INGLESIDE, Tx — Following Tuesday's Ingleside City Council meeting, council members assured residents that the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget will be passed on time. The budget deadline is Tuesday, September 24.
“Believe it or not, we are on track," Council member Steve Diehl told KRIS 6 News. "We will adopt a budget on time, no problem. And on Oct. 1, we will have an operating budget for the city manager to execute."
Diehl, one of the council's most vocal members throughout the budget process, previously expressed concerns. During an Aug. 27 meeting, he told attendees, “My personal opinion is we’re nowhere near having a budget to vote on, and we’ve got 30 days to go."
When speaking with Diehl, much of the concern on Tuesday was over the budget's current draft, which proposed cutting the city's Economic Development Department.
“I was against abolishing our Economic Development Department because that sends a terrible message to future potential developers that may or may not be looking at Ingleside,” he said.
Another challenge in the budget discussions has been the potential to raise the property tax rate for the City of Ingleside. "There will be no new tax rates for the citizens of Ingleside, Texas," Diehl told KRIS 6 News. "Each time staff comes to a meeting, they're getting closer and closer to what I would call a balanced budget."
Ingleside City Manager Brenton Lewis echoed those sentiments in a conversation with KRIS 6. "By the time our charter says it needs to be adopted, and state law says it needs to be adopted by Sept. 29. We’re right on schedule,” Lewis said.
The Ingleside City Council will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 17, allowing residents to comment on the budget and tax rates before the final vote on Sept. 24.
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