By JACQI LEYVA-HILL
Special to the PRESS
The Port Isabel City Commission reviewed an early draft of the city’s FYE 2027 budget (Fiscal Year Ending 2027) Tuesday, Aug. 11, as officials discussed employee pay, department expenses, equipment needs and the city’s 2026 property tax rate.
City staff described the budget as an early working draft. The preliminary version showed a surplus in the low six figures, but officials said revenues and expenses are still being reviewed as meetings with department representatives continue.
One issue still being incorporated is employee compensation. Staff said they are working on an across-the-board salary adjustment and also reviewing certain police department positions in an effort to keep officer pay competitive.
Officials are also evaluating equipment and maintenance needs across city departments, including vehicles, tractors and other machinery. Discussion included parks operations and increased programming at the youth center.
For athletic-field maintenance, officials discussed purchasing equipment that would let city employees handle more routine mowing in-house while contracting out more specialized turf work such as fertilizing and seeding. Building needs are also being reviewed. Staff discussed the possibility of creating a citywide pool for capital and building improvements rather than placing all such costs within individual department budgets.
The commission also reviewed the 2026 tax rate. Staff said higher sales-tax collections have affected the property-tax calculation because part of the city’s sales tax is dedicated to property-tax reduction. At the same time, debt issued for city projects has increased the interest-and-sinking, or debt-service, portion of the rate.
Staff recommended keeping the city’s current maintenance-and-operations rate while noting that the total tax rate could be somewhat higher because of debt-service requirements. Commissioners were told that advertising a proposed rate would set the maximum rate they could later adopt without advertising a higher rate again.
In other business, commissioners discussed a proposal to purchase a drone to monitor Highway 100 during high-traffic periods when traffic lights are manned. The discussion also included possible use of a drone before and after major storms to document conditions and damage.
City staff cautioned that operating a drone during peak traffic could be difficult because police and fire personnel are already involved in traffic control. Officials discussed congestion near H-E-B and Walmart and traffic moving toward the causeway, noting that motorists cutting through parking lots and entering congested intersections can add to backups.
The commission also took up the second and final reading of Ordinance 710, which would repeal Ordinance 448 in its entirety, establish regulations for consent and non-consent towing, set rates associated with towing, provide a penalty and repealer, and establish an effective date.
Commissioners also discussed engineering services for the Downtown Port Isabel Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Trail Project. Staff said four firms submitted proposals for the project.
Budget work is expected to continue through August, with officials saying they hope to move toward adoption of the budget and tax rate later in the month or in early September.
The next Port Isabel City Commission meeting is Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, at 6 p.m. at 305 E. Maxan St., Port Isabel.