This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.
El Paso County to Adopt Tax Rate, Possibly Raise Average Bill $105
The El Paso County Commissioners Court on Monday, Aug. 26, is set to adopt the county tax rate for the 2024 year. As proposed, it would translate to an increase of about $105 a year on the county’s tax bill on the average-value home of $200,956. The public can give the court input prior to the vote.
The proposed tax rate of 47.8 cents per $100 property valuation is the same as the voter-approval rate – the highest that can be adopted without going to voters. Commissioners could adopt a lower rate, but not anything higher than proposed. The rate would be used to calculate tax bills that go out in October and are due on Jan. 31.
The county on Sept. 16 is expected to adopt its budget, which is currently proposed at about $600 million and includes a general fund budget for day-to-day operations of about $468 million. The court will likely not give pay raises to the majority of El Paso County staff and elected officials, including commissioners and the county judge.
Commissioners Court on Monday is also slated to approve the proposed tax rate for University Medical Center of El Paso. The hospital is proposing adopting its no-new-revenue rate of 21.9 cents per $100 valuation. That would translate to an annual tax increase of about $11 on the UMC portion of a tax bill on a home valued at $205,956. The no-new-revenue rate is the rate needed to generate the same amount of revenue as the previous year, but could increase taxes based on property valuation increases.
Both the county and UMC have bond proposals on the November ballot, which if approved, would raise taxes starting on 2025 tax bills.
El Paso Independent School District Superintendent Diana Sayavedra discusses the “Destination District Redesign” plan at Burges High School on May 1, 2024. EPISD is seeking community input as it considers “sunsetting” some of its campuses in response to El Paso’s declining population. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
EPISD Holds Meetings on School Closures, Consolidations
The El Paso Independent School District is holding a second round of public meetings to get community input as it prepares to close or consolidate schools by the 2025-26 school year – which the district calls Destination District Redesign.
Community members gave feedback during the first round of meetings, which were held throughout May.
Now, the district will review that feedback and present preliminary campus facility profiles of elementary and PK-8 campuses.
The meetings will be held by feeder pattern at 5:30 p.m. on the following days:
Aug. 27: El Paso High School, 800 E. Schuster Ave.Wiggs Middle; Mesita, Lamar elementaries; Mesita Early Childhood Development Center
Aug. 28: Irvin High School, 5400 Sanders Ave.Magoffin Middle; Stanton, Sunrise Mountain, Moye, Whitaker, Duran Elementaries
Aug. 29: Jefferson High School, 4700 Alameda Ave., and Silva High School, 121 Val Verde St.Tinajero PK-8; Zavala, Cooley elementaries
Sept. 3: Coronado High School, 100 Champions PlaceMurphree, Haskins PK-8s; Zach White, Green, Putnam, Rivera, Western Hills elementaries
Sept. 4: Andress High School, 5400 Sun Valley DriveCharles, Richardson middles; Bobby Joe Hill PK-8; Newman, Torres, Barron, Tom Lea, Nixon elementaries
Sept. 5: Austin High School, 3500 Memphis Ave.Navarette middle; College Career Technology Academy; Coldwell, Crockett, Moreno, Clendenin, Rusk, Travis elementaries
Sept. 9: Bowie High School, 801 S. San Marcial St.Guillen middle; Aoy, Hart, Douglass elementaries
Sept. 16: Franklin High School, 900 Resler DriveHornedo, Brown middles; Lundy, Polk, Tippin, Kolhberg, Guerrero, Herrera elementaries
Learn About Downtown Arena Bond Revocation Proposal
The city has scheduled informational meetings about the ballot measure that will ask voters during the Nov. 5 election whether it should cancel the Downtown arena approved by voters in 2012.
If voters approve the proposition, they would revoke the city’s authority to issue the remaining $128.5 million in general obligation bonds that have not yet been sold, essentially ending the project. However, that would not prohibit the city from proposing other entertainment venues – and bond issues to pay for them – in the future.
If the proposition is voted down, the city would be able to sell the remaining bonds for some sort of arena or multipurpose entertainment center in Downtown.
The in-person meeting schedule is as follows:
• 5:30 p.m. Aug. 28, Marty Robbins Recreation Center, 11620 Vista Del Sol Drive
• 6 p.m. Aug. 29, The Beast Urban Park, 13501 Jason Crandall Drive
• 5:30 p.m. Sept. 4, Westside Branch Library 125 Belvidere St.
• 5:30 p.m. Sept. 9, Valle Bajo Community Center,7380 Alameda Ave.
• 5:30 p.m. Sept. 10, Hilos de Plata Senior Center, 4451 Delta Drive
• 6 p.m. Sept. 11, Municipal Services Center, 1059 Lafayette Drive
• 6 p.m. Sept. 12, Northgate Transit Center at Metro 31, 9348 Dyer St.
