Joe Rodriguez is a San Benito resident, a local citizen watchdog, and a former candidate for the San Benito City Commission.
“Is the San Benito Economic Development Corporation (EDC) legally allowed to spend taxpayer dollars?”
That’s a question I am frequently asked.
The simple answer is, “Yes.” However, because of how the EDC is structured, all day-to-day activities, EDC programs, projects, and expenditures must be approved by the City Commission. State law requires City Commission approval for all major EDC actions and expenditures.
In 2025, the City of San Benito spent over a million dollars sponsoring summer concerts, in addition to the Hog Waddle and Resacafest.
Several months after the 2025 Reasacafest, I continued to wait for the City to present a post-event report, including financials for the Resacafest, as all previous City Managers had done (the Parks Board would present it).
I emailed the SB Commission to request a post-event report on Resacafest. City Commissioners Dr. Pete Galvan and Deborah Morales took the lead and requested an agenda item to present the Resacafest Financial Report.
Finally, a post-event report was presented to the City Commission via a PowerPoint at the August 5, 2025, City Commission Meeting. https://tinyurl.com/RESACAFEST
The presentation showed that total expenses allocated to the Resecafest totaled $102,595.74, while total revenues collected were $11,380, resulting in a net loss of $91,215 in taxpayer funds.
For the Cook-off competition, Total Expenses were $9,813.30, and Total Revenues were $1,150.00.
The Resacafest, a one-day event, had to be relocated (due to weather-related issues) to Heavin Park and Bus. Hwy. 77, where the city incurred an additional $30,000 for setting up and removing the stage by an outside contractor.
Regarding the 2025 summer concerts, it has been five months since the last concert (Steve Trevino Comedy Night on Aug 16, 2025). No public post-event financial reports for the summer concert series have been presented to the San Benito City Commission or the EDC.
Remember, it is ultimately the City Commission that is responsible for ratifying/approving the expenditures for the summer concerts. “Improving the Quality of Life” for the residents was a common theme from the City Manager and the EDC.
I have no personal issue with Charley Crockett; I actually like his music. However, paying a performer $250,000 (a quarter of a million) for a 90-minute set does not improve quality of life.
There are plenty of other priority issues the City should address to improve citizens’ quality of life. One priority I have been trying to get the City to address for many years is the repaving of West Stenger Street. Driving through it is like driving on an airport runway.
The last time East Stenger was paved from Business 77 to Sam Houston Street was when Jack Garcia was Mayor of San Benito, using funds from the 2009 Certificates of Obligation, which can be used only for specific infrastructure projects such as street repairs.
While TxDOT manages the current major bridge construction, local infrastructure, such as sidewalks or specific city-maintained sections, may fall under the city’s jurisdiction. However, the current major project is a TxDOT endeavor.
Fast forward to the February 3, 2026, San Benito City Commission Regular Meeting, and we are back to funding another summer concert series.
At this meeting, City Commissioners Dr. Pete Galvan, Joe Navarro, and Deborah Morales voted to deny ratification of a one-year Professional Services Agreement between the San Benito Economic Development Corporation and Carpe Nox Industries, L.L.C., aka CNI, for $90.000 or $7,500 per month.
The denial was based on a lack of information regarding the financial disclosure of last summer’s concert series. Commissioner Tom Goodman voted against the denial.
Also included in the Agreement was the following: “17. It is further agreed by the parties that SBEDC will compensate CNI for its licensing, oversight, handling, sale, and service of legally authorized alcoholic beverages with 25 percent (25%) of the net revenue directly recovered from the sale of alcohol during events at the San Benito Fairgrounds.” https://tinyurl.com/CARPE-NOX-INDUSTRIES-CONTRACT.
I am not an attorney, but does this mean all events at the San Benito Fairgrounds, and does it also mean Carpe Nox Industries receives exclusive rights to all alcohol sales?
Commissioner Goodman told a newspaper reporter that he didn’t have readily available information to determine whether last summer’s concert program had run over budget. That is exactly the point Commissioner Morales made in her motion to deny the agenda item.
Nobody seems to know or want to discuss much about the finances of the 2025 summer concert series. Remember the City Commission must also review, on an annual basis, the EDC’s financial statements.
A common statement by Commissioner Goodman last summer was, “We need to spend money to make money.” With all due respect, the City of San Benito is not a business. It is a government entity with a balanced General Fund Budget, Enterprise Funds, Special Revenue Funds (hotel occupancy taxes), and no “profit centers.”
Putting the City of San Benito on the map as a live music venue is just a pipe dream and a waste of taxpayer funds. The city simply cannot compete, dollar-for-dollar, with other bigger cities in the Rio Grande Valley that have much larger populations and budgets.
The only ones who benefit from this are the promoters and performers, who are paid up front. We taxpayers don’t know the project’s finances until after the fact.
Here are some basic facts about San Benito: (Source: https://www.census.gov): Based on 2023-2025 data, the median household income in San Benito is approximately $41,445 to $43,639 per year.
Because discretionary income is the money remaining after taxes and essential living expenses (housing, food, utilities), and because nearly 30% of the population lives below the poverty line, many households have limited discretionary income.
Per capita income is approximately $19,058 to $20,093 annually. Household expenditures are estimated to average around $77,516 per year in some reports, suggesting that for many, expenses exceed the median income, resulting in limited or negative discretionary income.
The cost of living in San Benito is roughly 18%–21% lower than the national average, and housing costs are 46%–48% lower than the national average.
Approximately 28.0% to 29.7% of the population lives below the poverty line. The average rent is around $707–$973 per month. Median monthly owner costs with a mortgage are approximately $1,208 – $1,338.
While the low cost of living helps, the relatively low median income means that “fun” or nonessential discretionary income is likely minimal for a significant portion of the population. Also, paying additional tariffs on everything does not help residents while grocery shopping.
I am not against providing entertainment for our citizens, but when events are losing taxpayer funds and 80% of the tickets are comped or given away for free to businesses and radio personalities to dole out, it is time to reconsider, reassess, or re-examine a situation, decision, or set of circumstances to form a new opinion or make changes based on new information.
Bottom line, speaking as a taxpayer and citizen, the City Commission needs to step back and determine whether high-cost, taxpayer-funded projects that lose money are the way to continue.
In short, I support Commissioner Morales’ motion to ratify a three-month contract retroactive to January 1, 2026, rather than a one-year contract.
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