on ABC-7 for the latest.