Mayor and city manager urge residents to complete 2020 census
SCREENSHOTS TAKEN BY FERNANDA FIGUEROA DURING THE SEPT. 1 EDINBURG CITY COUNCIL MEETING VIA ZOOM
Fernanda Figueroa | THE RIDER
The Edinburg City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize the proposed property tax rate of $0.06800 per $100 valuation for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2020.
The tax rate is the same as the one for the current fiscal year.
Councilmember Gilbert Enriquez raised some concerns regarding the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents and how the tax might affect them some more.
“I am just a little bit [concerned] that we are not able to help our citizens a little bit more with maybe reducing the tax rate,” Enriquez said during the meeting, which was conducted via Zoom. “If we don’t reduce the tax rate, I am OK with that. I just want to make sure that we try our best to lower expenses as much as possible so next year we can definitely give a tax break.”
The council also set a public hearing at 6 p.m. Sept. 15 on the proposed tax rate, after which there will be a vote. The council will also conduct a budget workshop at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
In other business, Mayor Richard Molina and City Manager Ron Garza urged residents to complete the 2020 census as the deadline of Sept. 30 fast approaches.
“The census gives us money for absolutely everything you can think, drainage, roadways, schools, representatives in Austin, representatives in D.C.,” Molina said. “If you haven’t filled your census, please come to the [city library] and do so.”
A census hub has been set up at the Dustin Michael Sekula Memorial Library, located at 1906 S. Closner Blvd. It is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to help those who have not yet filled out their census form.
As an incentive, those who complete the form between Sept. 1 and 30 will be entered into a raffle to win tickets to the FC Toros game on Oct. 3, along with sweets, beverages, an autographed jersey and a meet-and- greet with the players given to eight members of the same family, Garza said.
“If you have not yet done so, now is the perfect opportunity to respond to the census,” he said.
The census can also be filled online at https://www.2020census.gov.
Garza also provided a quick update on the CARES Act, which is an allocation of $11.5 million provided by the county. City officials are working to ensure the products they ordered are received in a timely manner and in the quantity they were ordered.
He said the city has until Oct. 31 to expend its original allocation to qualify to receive an additional $1.821 million in funds.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act spending includes:
–$2,325 in COVID-19 employee testing,
–$8,932.50 in UV sanitizing light disinfectant wands,
–$6,795.80 in foggers,
–$2,482.70 in hand sanitizer gallons,
–$80,700 in HEPA room air purifiers and filters,
–$14,225 in sanitizing and disinfecting Boys & Girls Club and
–$2.5 million for SPARC (Stimulus Program Aimed at Recovery from COVID)
