Edinburg City Council: Residents: No notice on water rate meeting

The Edinburg City Council last Tuesday heard from residents who were “disappointed” by what they say is a lack of transparency in notifying the public of a citywide water rate increase, which will take effect next month. 

During public comment, resident Obel Montoya told councilmembers he was “disappointed” in not being notified of a public hearing on a water rate increase.

“If you don’t want to hear the public, then why are you sitting up here?” Montoya said. “I have to explain to my family how this [rate hike] came from a past budget. … I know it’s not much but … at least let the public know.”

Montoya said former Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina was “very transparent,” and told councilmembers he will take his disappointment to the polls.

Tomas D. Reyna, assistant city manager, presented on the rate increase for water and wastewater services based on a financial adviser study. 

On Jan. 22, The Rider reported that the city council approved the rate adjustment with an 11% increase beginning next month, followed by more hikes in October and each year until 2027.

Councilmembers highlighted the importance of adjusting the utility rate to cover the city’s water improvement projects and maintain a good credit rating.

“I’ve gotten many phone calls asking, ‘What are they doing?’” resident Fern McClaugherty said. 

McClaugherty told councilmembers she believes many residents had not been notified of the meeting to approve the increase, or did not have access to computers to see the notifications posted online. 

City Manager Myra L. Ayala told councilmembers and McClaugherty that in the city’s efforts to transparently communicate with the public about the need for rate increases, they notified residents through various channels. 

Ayala said that in addition to posting the meeting notification on the City Hall bulletin board and on the city’s website, they individually notified every ratepayer by mail. 

Councilmember Place 2 Jason De Leon asked the city manager what it cost the city to notify residents by mail of the rate increase.

“We did a mass mail-out to every ratepayer,” Ayala replied. “… It cost the city approximately $22,000 to do that. But we felt that it was important that every ratepayer receive a public notice. … We wanted it to get directly to the ratepayer.” 

The city manager said it would be costly to provide a public notice every time the council made a decision, but they want to try to implement other cost-effective outreach mechanisms, including the 311 app. 

Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr. thanked staff for their outreach and told residents, “I don’t know of any other city that’s as transparent as this to get the word out to its residents.” 

During a presentation of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the City of Edinburg for the Fiscal Year Ending September 2022, Certified Public Accountant Ricky Longoria, with the independent firm Burton McCumber & Longoria LLP, provided an overview of the audit process. 

“There’s a joke about accountants that we live in the past,” Longoria said. “Here, we live in the way past, and it was a challenge to complete the audit.”

Longoria said the audit report has three sections due to new standards for federal and state funds.

“There is a threshold that says that any public entity is subject to an audit if they have more than $750,000 in federal state funds,” he said. “And in your particular case … for 2023 you received $7.4 million worth of federal money, and $8.3 million for the state line.” 

Longoria said the city was in good financial condition with 90 days of unassigned fund balance, which is recommended by the Government Finance Officers Association.

The CPA advised the residents to “not place judgment” and read the public audit in its entirety within its context, and avoid making any immediate conclusions. 

“And that includes [reading] the footnotes,” he said. “They are critical to its understanding.” 

Montoya said the audit report had an unmodified and clean opinion, but as any other audit there were areas that needed attention.

“The solid waste water fund … certainly needs to be looked at, because right now you got more costs in there than you have revenue coming in,” he said. 

Montoya said it is important to give that fund attention “in order to make sure we continue to provide the services that are required … doing it in a financially responsible way.” 

Also during the public comment portion of the meeting, Jordan De La Garza, the liaison for Leadership Edinburg Class XXXV, invited councilmembers to participate in an alley trash cleanup from 8 to 10 a.m. March 23 at 312 E. Cano St. 

De La Garza said he is “excited” to present two projects that would positively impact the community. 

One project aims to revitalize the technology conference room at the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce for professionals and businesses to utilize. 

The second project aims to revitalize the downtown district by collaborating with local businesses.  

“We have identified a shared alleyway that holds immense potential for transformation into a vibrant and inviting space,” De La Garza said. 

He told councilmembers that Leadership Edinburg aspires to create a welcoming space for community gatherings and enhance the overall appeal of the downtown area to foster a sense of community pride.

“Not only will this bring more attraction to downtown, it will also help bring traffic and patronage to surrounding businesses,” De La Garza said. 

The liaison said Leadership Edinburg had successfully gathered signatures in support of its efforts and is excited to move forward with the project.