The City of El Paso has laid out its fiscal blueprint for 2026, unveiling a proposed budget that zeroes in on senior and disabled tax relief, while padding key areas like public safety and infrastructure. In a plan stamped with fiscal responsibility, city management is turning its back on drawing deep from reserve funds, a strategy once resorted to in years prior. Instead, City Manager Dionne Mack described the budget as a commitment “to being good stewards of public resources,” aiming to shower seniors and the disabled with extra tax breaks and bolster the bones of the city’s infrastructure and public services, according to the City of El Paso.
With $1.4 billion on the line, roughly $624 million of that soaking into the General Fund, they’ve managed to maintain the current property tax rate. This, while hiking up the Homestead exemption to $45,000 for those over 65 or living with disabilities, is a welcome pocket-saver, recording savings to the tune of $380 a year. This fiscal legerdemain aims to balance the scales, offering a leg up to those on fixed incomes, and simultaneously, ensuring that community keystones such as police and fire departments don’t starve for resources. Robert Cortinas, the city’s Chief Financial Officer and Deputy City Manager of Public Finance, underscored the goal, asserting, “Our focus remains on fiscal sustainability and long-term financial planning,” as per City of El Paso, a sentiment echoed in their trimming down the use of reserve funds from last year’s $7.2 million down to $4 million…