The Edna City Council approved the first readings of its proposed Fiscal Year 2026-2027 tax rate and proposed $8.76 million city budget during Thursday’s regular city council meeting.
Prior to the first readings of the proposed tax rate and budget ordinances, the city held public hearings. The second readings of each will be held during a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Mon., Sept. 28 at City Hall.
If passed, the proposed budget will take effect on Oct. 1 with $3,845,570 in the General Operation Fund; $4,579,800 in the Water & Sewer Enterprise Fund; and $338,500 in the Interest & Sinking Fund, for a total budget of $8,763,870.
This proposed budget will raise $5,614 less revenue from property taxes than last year’s budget, which is a 0.69 percent decrease from the FY 2025-2026 budget, which ends on Sept. 30. The property tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is $2,646.
The proposed tax rate for FY 2026-2027 is $0.2263 per $100 of assessed valuation of all property subject to taxation within the corporate limits of the City of Edna. Of that $0.2263 rate, $0.1314 would be earmarked for the General Fund and $0.0949 would be earmarked for paying bonds, interest, and creating a sinking fund for General Obligation Bonds.
The proposed tax rate will raise less taxes for maintenance and operations (M&O) than last year’s tax rate by $90,713. It will effectively be lower by 16.36 percent and will lower taxes for M&O on a $100,000 by approximately $13.14.
In addition, former Edna Police Department Det. Lee Jordan, Texas Municipal Police Association attorney Ray Wilkinson, former EPD Chief Kenny Pyle, and local resident Mindy Yendrey spoke during the Public Comments section of the meeting concerning the recent resignations of several officers after Pyle and the city agreed to a separation.
Jordan and Wilkinson expressed concern over why so many officers would leave at once and urged the council to investigate allegations that City Manager Gary Broz might have interfered in department investigations. Pyle ceded his time to Wilkinson, so that he could continue to speak to council, while Yendrey expressed her support for the department’s officers and spoke highly of her interactions with them. She and resident Frank Trevino also expressed concern about public safety with the loss of so many officers, but Jackson County Sheriff Rick Boone, who was also in attendance, explained that he is assigning a deputy to stay in the city and respond to calls each shift and that DPS and Ganado Police Department will also be assisting as needed.
Edna Mayor Lance Smiga said on Friday that he and the city council are concerned about the situation.
“I as Mayor and all of Council take all the comments from the meeting seriously,” Smiga said Friday. “The position we are in is unfortunate and I wish there had been a better opportunity before we ended up here. But the majority of the officers turned in their immediate notice with little explanation and without reaching out to us. We will investigate the allegations about the City Manager as part of our evaluation of him.
“We stand behind the hire of Bryan Martin as the new Chief of Police and have full faith that he will put together a team that will proudly and fairly serve our citizens” Smiga continued. “In the meantime, we appreciate the teamwork shown by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, Ganado Police Department, and DPS in assisting us in answering the needs of our citizens. Please rest easy knowing that there will be patrol units in the city during this time, and calls will be answered. The city’s safety is important to all of us.”
In other business, council members:
· Approved the minutes of the regular city council meeting held Sept. 3, 2026;
· Approved payment of current city bills in the amount of $218,160.31; and
· Heard city staff reports.
During the Staff Reports portion of the meeting, Broz introduced Martin as the new Edna Police Chief and told council that the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office is working all calls for police, the city is working on an interlocal agreement with the county for the coverage, and business is continuing to be handled. The C.O. Project is moving along, with drainage boxes and pipes being installed on Division and Fulton Streets. All drainage should be installed next week. Curbing needs to be done on Division Street and concrete is scheduled for Friday on Miracle Drive by the bus barn, with the plan being for one lane to be done halfway through the curve and then the other lane. The subcontractor will start paving on Foxglove and Vanderbilt on Mon., Oct. 5.
As for other grant projects, the city will be receiving bids until Sept. 24 for the Sunset Drive generator. Work on the environmental part of the MIT project is ongoing. No word has been received yet on the status of the Post Oak Branch contract for Phase 1 of the project. The police department generator is still in the paperwork stage but moving slowly.
Broz also said he has been working with city staff on closing out the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, hopefully positive. Staff made all the necessary changes to the proposed tax rate and budget. Thanks to city staff, the interior of City Hall has been repainted, and new flooring has been installed in the rear of the building. Planning and Zoning will meet on Tues., Sept. 29 for the county’s purchase of the property on W. Main Street across from the rice dryers. A special council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Mon., Sept. 28 for the second reading of the tax rate and budget.
City Finance Director Valerie Callaway said that the city received a $121,482.38 payment on Sept. 11 from the Texas State Comptroller’s Office for the City Sales and Use Tax Revenue and a payment of $576.98 for mixed beverages. Callaway said that she and Broz had worked to make the necessary budget changes with the no-new-revenue tax rate to the proposed FY 2026-2027 budget. She also is preparing the necessary documentation and data for the auditor from Harrison, Waldrop, & Uherek, L.L.P., who is scheduled to be at City Hall on Sept. 21-22 to conduct interim audit testing. The city’s September 2026 bond payment of $399,990 has been paid. Staff are working on quarterly reports and will begin closing the current fiscal year and implementing the new budget in the computer system once it has been approved.
City Streets Supervisor Andy Brzozowski said that half of a tree fell onto Pin Oak Street on Mon., Sept. 7 and that his crew pushed it off to the side of the street and removed it the following day. They also removed a dead tree from the Children’s Park on Pumphrey Street and some other trees from N. Colorado Street. Kenny and Joel have been using the Dura-Patcher truck to seal several streets where we have replaced culvert pipes, as well as some areas where the edges of the street have deteriorated into the street, and they finished sealing some edges on Alba Street. They also cleaned part of the ditch on Pin Oak Street and replaced the culvert at Trinity Street. Crews have been mowing and trimming grass as time permits. Brzozowski also said he has been putting together a bid packet for 400 feet of 24-inch storm sewer on Guadalupe Street. Also, the patch truck is dead and cannot be resuscitated.
Utilities Director Brad Ryan said that workers repaired a water leak at 402 Dennis St. and two water main leaks by Love’s Truck Stop. They located and isolated valves for contractors on W. Division Street and started tearing down the Kleas Street booster pumps for the contractor. They also repaired a sink hole on Cypress Street, scrubbed the clarifier at the plant, and repaired sewer service at 110 W. Simons St.
City Parks Supervisor/Code Enforcement Jaime Liepe reported 35 open code violation cases, including six dangerous/unsafe buildings; six junk/trash/debris; one mobile home skirting; six abandoned/junk vehicles; and 17 mowing violations. The city accepted bids on mowing of 15 lots and they have already started. Liepe said that they are still waiting on three properties to be demolished by the property owner. Two Sept. 1 court cases which were given until Sept. 15 to come into compliance have done so, but one will still have to pay a fine for repeat offense. Letters for court in October will be sent for non-compliance, and she is working on a list of properties for the next Buildings and Standards meeting.
The next Edna City Council meeting will be a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Mon., Sept. 28 to hold the second readings of the proposed FY 2026-2027 tax rate and budget. The next regularly scheduled city council meeting will be later that week on Thur., Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. Council meetings are normally the first and third Thursdays of the month.