CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — City leaders voted to approve their billion dollar capital budget "as is" after the measure failed to secure the votes needed at last week's council meeting.
This was their last chance during a regular meeting to approve the capital budget before the Oct. 1 deadline, the day when the new budget would go into effect.
If it had failed, the billion dollar budget would have reverted to this past budget which was $700 million resulting in a $300 million cut.
However, council gave enough votes needed to move the budget forward. Tuesday's decision was a 5-4 vote with councilmember Mike Pusley being the deciding vote when he switched from a no vote last week to yes vote this time around.
There was lengthy discussion about the capital budget with council members asking city staff about different projects they could cut to tighten up the spending.
Some of those cuts brought up included everything from a boat ramp to a warehouse.
One of the biggest chunks of the capital budget goes to the water department for $517 million.
Council members Jim Klein and Sylvia Campos attempted to remove funding for the desal plant. A motion that ultimately failed.
Drew Molly, Chief Operating Officer for Corpus Christi Water reacted to that 7-2 vote.
"They gave us the green light in January, they gave us the green light in June and frankly this was yet another vote of confidence in the fact that we are going to deliver," Molly said. "This vote was 7-2 in favor of moving the project forward."
None of the 272 projects included in the capital budget were cut.