Brownsville city commission approves budget for fiscal year 2026

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A new fiscal year is approaching for the City of Brownsville in October, with a newly approved budget and capital improvement plan.

The Brownsville City Commission unanimously voted in favor of the $253 million budget and approved its latest capital improvement plan, while keeping the property tax rate at $0.603504, the same rate as fiscal year 2025.

Alan Guard, Deputy City Manager and Chief Financial Officer for Brownsville, spoke with ValleyCentral to discuss the priorities for fiscal year 2026.

"Our priorities are public safety. A big chunk of our capital improvement program has to go toward our street system and our traffic signalization," Guard said.

The city aims to continue addressing infrastructure needs in fiscal year 2026, emphasizing patience and strategic planning to achieve long-term improvements.

"Without raising taxes on everybody, we want to try to be very strategic and very prudent on how we go about repairing our streets so that we will get to everybody over time but it's going to take some time," Guard said.

In fiscal year 2024, potholes along 50 streets throughout Brownsville were addressed.

In fiscal year 2025, crews addressed nearly seven miles of road.

"There's a list of streets, and we're very strategic in that we make sure we are touching every part of the city," Guard said. "We try to do the worst roads in each district and try to work our way through that list."

Guard says the City of Brownsville was awarded a $23 million grant from the Texas Department of Transportation to improve traffic signalization and roadways.

"Our job is to help build community here by providing the basic services and the basic building blocks so that we can be a thriving, vibrant community for everybody," Guard continued.

Fiscal year 2025 for the City of Brownsville will conclude on September 30, with the new fiscal year slated to begin on October 1.