El Paso City Council Special Meeting: FY2026-2027 Preliminary Budget Presentation – May 27, 2026

The El Paso City Council held a special meeting on May 27, 2026, beginning at 10:14 AM and reconvening after a lunch recess at 1:32 PM before adjourning at 5:03 PM. The sole agenda item was the presentation, discussion, and action on the preliminary FY2026-2027 budget, presented by City Manager Mary Mack, Finance Director Robert Cortines, and Budget Director Sasha Andonowski. The meeting focused on the preliminary budget proposal, key revenue and expenditure drivers, and departmental presentations. No formal votes were taken; the session was a workshop to allow council and the public time to review and provide input ahead of the proposed budget filing in July and final adoption in August.

Discussion Items

• Budget Overview & Key Drivers: City Manager Mack emphasized that the budget is preliminary, giving council and the public six weeks more visibility than prior years. The budget focuses on core services, public safety, infrastructure, and maintaining a structurally balanced budget without using one-time fund balance. Highlights include: three police academies (90 graduates), two fire academies, maintaining funding for the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program, Vision Zero, and lane striping. The budget includes a 50-cent increase to the city’s minimum wage (from $15.75 to $16.25) as part of a five-year plan to reach a living wage, and no increase to employee healthcare costs. The city also reduced its vacancy rate by 36% for civilian staff and 18.3% for uniformed staff, saving an estimated $46,000 per turnover.
• Revenue & Tax Rate: Robert Cortines presented revenue projections. The general fund is increasing by $29.6 million (4.7%), with property tax and sales tax comprising over 70% of general fund revenue. Property tax valuations are projected to rise 2.9%, with an average home value of $233,549. The proposed property tax rate increases from 76.0 cents to 78.3 cents per $100 valuation—a 2.3-cent increase. Cortines noted that $56 million in revenue is lost to exemptions (homestead, senior/disabled, disabled veteran, and the new business personal property exemption approved by voters in November 2025). The disabled veteran and business personal property exemptions alone cost $32.4 million in FY2027, up from $21.6 million in FY2026. Sales tax growth is projected at 4.8%, driven by retail, utilities, and food services. Cortines also discussed the importance of maintaining fund balance (69 operating days projected, best practice is 60) and the need for a formal fund balance policy to protect the city's AA+/Aa2 bond ratings. The budget includes $70 million in voter-approved debt issuance (the first in three years) for community progress bonds, adding about $15 to the average home tax bill.
• Expenditure Drivers & Efficiencies: Sasha Andonowski detailed that 71% of the general fund ($655 million) is personal services, with the largest increases in police and fire salaries (17.3 of the 29.6 million increase). Contractual services increase by $7.4 million, including $1.5 million for elections and $2.2 million for public safety contracts. Materials and supplies increase $2.2 million. The budget eliminates 358 vacant positions (75% of vacancies) to save $26.1 million, without affecting core services. The city is also implementing program-based budgeting for transparency, with 257 programs detailed in a binder distributed to council.
• Departmental Presentations: Following the overview, council heard from 17 departments, including Animal Services, Aviation, Capital Improvements, Grant-Funded Programs, City Attorney, City Clerk, Code Enforcement, Community and Human Development, Destination El Paso, Economic Development, Environmental Services, Fire, Human Resources/Risk Management, Information Technology, Information Security, Internal Audit, and International Bridges. Key points include:
  • Animal Services: Budget increase of $1.1 million, primarily for salary adjustments to improve retention. Reduced veterinarian vacancies by 1.5 FTEs due to efficiency gains. Outstanding invoices from the county ($1.3 million) and Horizon ($217,000).
  • Aviation: $3.8 million increase, mainly for salaries, security contracts, and HVAC. Three positions deleted; seven transferred to grant-funded group. Focus on new international routes.
  • Capital Improvements: $2 million decrease in general fund due to transfer of 19 positions to grant-funded group. Oversees $1.5 billion in capital projects.
  • City Attorney: Flat budget at $6.4 million, supporting 51 FTEs across litigation, open records, prosecution, transactional, and utility regulation. Over 14,000 open records requests and 313 claims handled last year.
  • Code Enforcement: Minimal increase of $4,336; maintains 140 FTEs. New department consolidating enforcement branches; cross-training sanitarians for pool inspections.
  • Community and Human Development: Most funding is grant-based; general fund of $1.2 million supports neighborhood services and ADA/Title VI. No general fund support for homeless programs; the Welcome Center (funded via ARPA) faces unfunded status after August 31, 2026, costing $600,000–$800,000 annually.
  • Destination El Paso: Funded through hotel occupancy tax and self-generated revenue; budget increase for salaries and capital investments. Water parks saw banner attendance. Film commissioner position being hired.
  • Economic Development: Deletion of one FTE; focus on small business support, compliance, and redevelopment. Consultants include David Pettit and David Torres for TIRZ and redevelopment.
  • Environmental Services: $11.6 million increase due to one-time capital expenses (landfill permit, vehicle purchases). Beautification program now a separate line item at $7.8 million for median maintenance.
  • Fire Department: $173.8 million budget, increase of $7.4 million for operational costs and collective bargaining. Two recruit classes planned; one 10-month paramedic pipeline. 1,008 uniformed firefighters authorized, currently 983.
  • Human Resources/Risk Management: HR budget declined $8.2 million as Risk Management spun off as a standalone department ($10.4 million budget). Risk Management will implement enterprise risk management framework, including a risk council, incident review board, and three lines of defense.
  • Information Technology: $32 million increase driven by P25 radio system contract. Focus on city website redesign, EP 311 improvements, and permitting portal.
  • Internal Audit: Flat budget at $1.3 million, 10 FTEs. Committed to 75% of hours on direct audit work.
  • International Bridges: Budget increase of $2.1 million for 8 new FTEs, including an economist to analyze crossing data. Capital projects include toll system upgrade, ITS construction at Zaragoza, pedestrian improvements, and a feasibility study for bridge modernization.

Key Outcomes

• The preliminary budget will be refined over the next two months with community meetings (next two weeks), further council workshops (June 22–23, August 4), and the filing of the proposed budget by July 17, 2026. Final adoption is scheduled for August 18, 2026.
• The city will launch a budget simulator for the public to provide input on balancing the $13.3 million gap. Council members will submit budget adjustment forms by June 14.
• The city will present findings from a fee study (cost recovery for parks, planning, inspections) at the June workshop.
• The city will bring forward a fund balance policy after completing a risk assessment, with a target of maintaining at least 60 operating days of unrestricted fund balance.
• Council members requested additional data: breakdown of contracted employee wages, mapping of TNR program successes by district, a visual showing what services are funded by property taxes compared to other revenue, and a summary of state-mandated impacts on the budget.
• The meeting adjourned at 5:03 PM, with a special meeting reconvening on May 28, 2026 at 9:00 AM for further departmental presentations.