Investment | City of Socorro

Vision • Strength • Investment

City of Socorro, Texas

Vision • Solid Financial Leadership

Tax Rate LOWER than
the County of El Paso, and the City of El Paso

2008

Socorro El Paso El Paso county

0.497757 0.633000 0.342437

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2009

Socorro El Paso El Paso county

0.496757 0.633000 0.338258

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2010

Socorro El Paso El Paso county

0.496757 0.653700 0.363403

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Percent 0.20% 3.27% 6.12%

Here in the City of Socorro back in 2008 our tax rate was more than 1 and a half percent lower than the City of El Paso. In 2-thousand-9, our taxes ACTUALLY went down and we were still lower than the city. Last year our tax rate was the lowest in two years. Actually dropping while the city and County of El Paso really climbed. The county has moved up more than 2-percent.

More than $11 million dollars of C.O. Money – ZERO new Taxes!

Through the last three (3) years Socorro acquired $11 million in Certificate of Obligation money without raising the tax rate to our citizens of the community. We’re building a new park and a new community center. The City of Socorro has made some very important land acquisitions, and even bought major pieces of heavy equipment for our Public Works Department, not to mention paving more than 20% of our city streets.

Reserve UP from $4million to more than $5.5 million!

During the same time our Socorro’s fund reserve has grown from $4 million to more than over $5.5 million. Socorro is keeping with good business practices and maintains a six (6) month operational reserve, for us that works out to $2.5 million dollars. We’re not stopping there, we plan to invest these reserves and have them available should any major emergency arise.

Strength • City of Socorro Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Adopted

Socorro City Council adopts the Fiscal Year 2012 budget with no property tax increase for the FOURTH straight year!

On September 20^th , The Socorro City Council formally adopted the FY2012 Budget, a year long budget strategy which provides another 12 months of financial stability to City of Socorro taxpayers.

The total FY2012 Budget is $13,331,147 and went into effect October 1. This is a savings of $2,456,463 (or 15.559%) compared to the FY2011, $15,787,610 with no reduction of services to our citizens. Great news: despite declining state revenues the property tax rate remains unchanged at $0.496757 for the fourth straight year!

While there is economic uncertainty on a national level, The City of Socorro continues to have a bright future given the opening of the High-Tech E.G. “Chayo” Apodaca Community Center, and the ribbon cutting of the State of the Art Championship Bulldog Park scheduled for Memorial Day. As we celebrate the opening of both, The City of Socorro citizens should be extremely proud of this community’s long-term vision. It is hard to believe the City of Socorro waited all these years for their first WALMART. Another welcome economic development opportunity and options that did not exist for The City of Socorro.

Investment • City of Socorro Moves Towards Financial Advancement

The City of Socorro is one of the youngest municipalities in El Paso County, (30.6 years),and is significantly below the state of Texas average (33.5 years) and the nation (36.9 years.) Youthful population means positive attributes such as lower health care costs and adaptability to technological change.

Socorro’s geographic location in the region will become even more strategic in time. The City of Socorro leaders are poised to capitalize on future economic opportunities because as the intra-regional mobility moves towards us we become a critical focal point.

Because of our properly zoned communities with land fully served by utilities we have the greatest potential to successfully attract industrial jobs and investment.

The City of Socorro’s employment base as a percentage of population is comparatively low. Meaning more people work next door and bring their money home where they live.

We are currently established as a “bedroom” community which provides the workforce for jobs and invest where they reside in other parts of El Paso County at a more affordable cost.

So the opportunity exists to create or attract manufacturing-related industries. The City of Socorro provides advantages to manufacturers connected to the Juarez maquila industry. And the attraction of manufacturing-related jobs is a high priority to the City of Socorro because of our proximity to a the Zaragosa Port of Entry and future (Fabens/Tornillo) commercial port-of-entry. Together with our workforce potential we provide advantages to manufacturers connected to the Juarez maquila industry.

As of December 2011, this industry employed more than 200,000 people in Cd Juarez, and was largely responsible for more than $71 billion in international trade in the El Paso/Juarez area in 2010. Infrastructure within The City of Socorro is among the most robust in our utility’s service area.

“Transportation and Warehousing” comprises the largest employment sector in Socorro today, providing 29.8% of all private sector jobs in the community. Such notable companies as Werner Ladder, Bosch Automotive and Ryder Logistics currently operate in Socorro, and the community’s strategic location can be further leveraged to increase the number of jobs and investment in this sector.

Socorro’s position as the second largest municipality in the County, and its strategic location, large Hispanic demographic, available workforce, as well as our commercial development potential (especially along Interstate 10) make our community uniquely positioned to attract new specialty industries.