City tax rate discussed

By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS

As the city experiences an apparent growth spurt, finding a financial balance is what elected leaders on the San Benito City Commission recently discussed during the public hearing portion of a regular meeting on Aug. 19.

A groundbreaking ceremony for a new subdivision was announced, which means that more tax dollars will trickle into the city’s coffers in the near future. But, how to plan for it was the basis of a discussion during a second and final public hearing on the City of San Benito’s proposed ad valorem property tax rate for Fiscal Year 2025-26.

Elected leaders are proposing to keep the tax rate intact at 70 cents per $100 valuation.

Mayor Pro Tem Pedro A. Galvan, who missed the first public hearing earlier this month, provided input this time.

He reminded commissioners of the importance of being fiscally responsible with taxpayer money, especially now that it appears the city is and will likely continue to be financially sound.

“We don’t have as much debt; it’s gone down since your leadership, my leadership, and a new commission and administration,” Galvan said as he directed his words to San Benito Mayor Rick Guerra during the hearing.

Galvan piggybacked on the message made by two residents, Eddie Loa and Mike Travis, although the citizens spoke during public comments, not during the initial public hearing.

“It’s a double-edged sword. One (resident) wanted employee benefits, another wanted machinery (improvements), and then others like myself want to save someone from taxing (another) out of their home, especially the elderly,” Galvan said.

A public notice stated that the governing body proposed using revenue attributable to the tax rate increase for the purpose of increasing Maintenance & Operations (M&O). The Interest & Sinking (I&S) rate proposed is $0.039202 per $100 valuation, according to the notice.

San Benito City Manager Fred Sandoval said there could be in excess of 600 more lots in San Benito by this time next year.

“I completely agree with being careful with our funds, and if we can, we do; however, we are in a growth period, we have more houses, more rooftops going up, which means fire and police are going to cost more,” Commissioner Thomas W. Goodman II said. “We have all the things that have to be done to take care of that growth, and yes, we can look at it later, but we have to be cognizant of where we are and how we are doing it.”

Sandoval said that when it comes to growth, there are several components to a city’s S&I fund. One is that the fund is intended to supplement city payments and also to supplant the city’s capital items, such as buildings and maintenance equipment.

“Part of the art of going forward when you’re growing as a city is, yes, we have a balance,” Sandoval said.
Galvan would also like to see employee pay raises be equally distributed if and when financially viable.

“We can find a balance to meet all the needs. It’s what Commissioner Galvan would like to do, and I would like to do as well,” Commissioner Deborah A. Morales said when addressing salary adjustments.

The public hearing lasted 18 minutes.