San Elizario mayor says city is behind on required audits after Texas AG alleges illegally-raised taxes

UPDATE (May 15, 2026) -- San Elizario Mayor Miguel Chacon sent a statement Friday addressing Attorney General Paxton finding the city out of compliance with SB 1851. A.G. Paxton also notified Horizon City.

SB 1851 requires municipalities to meet financial statement audit and transparency standards.

The mayor said:

"First, and most importantly for our taxpayers: the penalty under Sb1851 prohibits non-compliant cities from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate. San Elizario has already adopted the no-new-revenue tax rate -- approved last year by a majority vote of our City Council. In fact, San Elizario currently holds the lowest property tax rate of any municipality in El Paso County. This means the State's enforcement action does not increase taxes on our residents and does not change the rate our community is already paying. Our taxpayers are protected.

"That said, I want to be transparent with our community about the underlying issue: San Elizario is behind on its required annual audits. The most recent audit completed was for fiscal year 2019, and this is a concern I have raised constantly since taking office in 2024.

"When the Office of the Attorney General first announced enforcement of this law last year, I personally and formally raised this concern before our City Council and urged immediate action to bring our city into compliance. The process of retaining the additional accounting support needed to accelerate our audit catch-up has moved far slower than I believe it should have, and I share the frustration our residents may feel upon hearing this news.

"What I want our community to know is this:

"Our city is actively working with our independent audit firm to complete the outstanding audits as quickly as possible and return San Elizario to full compliance with state law. I am personally committed to pushing this process forward with the urgency it requires, and I will continue to advocate -- both publicly and within City Hall - for the resources and decisions necessary to get this done.

"I also want to be clear that the Attorney General's determination relates to compliance with audit and reporting deadlines, not to any finding of wrongdoing or misuse of taxpayer funds. The path forward is straightforward: complete the audits, submit them to the state and restore full transparency for our residents -- while continuing to keep San Elizario's tax rate the lowest in the county.

The people of San Elizario deserve a government that is open, accountable and in full compliance with the laws of the State of Texas. I will not stop pressing for that standard, and I will keep our community informed as we make progress.

I welcome any resident with questions to contact my office directly."

You can contact the mayor through his email, mayorchacon@cityofsanelizario.com.

AUSTIN (KVIA) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sent letters to more than 130 cities, including Horizon City and San Elizario, banning them from raising ad valorem taxes.

Senate Bill 1851, which enacted into law, bans cities from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate if they don't meet state financial audit and transparency requirements.

In a news release Thursday, Attorney General Paxton said he first demanded documents showing compliance with SB 1851 from more than 1,000 municipalities. Since then, he identified more than 130 cities who failed to comply.

"I will not allow cities to unlawfully raise taxes on hardworking Texans. That is why I took aggressive action against over 130 Texas cities to hold them accountable and ensure they comply with state law," said Attorney General Paxton.

Paxton said his office will continue to take action with the investigation.