City Commission approves property tax rate hike, increase in utility fees
The City Commission without comment Monday set the property tax rate for the new fiscal year, increased Brownsville Public Utilities Board fees and authorized the utility company to raise water, wastewater and electric rates.
In a meeting that lasted about 15 minutes, the commission finalized the budgetary process and is now ready to start a new fiscal year, beginning Oct. 1.
The commission developed a $125 million budget that it will balance with PUB’s help. The utility company is providing the city with a subsidy of $2.5 million and an additional $4.7 million that the city has paid to PUB for utility services.
In return, commissioners Anthony P. Troiani, Charlie Atkinson, Rose M. Z. Gowen, Ricardo Longoria Jr. and Edward C. Camarillo voted to increase PUB’s monthly customer service charge for residential electric customers from $2.53 per month to $3.53 and hiked the penalty fee for the delinquent payment of utility bills from five percent to six percent. Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr. and Commissioner Melissa A. Zamora voted against the these measures.
Initially, PUB officials and city management had agreed to increase the service charge to $5.53 per month and the penalty fee to 7.5 percent, but the commission lowered it at last Tuesday’s commission meeting.
Troiani, Atkinson, Gowen, Longoria, and Camarillo also gave PUB the authority to increase electric, water and sewer service rates up to 5 percent within a five-year period. Ahumada and Zamora cast the dissenting votes.
The commission also increased the present tax rate of $.654189 cents per $100 of assessed valuation to $.657556 cents. Ahumada voted against this measure.
