El Paso city councilor seeks to transfer unspent discretionary funds back to general fund

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include Rep. Chris Canales' response to ABC-7.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- El Paso City Representative Brian Kennedy is looking to transfer tens of thousands of dollars from his discretionary fund back to the city's general fund.

Kennedy, who is also running for mayor, is asking council to approve the transfer of a little over $52,000, according to next week's August 13 agenda.

At the beginning of every fiscal year, city councilors get $10,000 in discretionary funds that come from the city's general fund, according to city officials. Any of the unspent tax dollars carry over to the next fiscal year.

In an interview with ABC-7, Nicole Cote, the city's managing director of management and budget, said city council passed a resolution in 1994 that she says restricts council's use of discretionary funds. Cote says the tax dollars can be used for "a municipal purpose" and anything over $1,000 requires council approval. 

"The mayor's office does not receive discretionary funds," Cote noted. "This $10,000 can be used for their district, but it must meet, of course, a municipal purpose."

Cote says, "It has to be something that's going to be a benefit to the city."

Typically, Cote says council members use the funds to help make improvements to neighborhoods.

Currently, Rep. Brian Kennedy says he has over $62,000 in his discretionary fund. He tells ABC-7 his office, to date, has spent $1,000 since he was first elected into office in December of 2022. He said he used the money to help neighborhood organizations in his district pay for registrations for the Neighborhood USA Conference over the summer.

Kennedy told ABC-7, in part, "I personally think any funds should be used within the year issued or returned. I will use my $10,000 allocation and I'm returning the rest. As someone who watched the financial team fight very hard and make sacrifices to get to no new tax increase I really feel it's the responsible thing to do."

ABC-7 asked Kennedy what he thought about some people viewing this as a political move since he's running for mayor. "I don’t think it is ever the wrong time to act on good fiscal policies and help save the taxpayers money," Kennedy said. 

ABC-7 reached out to other council members to see what their respective discretionary fund balances are, if they will support Kennedy's request, and if they agree with transferring back their unspent tax-dollars to the general fund. 

"Oh, I believe discretionary funds are needed. there can be used for various things that we, as city representatives come across from our constituents that, hey, we need to take care of business," Representative Joe Molinar said in an interview with ABC-7.

Molinar, who is the representative for District 4, says when he first took office in January of 2021 he had approximately $110,000 in his discretionary fund, but could not recall what his current balance is.

At the July 2 council meeting, Molinar asked council if he could use up to $75,000 of his discretionary funds for pickleball courts. Council decided to bring the item back at a later date.

"We're trying to get pickleball here in El Paso. There is a need; there is a want. People can play outside, they can play inside, but we're lacking courts," Molinar said.

Molinar said he will not be returning the district's discretionary funds because he believes the taxpayers benefit from the funding source.

"I also allocated up to $60,000 for a park, Arlington Park at the 10300 block of Pasadena for new playground equipment, which serves a municipal purpose," Molinar said.

District 6 Representative Art Fierro told ABC-7 he currently has over $171,000 in his discretionary fund.

When he first took office in January of 2023, Fierro said there was a balance of over $182,000. 

Fierro said he believes it's Important the dollars stay in the district. 

"Because it's not my money - it's taxpayers' first and foremost, but it's also the district's money," Fierro said in a phone call to ABC-7 Thursday.

Fierro said his office has spent discretionary funds on various projects and events that he says help his district. He said his office plans to purchase portable traffic data machines that he says will help the El Paso Police Department track speeders on Montwood Drive.

"If he believes he doesn't need the funds then that's his call and I'll support him doing it, Fierro said to ABC-7 when asked if he supports Rep. Kennedy's agenda item. "But I would not support it for council as a whole."

Rep. Chris Canales says in the past few weeks, his office gave $50,000 to the Opportunity Center for the Homeless "to close out a restroom renovation project that they had initiated during my predecessor Rep. Lizarraga’s term."

Canales said when he first took office, his balance was $132,897, "including the $50,000 already committed to the Opportunity Center’s ongoing project."

Canales listed various projects he said his office has used his district's discretionary funds for, including a block party in Segundo Barrio, clean-up events and summer camps for kids.

"I think discretionary funds allow a City Councilmember to address these kinds of low-dollar-amount needs within their district, to help neighborhoods and community organizations with small-scale programming, and to supplement funding for City projects or programs within the district," Canales said to ABC-7 in a written response.

Canales said he doesn't object to Kennedy transferring his funds back to the general fund.

Canales said, in part, "They are called discretionary funds for a reason, and he can rightfully do so at his discretion. I plan to continue to use the District 8 discretionary funds in support of the neighborhoods and community organizations in my district and addressing their needs."

ABC-7 has not heard back from Reps. Josh Acevedo, Cassandra Hernandez, Isabel Salcido, or Henry Rivera.