A hybrid meeting also will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 5 in the main conference room on the second floor of City Hall, 300 N. Campbell St. To attend the meeting virtually, visit https://tinyurl.com/3aky32ks
The El Paso Independent School District Board of Trustees discuss the district budget on June 24, 2024. (Claudia Lorena Silva / El Paso Matters)
EPISD Adopted Tax Rate Increases Average Home Taxes $119
The average homeowner in the El Paso Independent School District could see an increase of $119 a year on the district portion of their 2024 tax bill after the Board of Trustees on Tuesday unanimously adopted a tax rate of $1.08 per $100 property valuation.
That translates to the $119 increase on the average $250,884 home in the district, EPISD Chief Financial Officer Martha Aguirre said. The exact impact on homeowners depends on their property values and changes over last year.
EPISD’s tax rate is just under the voter approval rate of $1.11 per $100 valuation, which is the highest the district can adopt without holding an election. The rate is also above the $1.03 no-new-revenue rate – the rate needed to raise the same amount of revenue on the same properties as the previous year.
The EPISD school board also approved “defeasing” its 2020 bond debt – a financing tactic that essentially annuls the debt and is expected to save the district about $17.8 million over 24 years.
Aguirre said this was made possible after the state provided additional revenue to offset the cost of the homestead exemption, leaving the district with an extra $5.3 million to pay toward its debt.
After COVID-19 vaccines were approved for children under 5 years old, two sisters were the first to get vaccinated at Immunize El Paso’s Eastside clinic on June 20, 2022. (Courtesy of Immunize El Paso)
Mobile Vaccination Clinic Coming to Far Eastside
Immunize El Paso is bringing its mobile vaccination clinic to the Far Eastside to make vaccines more accessible to people with transportation challenges and other barriers. The mobile clinic will set up at school campuses to offer the most common childhood vaccines to protect against polio, whooping cough, hepatitis, measles and mumps, as well as COVID-19 and flu shots. The cost for children who qualify for the Texas Vaccines for Children program, which is for children without health insurance, is $10 for one vaccine or $20 for two or more vaccines.
The mobile vaccine will also carry vaccines for adults including flu, RSV, pneumonia and shingles.
The next stops are:
4:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26, Ricardo Estrada Middle School, 851 Darrington Road.
4:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27, Pebble Hills High School, 14400 Pebble Hills Blvd.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays through December – Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 14600 Horizon Blvd.
Information: 915-533-3414, immunizeelpaso.org.
El Paso City Hall (Cindy Ramirez/El Paso Matters)
El Paso City Council Adopts Budget, Tax Rate
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted the city budget and tax rate for the next fiscal year. The council adopted the “no-new-revenue” rate of 76.1 cents per $100 valuation, which will increase the city’s portion of a tax bill on an average $204,763 value home by about $3 a year.
The total adopted budget for fiscal year 2025, which begins Sept. 1, stands at $1.3 billion. That includes a $599 million general fund budget – the operating fund for basic services paid for primarily through property and sales taxes.
The budget includes minimum-wage pay raises for some employees, and about $15 million more in raises and other benefits as part of the police and fire collective bargaining agreements previously approved by the City Council.
Texas Tech Health El Paso Welcomes New Dental, Medical Students
Texas Tech Health El Paso will welcome the fourth cohort of the Woody L. Hunt School of Dental Medicine during a white coat ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday in the institution’s Medical Sciences Building II, 137 Rick Francis St.
Richard Black, dean of the dental school, will present the coats that represent the role compassion and professionalism plays in health care. Each bears the seal of the school, which opened in 2021.
Of the 60 members of the Class of 2028, more than 50% come from West Texas and Southern New Mexico.
The university also celebrated the arrival of its largest cohort of medical students at a similar white coat ceremony Aug. 17. The institution presented the coats to 135 members of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine’s Class of 2028. About 20% of those students are residents of the Paso del Norte region. It was the 16th annual ceremony for TTHEP’s medical students.
The institution has graduated more than 2,400 doctors, nurses and researchers since it became an independent university in 2013. It expects to graduate its first class of dental students in 2025.
El Paso mayor Oscar Leeser congratulates Dionne Mack as she is appointed to the city manager position, Aug. 19, 2024. (Luis Torres / El Paso Matters)
Contract Negotiations with Incoming City Manager to Resume
The City Council next week will resume contract negotiations with Deputy City Manager Dionne Mack, who was selected as city manager on Aug. 19 after a national search. Her appointment becomes effective Sept. 3.
The council’s Tuesday meeting agenda lists a discussion on the contract to be held in executive session. Any decisions on the contract must be voted on by the City Council in public. Contract discussions started Aug. 20 in executive session, but the City Council did not take any action.
Mack, 52, has worked for the city since 2011, now overseeing the areas of capital improvement, community and human development, military affairs, public libraries, zoo, parks and museums. She previously oversaw the police and fire departments, municipal courts, public health and animal services.
Her current base salary is about $237,000. The city manager position was posted for a salary range between $325,000 to $375,000.
The post Here’s how adopted, proposed tax rates impact your tax bill; plus, EPISD school closure meetings and more appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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