CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi concluded the last of five virtual public meetings on the $1.2 billion budget for the upcoming year.
The hot topic for each meeting was of course city streets and the latest on repair efforts.
Due to COVID concerns, city staff arranged the meetings virtually.
City Manager Peter Zanoni said over 160 attended the first meeting with good turnout for the following meetings. Many residents asked whether their street was next up on the list or part of the city's five year plan.
Zanoni said the biggest difference now, besides private contractors, is the City has two active street reconstruction crews. It's something the City did not have three years ago.
"Over the past two years, we gradually ramped up the amount of work we're doing and now we explained to the community that now we have two full time and active crews in the city that are reconstructing streets," Zanoni said.
The City's new budget also includes recommendations for additional police officers and equipment upgrades, including a new crime scene mapping drone.
Funds for upgrades to the fire department also factored into next year's budget. The final budget has to be in place before the new fiscal year begins next month.