ABC-7 Xtra: New City of El Paso fees that could impact your wallet

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso City Council approved a No-New-Revenue tax rate last month, meaning the average homeowner would pay a similar amount in city property taxes to last year.

But at the same time, dozens of new or increased fees are going in place as well.

That's the concern for former State Rep. Joe Pickett.

He took legal action against the city over franchise fees from the environmental services department not being used solely for street maintenance.

A judge ruled in his favor, and the city appealed the ruling.

But Pickett says that the case also showed that the environmental services department has tens of millions in positive fund balances in the bank.

"The government calls it an enterprise fund, but what it means is they make a profit and they make a huge profit, and they're sitting on, as I said, a bunch of cash," Pickett told ABC-7. "When we asked during the trial and deposition what was for, their only answer was to buy stuff. So it's another, huge amount of cash. Very little bit of transparency. Again, there's just not a lot that the city wants to come forward with to let people know that."

In response to requests for comment, a spokesperson from the City of El Paso sent ABC-7 the 2023 Fiscal Year Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, the most recent year for which it is available.

In it, the city shows that the ESD has a positive net position at the end of the year of $85.3 million.

For Pickett, that raises concerns about revenues being raised for city besides taxes, and a lack of transparency.