Garza: Economic activity in Edinburg is huge

EDINBURG, Texas – Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza says serving as the city’s mayor has been one of the greatest honors of his life.

The widely popular elected official will give his last State of the City address this evening at the new Edinburg Arts, Culture, and Events (ACA) Center. The theme of the address is “Excellence in Action.”

Garza announced recently that he would not seek re-election for health reasons. 

“Serving as mayor has been one of the greatest honors of my life. This city’s momentum is undeniable, and our commitment to ‘Excellence in Action’ has positioned Edinburg as a leader in growth and innovation,” Garza said. “I look forward to celebrating all we’ve accomplished together and sharing a vision for the bright future ahead.”

Appearing on KURV News Talk 710, Garza said this year’s theme, “Excellence in Action” reflects Edinburg’s unwavering dedication to progress, community engagement, and a future built on success. Interviewed by Morning News show host Sergio Sanchez, Garza cited statistics that show record-breaking growth for his city. 

“We’re hitting over $300 million in construction activity almost every year. So, the last three years was $1 billion. That’s how much direct construction activity there’s been in our city,” Garza told KURV. 

“And this last year, Sergio, there were about 43 subdivisions that were officially recorded, meaning homes were being built in all those subdivisions. If you want to ask, well, how much space is that, well, it adds up to about 536 acres. That’s a lot of development, about 1,400 lots.”

Garza said another 60 subdivision permit applications are under review, with another 40 under construction. 

“So, we have a total of 146 active subdivisions taking place in our city. What does that mean as far as homes? Well, we’re looking at about 800 homes that we permitted last year. That’s roughly over 65 homes per month. So, the economic activity is huge.”

Garza said over 1,000 jobs were created last year directly through the approval of projects in his city. 

“In the last three years, it’s close to 5,000 jobs. It is very unprecedented. It’s a really a boom of activity.”

Garza said he is looking forward to sharing this information and more at the State of the City address.

“It’s important to share how we’ve been able to, because of that growth, reduce our tax rate. We’ve reduced it about five cents in the last three years. Our tax rate now stands at a level that we haven’t seen in Edinburg since 1991 – 63 cents,” Garza told KURV.

“We are very proud of that (and we’re) hoping to reduce that further, given that growth, while at same time taking care of improvements that we need to do throughout the city. Right now we have over $90 million worth of improvements we’re making throughout the city. And the biggest part of that is expansion of our wastewater treatment plan.”

Garza hastened to add that while the municipal infrastructure investment currently underway is big, more was needed. “As much work is being done, it’s not enough,” he said. 

Asked by Sanchez what the unprecedented growth is being fueled by, Garza answered: “There are a variety of reasons. But if I had to pinpoint one industry, it’s healthcare.”

The State of the City Address at the ACE Center. begins with dinner at 6 p.m. It is followed by the mayor’s address at 7 p.m.

Registration for the event has reached capacity, but the address will be broadcast on the City’s government access channel, ECN 1300, and streamed live on the City’s Facebook page beginning with the mayoral address at 7 p.m.

When he announced he would not be running for re-election in November, Garza shocked his many friends and supporters by saying was battling prostate cancer. He recently appeared on the Real Talk with Laura podcast to discuss his medical condition. Click here to listen to the podcast.

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