MARFA—The Marfa City Council held its final public hearing Monday night before approving its proposed budget and tax rate for next year—a 70% increase over last year’s rate that would fund a $5 million tax note to pay for street improvements and new smart water meters.
The water meters were estimated to cost $800,000 in a previous presentation from a vendor, while the street repairs and other water infrastructure improvements would make up the rest of the debt proposed. The vote was 3-1, with Councilmembers Eddie Pallarez, Mark Morrison and Travis Acreman voting for the increase, Councilmember Raul Lara voting against it, Mayor Manny Baeza not voting and Councilmember Mark Cash absent.
Lara indicated last week and before the meeting that he would be a “no” vote. “It’s just too much,” he said. “It’s having two projects in one year and asking the taxpayers to pay for it,” he said at the hearing.
Only one Marfa resident attended the hearing—Buck Johnston, co-owner of Wrong and Do Right Hall—who exactly echoed Lara. “It’s just too much,” she told council members. “I don’t want anyone to be priced out of our town. It’s going to hurt a lot of people in this town.”
Johnston also said the $5 million tax note funded by the increase is going to take too long to pay off. “You’re saddling us with this for seven years,” she said.
The 2024 adopted tax rate (per $100 of value) was $.328250. The 2025 tax rate will be $.55644—the highest allowed without seeking voter approval. The percentage difference between those rates is a 69.5% increase.
According to Presidio County Appraisal District figures presented at the hearing, the 2024 average homestead tax was $498.32, which would rise 50% on average to $747.90—based on an average taxable homestead of $134,408, down from $151,810 last year.
Baeza stressed that a combination of factors led him and the council on the path to take on debt: low interest rates, recent decreases from the city’s main revenue generators—utilities—and finally finding a reliable engineering firm to carry out street repairs.
The increase could be blunted depending on the exemptions available, and the impact will vary depending on appraisals of properties.
“I wish we did not have to do anything to raise taxes,” Morrison said before the meeting. “But to get the infrastructure that we really need to keep up with, there is not enough money coming into the city without raising the rate. The streets, as everybody knows, are in rough shape. And to do all the water replacement, we’re going to fold it in with interest rates while they are low. I don’t want to see a situation where we kick the can down the road to the point we can’t do anything in the future because it will cost even more money.”
The council also discussed its search for a new city administrator. It had scheduled a closed session to discuss one candidate, but that candidate withdrew his application. According to the mayor, that leaves one candidate under consideration, which the council will discuss at its October 14 meeting.