El Paso City Council Work Session – February 16, 2026
El Paso City Council Work Session – February 16, 2026
Mayor Johnson presided over a work session of the El Paso City Council on Monday, February 16, 2026, from 9:02 AM to 1:42 PM. A quorum was present. The meeting featured two main presentations: one on community outreach and beautification programs, and another on the city’s five-year financial forecast. The council then entered executive session to discuss legal and economic development matters, taking action on several items.
Discussion Items
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Item 1 – Records Outreach Presentation: Ms. Wrecker, owner/operator of Reconnecting with the Disconnected (youth program) and Wreckers Outreach (transitional housing for homeless veterans), presented a partnership proposal to expand community engagement. Her organization is the affiliate for Keep Texas Beautiful and offers an 8‑week structured program for at‑risk youth ages 12–18, combining social‑emotional learning, life skills, and weekend community service (minimum 5 hours/week). Youth must improve school attendance and grades; tardiness adds extra service hours. The program also provides lawn care and cleanup for seniors and veterans unable to maintain their properties. Statistics cited: 201 tires collected in one illegal dump cleanup, 266 students enrolled in the last year, a goal of 150 residential cleanups and 600 youth volunteers annually. Ms. Wrecker noted partnerships with Environmental Services (ESD) for dumpsters and PPE and desires formal collaboration with Code Enforcement, neighborhood associations, and all council districts. Council members expressed strong support, with several pledging to participate in district cleanups. Staff confirmed that a formal partnership agreement is being drafted with the City Attorney’s office. Representative Nino committed full support; Representative Limon praised the program’s impact on recidivism and civic pride. The presentation was informational; no vote was taken.
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Item 2 – FY2027‑2031 Financial Forecast: Robert Cortina (Budget Director) and Sasha Landonowski presented the five‑year outlook as a planning tool. Key revenue assumptions: property tax growth is expected to taper to ~2% annually (down from recent double‑digit increases), and sales tax growth is projected at 3.4% (year‑to‑date actuals at 8%). Property and sales tax together constitute 72% of general fund revenue. Expenditure growth is forecast at over 4% annually, driven by rising personnel costs (72% of general fund), health care absorption (9–12% annual increases), collective bargaining obligations, and planned police officer additions (45 net new officers in FY2026, 220 by 2031). Fire department staffing costs remain high. The gap between revenue growth (2.3%) and expenditure growth (4%) widens each year, resulting in a projected structural deficit. Cortina emphasized that this is a forecast, not a budget; the city has consistently adopted balanced budgets. Trade‑offs will be necessary, and the presentation is intended to guide the upcoming strategic planning session. Council members noted opportunities such as returning city‑owned properties to the tax rolls, pursuing grants (e.g., SAFER), and increasing sales tax through economic development and large events (e.g., BTS, Post Malone). The detailed 24‑page backup document was distributed.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: None.
- Executive Session Actions (all taken after return to open session):
- EX2: Motion passed unanimously to deny the claim of Marisol Rodriguez (claim #888).
- EX3: Motion passed 7–1 (Representative Acevedo opposed) to deny the claim of Alberto Duran (claim #610).
- EX4: Motion passed unanimously to authorize the City Attorney to settle United States of America vs. City of El Paso, case no. 323‑CV‑00044.
- EX5: No action.
- EX6: Motion passed unanimously to file a motion for rehearing with the Railroad Commission of Texas regarding Texas Gas Service Company’s rate increase request (docket OS‑25‑0282‑02, utility‑67).
- EX7, EX8, EX9, EX10: No action.
- Adjournment: Motion passed unanimously; work session adjourned at 1:42 PM.
Meeting Transcript
We are ready to go. Good morning, Mayor. And good morning, everyone. This is a work session of the El Paso City Council for Monday, February 16th, 2026. It is 9 02 AM. Mayor Johnson is present and presiding in Council Chambers, along with Mayor Pro Tem Chavez, Representative Acevedo, Representative Malonado Rocha, Representative Boyatrejo, Representative Nino, Alternate Mayor Potem Piero, and Representative Limon. Mayor, we have a quorum. Okay, thank you. Uh Representative Nina, would you lead us in the pledge of leaders? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible of liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Mayor. Okay, Miss Brian, let's take item number one. Yes, sir. Item number one is presentation and discussion on records outreach, which includes programs consisting of Keep Al Paso Beautiful and affiliate of Keep Texas Beautiful and Reconnecting with the Disconnected, currently working with environmental services. It seeks other partner opportunities with the City of El Paso to increase outreach to the cities at risk youth, seniors, and veterans. Okay. Good morning, how are you? Good, good. I guess I'm I'm a little short. I brought my team with me this morning. They left me on the bench. So I just want to introduce myself real quick, uh, and then also my teammates. So I'm Miss Wrecker. Uh I'm the owner and operator of Wreckers Outreach, which is a transitional housing for homeless veterans, and reconnecting with the disconnected, which is a youth program for at-risk teens. Um behind me the gentleman is Jeremy. He is my secretary for the youth program, uh and the vice president for my transition house. And then we have Miss Christina, and she is our program development manager uh for both of them. Um so that's that's my team. Great team. Uh so yes, today uh I just want to talk about partnering together um in conjunction with cleaning and making El Paso stronger as a as a unity and a collaborative team. Um I don't know how to there we go. So reconnecting with the disconnected is the youth program. It's a and then Wreckers Outreach is the veterans program. Um together they are we are the affiliate for Keep Texas Beautiful. Uh we believe that together we're transforming the lives of neighborhoods, one block, one family, and one opportunity at a time. We're a little unique. Uh some of the challenges um that El Paso faces, right, are the at-risk youth giving them that purpose, the motivation, and the positive guidance and leadership. Um so many many young people face truancy, uh, minor offenses and lack of structure or mentorship. So we're trying to kind of combat that. Um so we have an eight-week program. It's very structured. Two hours a week they do social emotional learning uh with myself and Miss Christina. And then on the weekends we do five hours of community engagement. So that involves a variety of different things, but a lot of it is is cleaning, uh, helping the elderly or the disabled or veterans. Um we'll hand out goodie bags to those that are in need of bedding, clothes, shoes, um, personal hygiene items, and then neighborhood clin cleansiness and code compliance. So senior and veteran residents struggle to maintain their properties due to financial or physical limitations. So we have a partnership with Desert Rescue 915, and we've also been working with Sun City Pickers. Uh Desert Rescue 915 is a partner of our organization for the Key Texas Beautiful Affiliate. So he focuses more on the illegal dump sites, and then Sun City Pickers does the litter pickup, and then we do residential cleanups. So anybody who is financially or physically unable to perform it themselves, they're able to fill out an application, send it in, and then we prioritize it by tiers.
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