San Marcos City Council sets agenda for fiscal year

By Omar Gonzalez 

News Reporter 

SAN MARCOS – In preparation to chart a clear path forward for the community, the City of San Marcos convened late last week for a two-part series of workshops. They’re focusing on a vision for the upcoming fiscal year, with deliberations that span a variety of topics crucial to the city’s development and well-being. 

These annual visioning workshops are held at the beginning of each year to help the city council set goals and priorities for the upcoming budget season. The city council will adopt these goals in an open session at a regular meeting once fully drafting the plan.  

One of the many budget priorities the city council discussed during these workshops was the single-use container ban. This decision would help city parks enforce a much safer and cleaner ecosystem for the city’s parks and rivers.

“One thing we do need to strengthen are our parks and trails, and that we’re keeping those things for our families here to be able to enjoy,” said city council member Alyssa Garza. 

A council member strengthened Garza’s comment regarding the ban, which is “extremely important on so many levels,” said Mark Gleason. His proposed ban would also set educational measures to improve safety, health, and welfare. The anticipated cost of fully implementing this plan will be $255,000. 

Another item highly prioritized during the two-part series of workshops is a mental health diversion department for the San Marcos Police Department.

The plan is to “improve forensic service coordination and prevent and reduce justice involvement for people with mental illness and substance use disorders by creating a diversion center,” as per the city agenda.  

The recent two-part workshops convened by the city council have set a robust agenda for the upcoming fiscal year, addressing a spectrum of crucial topics from environmental sustainability to public safety and mental health initiatives, which are only two of many items brought up during the workshops.

Here is the link to watch the visioning sessions: City Council Videos – Granicus Content

If you have further questions regarding any content discussed during this two-part series of workshops, please contact councilmembers@sanmarcostx.gov.