$63.7 million in spending OK'd; city manager's contract approved

HARLINGEN — City commissioners Wednesday approved a $63.7 million budget for the next fiscal year without increasing taxes.

The City Commission also approved a contract for a new city manager which includes a salary of $140,000.

Roel Gutierrez, the city’s finance director, said a $4 million gap was made up through a combination of several budget moves which include a hiring freeze and suspension of the city’s vehicle replacement fund for one year.

“Partly why (the city had a budget deficit) was sales tax. We projected about $1 million less on that because our sales taxes are down right now,” Gutierrez said.

The projected revenues for the newly adopted city budget are $62.9 million. Gutierrez added that while the projected general operating fund is balanced at $36.9 million, the difference between total revenue and expenditures is due to special revenue funds outside the general fund.

The city’s finance director also said the city tax rate will remain the same as last year’s at 58.8 cents per $100 valuation.

New city manager Carlos Yerena’s salary contract was approved along with a $660 per month vehicle allowance and other benefits.

“I think the number one thing is to improve the quality of life for the citizens,” Yerena said.

He had been Kingsville city manager since 2003, with a salary of $96,000 a year.

Also Wednesday, commissioners shot down a proposal to require certain city boards to meet after 5 p.m. on weekdays.

The motion to require certain boards — such as the Harlingen Municipal Airport Board, the Harlingen Community Improvement Board, the Housing Authority Board and the Planning and Zoning Commission — to meet at a certain time did not pass.

Commissioners Jerry Prepejchal and Robert Leftwich presented the proposal to allow individuals working regular daytime hours more access to city meetings.

“The fact is that everybody needs to remember that whether you’re an elected official (or) appointed to a board, we are not the leaders in this community,” Leftwich said. “The organizational chart is posted on the city Web site as the citizens atop of all of us.”

Before the meeting, Prepejchal said the importance of board meetings’ availability to the public was pivotal.

“I would rather please the masses of citizens, than a few,” he said.