CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As the city of Portland continues to grow every year, so does it's General Funds budget.
On October 1st, the city began a new fiscal year with a General Funds budget of $20,729,000.
City Manager Randy Wright said this budget is important because it allows the city to provide several important services to the community.
"The General Funds budget is the budget, that actual budget, that services, that pays for police, and fire, and streets, and libraries, and all general services the city provides for the citizens," Wright said.
Wright said a big reason to increase to the budget each year is due to the amount of people moving to the city.
"Portland grew 35% between 2010 and 2020. It's one of the largest growths we've seen in the city," Wright said.
Wright said in the last several years, there has been a number of industrial developments that have contributed to the economic growth in the Coastal Bend which is attracting many people.
"Portland is just a desirable place to live and we're seeing a lot of families that want to live in Portland," Wright said. "That's driving the home market here in Portland. We have developers that are building homes left and right and particularly out to the western area of the city."
Wright said developers are constructing multiple subdivisions in the western part of the city. At this moment, the city has over 3,000 residential lots that are under development.