BROWNSVILLE, Texas — While major metropolitan municipalities across Texas are grappling with steep revenue shortfalls and forced spending cuts, the City of Brownsville is moving in the opposite direction by expanding municipal investments, closing wage gaps, and maintaining a balanced $142 million general fund for Fiscal Year 2027.
Speaking at a Brownsville Chamber of Commerce "Friday with the City" event, City Manager Alan Guard highlighted the city’s stable financial position compared to larger Texas metros.
"Brownsville is in a very fortunate position," Guard told business and civic leaders. "San Antonio had to cut $158 million out of their budget. Dallas had to give police department employees two-week furloughs and cut $15 to $20 million for next year. Fort Worth made $15 million in cuts. We added to our budget this year."
A centerpiece of the FY 27 budget strategy is workforce investment. Guard explained that the city has successfully implemented the second phase of its market compensation plan, bringing municipal salaries up to the regional 50th percentile.
Prior to recent adjustments, Guard noted that certain job classifications within the city were lagging 26% behind market averages in the Rio Grande Valley.
"When I started here three years ago, we had employees making $10.70 an hour. I was losing people to Chick-fil-A," Guard said. "We now have a $15 minimum wage at the city. No city employee makes less than $15 an hour."
In addition to base wage adjustments, the budget allocates $1.1 million for the second year of the collective bargaining agreement with the fire union and sets aside $1.4 million for a pending agreement with the police union.
Guard addressed the city’s tax structure, emphasizing that the City Commission opted to keep the tax rate flat at $0.6035 per $100 evaluation rather than adopting the higher voter-approved rate of $0.6134.
"By keeping the proposed rate flat, in essence, we basically left over a million dollars on the table forever," Guard explained. "That’s a policy decision that the commission makes. I'm grateful that we're not raising taxes more on our citizens."
Guard outlined the balanced nature of Brownsville’s revenue portfolio, pointing out that ideal municipal finance models aim for a three-way split among property taxes, sales taxes, and operational fees. Brownsville’s $142 million general fund closely mirrors this model:
Public safety accounts for half of all general fund expenditures, with police and fire operations receiving 50% of the budget allocations.
"If you don't have a safe community, what's the point?" Guard said. "Sixty-seven percent of our budget goes to wages and benefits because we are a people-oriented organization. When you call for emergency services, you need qualified people to respond."
Editor's Note: The above news story is the first in a three-part series on the City of Brownsville's Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
