Members of the Edinburg Housing Authority Laura Pecina (from left) Patricia Garcia, Andrea Iglesias, Lisa Bueno, Zulema Garcia, Roberto Hernandez and Martin Castillo stand to receive a proclamation honoring their outstanding performance in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s comprehensive compliance review during last Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Ryan Lugo/THE RIDER
The Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District has presented a proposal for a Voter Approved Tax Ratification to enhance educational resources to the Edinburg City Council.
“We have an item on the Nov. 7 election and we wanted to give you a briefing on what that item entails,” ECISD Superintendent Mario Salinas said during the public comment section of last Tuesday’s council meeting.
According to the ECISD website, if voters approve the tax ratification:
–property taxes will decrease for ECISD taxpayers in the 2023-2024 school year
–the Voter-Approval Tax Ratification Election will allow the ECISD to keep 3 cents of the reduced property taxes
–the proposed 3 cents will total $6.7 million in annual funding to the district ($3.22 million in local taxes and $3.49 million in state aid).
Salinas presented statistics to councilmembers, making his case why the tax ratification should pass.
“We have 4,700 full-time employees, our budget is over $400 million a year, we have the highest-paid teachers in the [Rio Grande] Valley, and we have over 34,000 students attending our schools,” he said.
Adel Felix, ECISD assistant superintendent for Finance & Operations, provided information to councilmembers regarding the VATRE.
“Edinburg CISD property tax rate will be decreasing by 21.71 cents,” Felix said. “And we are asking for three of those pennies through a voter approval tax ratification election.”
Currently, the tax rate for ECISD is $1.06 for every $100 valuation. And the proposed tax rate is 0.8750 cents including the effects of the VATRE, a decrease of .1854 cents, according to Felix.
“Three pennies will generate approximately $6.7 million to ECISD, 3.3% of that would come through tax collection and 3.5% from sustained school funding,” she said.
The funds would be allocated toward enhancing security on ECISD campuses and for employee compensation, according to Felix.
The proposed tax ratification will also continue to provide student laptops and iPads for instructional needs, according to the school district’s website.
Felix told councilmembers and residents they could access more information about the tax ratification on the ECISD website.
During the public comment section of the meeting, residents of Shalom Drive voiced their continuing concern over a lack of drainage in their community.
“I pay close to $6,000 in taxes every year,” said resident Joe Guerra.
“Just a friendly reminder that we’re there and we need that sewer line,” Guerra said. “… Having a bag of toilet tissues next to your toilet … that’s, like, a health issue. But we need to do that because the septic tanks clog, and they charge a pretty penny to unclog it.”
In a presentation on public utility infrastructure that followed public comment, Tomas D. Reyna, assistant city manager, told councilmembers, “We are proposing an 8-inch sewer line to connect all the way to Alberta Road and to extend services to the [Shalom] residents.”
“Right now, for the sewer line, the manhole and the paving, we’re looking at a total of $358,000, and we have already begun the procurement process,” Reyna said.
Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. asked Reyna how long it would take before residents at Shalom Drive would have access to the sewer line.
“I would say it will be a seven-to-eight-month process,” Reyna replied.
Shalom Drive residents will be contacted by the City of Edinburg once the project is completed, after which residents will be required to hire a plumber to connect them to the sewer line, according to Reyna.
“We’d like to let our community know that we do hear you,” said Place 1 City Councilmember Daniel “Dan” Diaz told the residents. “This has been something we’ve been working on, [but] it’s hard to give false hope till we figure it out, so all the time you’ve come here and spoken to this group, we’ve heard you,” he said.
In other city news, Assistant Director of Cultural Arts, Magdiel Castle announced the department’s achievement of receiving seven Pinnacle awards at the International Festival and Events Association: gold for best single digital ad and bronze for best promotional poster, both for the Frida Fest; silver for best overall entertainment program and bronze for the best T-shirt design, both for the Los Muertos Bailan; gold for best promotional poster and T-shirt design and silver for best printed material multiple page, all for the South Texas International Film Festival.
