Texas Border Business
Brownsville, TX – The City of Brownsville opens Fiscal Year 2025 with a City Commission adopted budget of $133.2 million as presented by City Manager, Helen Ramirez, ICMA-CM, AICP. The City’s budget provides support for the day-to-day operation of the City and services residents are provided and have come to rely on. The budget is balanced with a property tax rate of 0.603504, which is the 4th consecutive year of a tax reduction. The balanced budget, in both revenues and expenditures, underscores the City’s dedication to responsible financial management and the enhancement of quality of life for residents and its employee first approach.
“The City of Brownsville’s budget highlights our commitment to critical infrastructure projects, public safety,and our employees who are committed to our community,” said Ms. Ramirez. “We are investing resourcesin long-term solutions to further enhance the quality of life, keep Brownsville safe, while ensuring we remain a competitive employer in the professional arena.”
“The City’s strong financial management was key to earning the recent “Aa3” rating from Moody’s Ratingsfor the upcoming issuance of Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation for Series 2024,” said Alan Guard, Brownsville’s Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer. “We are committed tomaintaining a stable and progressive financial environment, while fostering substantial growth and development throughout the City, internally and externally.”
The adopted FY25 Budget operates from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025. Budget highlights include:
| 1. Balanced Financial Management: |
| Total Budget: $133.2M |
| General Fund: $133.2M |
| 2. Capital Improvement Budget: |
| Total Allocation: $95.1M |
| Streets & Drainage: $17.2M |
| Public Safety, Emergency Operations, and Civic Complex: $6.7M |
| Parks: $3.7M |
| Buses: $10.1M |
| Technology Improvements: $4.3M |
| Sidewalks and Hike & Bike Trails: $4.1M |
| Downtown Improvements: $3.2M |
| 3. General Fund Overview: |
| Expenditure Breakdown: |
| Public Safety: 52.2% |
| General Government: 24.1% |
| Culture and Recreation: 8.6% |
| Public Works: 7.7% |
| Transfers to Other Funds: 5% |
| Public Health: 2.5% |
| 4. Personnel Services: |
| Allocation: $89.5M |
| 3% Cost-of-Living Adjustment for City employees |
| Minimum Wage increased from $10.97 to $13.00 per hour |
| Compression adjustment applied for employees with 7+ consecutive years of service to the City |
| Non-Civil Service Employees received a stipend at the end of FY24 in the amount of$2,500 for Full-Time Employees, and $1,250 for Part-Time Employees, due to conservative budgeting and a healthy sales tax. |
| The City’s FY25 budget demonstrates the City’s dedication to fiscal responsibility while enhancing the quality of life for Brownsville residents. |
