CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi City Council got a look today at a proposed $1.5 billion budget, which would take effect on Oct. 1 at the beginning of the new fiscal year.
While the structure and the recommendations are in place, there is still a lot to do between now and then.
A big chunk of this budget is dedicated to things like debt and capital needs. However, there are also considerations for animal care, libraries and parks and recreation.
None of it, however, will be adopted until city council members have a chance to hear from you.
When it comes to the city budget, the part most of us are interested in is the General Fund. This is where city services are impacted and this budget calls for a 4.2-percent increase to $343 million.
Just under half of that (46.3 percent) would go to Public Safety.
Included in that category would be an additional 9 police officer positions, which – for the first time ever, would give CCPD 500 officers.
There’s also space for nine more firefighters, bringing the total there to 455.
The proposed budget also allows for some new or upgraded equipment for both the Police Department and the Fire Department, as well as funding for police and fire academies.
Corpus Christi Animal Care Services would also add an additional 10 people in this version of the budget, even as they continue to look for a new Director.
In addition, money is being set aside to continue looking closely at bridge inspections following the failure of the Mud Bridge, and to assess the strength of traffic signal arms after a traffic light came crashing down at Everhart and Alameda.
City council members will be getting together five times during the month of August for Budget Workshops, where some of this could be refined even further.
They also plan to host Community Input Sessions during the first half of the month, with one in each Council District. That’s where you can go to voice your support or concerns, to raise questions and to offer your view of what should or should not change with this budget.
Coming up tonight at 10, we’ll break down another part of this budget, which includes a recommended change to water and wastewater fees for both commercial and residential users.
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