SAN ANTONIO — An ongoing fight is brewing among Bexar County commissioners who are at odds over how to split taxpayer dollars in the budget, with some saying their precincts need the money more than others.
Bexar County is about to pass a budget amounting to nearly $3 billion. Each commissioner is fighting for more money for their district, but not all commissioners are happy with the options on the table.
"There's a huge inequity in the budget of the county that has existed historically. But we've created it and made it worse by trying to create a parity," said Precinct 4'sTommy Calvert.
He says the funding he's pushing for would benefit all of Bexar County by creating jobs, allowing more people to afford homes and even funding a major tree-planting initiative that will help keep the city cooler.
"Cool down our heat islands here," Calvert said. "Parks and other kinds of things will have additional trees because of this budget. But all of that is literally on the chopping block."
Meanwhile, Rebeca Clay-Flores, commissioner for Precinct 1, says her area has greater infrastructure needs.
"The southern sector of Bexar County has been overlooked for far too long, and we have been left behind," Clay-Flores said.
She says her constituents need more funding for capital improvements in what she says is the overlooked area of southern Bexar County, as well as the rapidly growing northwest section.
"There are new developments that are coming in every day," Clay-Flores told KENS 5. "And so we need new roads. More funding for the lack of infrastructure in the south side, and more roads that we need to help lessen congestion on the northwest part of my precinct."
On Monday the county will conduct the change memo, or last-minute tweaking of the budget numbers to make sure it all adds up. And at Commissioners Court on Tuesday, leaders will hold a final vote on the county budget.