CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — During a special meeting on Thursday, Corpus Christi City Council decided on a new plan on how to use the city's expiring Type A Sales Taxes.
Last November, the voters overwhelming shot down the city's first attempt to repurpose the existing taxes. City Council tried securing funds to make repairs and enhance the American Bank Center complex that could have included a headquarters hotel. The proposition also didn't a term limit for this use.
The city has two 1/8 of cent sales taxes. One currently goes towards the American Bank Center debt and maintenance. It expires in September 2025. The other tax goes towards the debt and maintenance of the Seawall and expires in March 2026.
After their failed attempt last year, the city did much more outreach to the community to hear their thoughts on how the money should be allocated. A survey also went out that had residents rank their highest priority subjects.
“The survey should be an eye opener for all of us,” Councilwoman Sylvia Campos said.
Street improvements were the number one priority, according to survey results.
For the 1/8 cent sales tax for the Seawall, city council proposed to continue using the money on that. In addition money could be spent on flood control structures, city-wide stormwater and flood control, drainage and coastal resiliency projects.
As for the other 1/8 cent tax that's currently allocated to the ABC, city council proposed to put 50% of the tax towards maintenance and improvements to the ABC and city-owned facilities in the S.E.A District.
That includes Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, the Art Museum of South Texas, the Texas State Museum of Asian Cultures and Education Center, the Harbor Playhouse and the Water Garden.
After speaking to downtown businesses, Councilman Everett Roy talked about the importance of including the ABC in the tax use.
“When we have events at the American Bank Center, when we have events in the downtown area, their business prosper by at least 30% on those days," he said.
The other 50% goes towards commercial and industrial road improvements.
“We all want residential streets, we know that. So, you cannot include residential streets in the re-authorization of this sales tax vehicle,” Mayor Paulette Guajardo said.
Due to neighbors expressing the need for more residential street repair, this plan includes removing a handful of commercial and industrial road projects totaling $35 million from Bond 2024. That bond money would go towards more residential street repairs.
Should voters approve this sales tax plan, those industrial and commercial road projects will be covered under the sales tax and have priority over other projects. To complete this, both will have term limits of 20 years and the taxes will be reauthorized into Type B Sales Taxes.
City council's plan is to approve the ballot language and place it on the November ballot at the next city council meeting.
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