Edinburg Warrant Officer Carla Bautista presents the Patriotic Employer Award to Edinburg Police Chief Jaime Ayala during Tuesday’s Edinburg City Council meeting. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER
The Edinburg City Council addressed a range of issues during its Tuesday meeting, focusing on crime prevention initiatives, employee health insurance renewal and rezoning.
Edinburg Police Chief Jaime Ayala presented the department’s annual report to councilmembers. The report highlights the department’s efforts to combat crime, including a 32% increase in driving while intoxicated arrests and the implementation of drones for officer safety.
“In August, we started a ‘Make a Plan Campaign,’” Ayala said. “We’re trying to promote people to take third-party rideshare vendors to get to and from their location safely.”
During the presentation, footage was shown of drones being used to apprehend alleged burglars in a park to give councilmembers “an idea of how valuable this resource is to our officers and our officers’ safety,” he said.
“We have various aircrafts,” Ayala said. “ … We’re able to fly indoors on SWAT missions, and others are able to capture crime scenes from the air of car crashes and other crime scenes as well.”
The department also received grants for mental health support for officers and established a peer network where officers can seek out mental health anonymously.
“There’s a stigma in first responders that they don’t ask for help,” he said.
During the meeting, councilmembers discussed city employee health insurance renewal options for Fiscal Year 2024.
Belinda Torres, director of Human Resources, presented data collected from an insurance benefits survey showing 89% satisfaction among city employees and their current benefits.
Mayor Pro Tem Daniel “Dan” Diaz raised a concern regarding potential cost increases for the new fiscal year.
Moises Arjona Jr., collective impact director for Unidos Contra La Diabetes, thanks the City of Edinburg for recognizing its role in bringing awareness to Type 2 diabetes in the Rio Grande Valley during Tuesday’s Edinburg City Council meeting. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER
“Last year we paid higher; we went up 7%,” Diaz said. “This year we used less and stayed the same?”
Torres said last fiscal year, the City of Edinburg paid about $7.6 million to BlueCross BlueShield of Texas for the medical plan. Currently, the city is at $8.4 billion because of the increase.
“Coming back, when reviewing utilization, now we are at 78% so we were able to negotiate a zero increase,” she said.
Councilmembers approved a 0% increase renewal with BlueCross BlueShield of Texas and a motion was passed to review bids for voluntary insurance products.
A rezoning request for property at 819 W. Smith St., was also discussed during the meeting and councilmembers denied it due to compatibility issues with the surrounding neighborhood.
Jaime Acevedo, director of Planning and Zoning, told councilmembers that staff recommended against the request because the area is zoned for single-family homes and the proposal involved building townhouses.
Also during the meeting, councilmembers unanimously voted to approve reallocating excess American Rescue Plan Act funds to existing projects.
The budget amendment will reallocate excess funds to the new Service Center, renovations to the Emergency Operation Center, the wastewater treatment plant generator and improvements to City Hall.
In other news, Ayala was presented with the Patriotic Employer Award for his exceptional commitment to training and education initiatives.
The police chief was recognized by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, along with the Edinburg Police Department.
“I accept this for all the men and women who lead in the Edinburg Police Department,” Ayala said.
Ramiro Garza Jr. (from left), mayor; David Salazar Jr., councilmember place 3; and Jason De Leon, councilmember place 2, vote to consider a resolution authorizing the amendment of the American Rescue Plan Act during Tuesday’s Edinburg City Council meeting. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER