CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Corpus Christi City Council will be rolling out a series of budget workshop presentations, the first one will be happening Tuesday, Aug. 1, focusing on safety services.
The city is urging residents to offer their input in later sessions.
Nearly half of the $343 million in the city's 'general fund' will be going toward improvements for first responders. Both the police and fire department will be adding more positions to the force.
Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni said he is looking forward to the opportunities that will open for first responders.
"We also have funding for another fire training academy," he said. "Years ago, the city stopped funding fire training academies, which resulted in a huge vacancy rate. And then we had to fill the service hours with overtime. Which is not a good use of taxpayer dollars, and it put a big strain on our firefighters as well."
Zanoni says the current year budget is $1.4 billion but they are proposing a $1.5 billion budget next year. Zanoni is confident that this is best decision for a growing city.
"Having a budget that size is important because it invests in our community," he said. "It provides services that our community wants. And it keeps us safe. A big part of our general fund budget is our public safety, our police and fire. And so having a budget commence to what the community wants is important."
Public input will be allowed at five community input sessions Aug. 7-16.
To find a session near you, click here.
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