Progreso police lose out on raises in new city budget

PROGRESO, Texas ( ValleyCentral ) — On Wednesday night, the City of Progreso council members approved the budget for its next fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1.

$2.1 million will be set aside to cover city expenses. However, one of the items not included in the budget was a raise for Progreso police officers.

City officials say officers in Progreso make significantly less than other Valley cities, and officers are leaving to work in neighboring departments.

Police officers in Progreso on average earn $16 per hour.

During Wednesday’s meeting, City Manager Alfredo Espinosa told the council that increasing pay by $2 an hour would be a good way to keep and attract recruits.

Community members voiced their opinions as to how much the city manager and assistant city manager make during public comment.

“This is $810,000 for all employees, of which over 200 are paid to both city manager and assistant city manager who’s not even here at the meetings,” Jose Blanco said. “He’s your assistant, Mr. Espinosa.”

Mayor Hugo Gamboa says they are working to make sure the city’s employees are happy.

“I think the morale is very important, not only to the city employees but to our law enforcement as well, right? So, I do believe in a good environment where everybody is getting paid good health insurance, and that way everybody can be happy and doing their job,” Gamboa said.

The mayor said that the council will revisit the subject of pay raises at a later date and add the changes to their budget. He also hopes to get a raise for fire department employees.

Gamboa hopes to have a meeting over the raises sometime next month.

The next Progreso City Council meeting will be on Friday, Sept. 27 to discuss the future of their City Attorney, Javier Villalobos.

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