Hears update on pay data, approves first reading on property tax hike
Last Tuesday, the Brownsville City Commission approved the first reading on the Fair Practices ordinance, which codifies protections against open discrimination within the city, according to Bryan Martinez, chairman of the Brownsville LGBTQ+ Task Force.
Brownsville is the first city in the Rio Grande Valley to adopt this kind of ordinance, Martinez said.
He said the focus of the Fair Practices Ordinance is to “bring opportunity to every person to obtain employment, access to all places of public accommodation and access to housing without regard to race, color, religion, gender, familial status, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.”
Following public comments from individuals in support of the addition, Roy de Los Santos, Brownsville District 3 city commissioner and a former member of the LGBTQ+ Task Force, said the ordinance was a “labor of love” two years in the making.
Brownsville Mayor Trey Mendez said his “commitment as mayor has always been to help build a city that allows people to be who they are.”
Jessica Tetreau, Brownsville District 2 city commissioner, said she hopes “there are other cities out there that are following in these footsteps.”
“It’s a proud day in the city of Brownsville today, as we have made history once again,” Martinez told The Rider after the commission went into executive session. “We continue to advance the support of [the LGBTQ+ community] in South Texas, not just with the City of Brownsville, but the county.”
The second and final reading of the proposed ordinance will take place during the next Brownsville City Commission meeting Sept. 6, according to Marina Zolezzi, chief of staff for the city manager’s office.
Compensation Analysis Update
Last August, the commission recognized it was behind market on entry pay for city maintenance workers. The Brownsville Finance Department provided an update on the Compensation Analysis Subcommittee, which conducted a study in response to the issue.
Currently, the entry pay for city maintenance workers in Brownsville is $10.10 per hour, according to a presentation by Perla Cepeda, Organizational Development and Human Resources director.
The study found that entry pay should be at mid-market level, $11.68 per hour. The total cost of compensation to get workers up to this level is $3.5 million, with benefits included, Cepeda said.
She then proposed three potential strategies to meet that goal: a phased approach, a one-time stipend pay based on the market gap or a one-time longevity pay based on how long each employee has worked for the city.
In explaining the phased approach strategy, Cepeda proposed an initial implementation of $3.1 million, which is 88% of the whole compensation cost. This means entry pay would be raised to $11.49 per hour.
“I think it’s something the employees certainly deserve,” Mendez said in response to the presentation. “It’s the least we can do. Eighty-eight percent makes sense. … I wish we could do [100%], but 88% is still pretty good, and the other 12% will be phased in at some point.”
The 19 cents that make up the remainder of the pay gap would be implemented in phases when funding is available.
Property Tax Increase
City commissioners also approved a first reading ratifying the Fiscal Year 2023 budget to include a property tax increase by levying a rate of 0.691919 per $100 valuation.
The proposed budget would increase property taxes by 5.29% from the Fiscal Year 2022 budget, bringing in an additional $2,620,719 in revenue.
New property added to the tax roll for the Fiscal Year 2023 budget will bring in revenue of $895,115, according to Brownsville Finance Director Lupe Granado.
