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-Editorial
Brawley Mayor Ramon Castro delivered his annual State of the City address, providing an in-depth look at the city’s current and future projects that he said will change the city and improve the quality of life. The event took place on Sept. 6 at the Brawley Elks Lodge before the residents of Brawley and Imperial Valley dignitaries.
Among the significant developments discussed was the Rancho Los Lagos, a comprehensive initiative designed to create a pedestrian-oriented residential community offering a balanced mix of housing, amenities, and open spaces.
Mayor Castro emphasized the importance of the Rancho Los Lagos, which is poised to significantly impact Brawley’s housing landscape. The plan envisions a walkable residential community featuring conventional and active adult housing, alongside a variety of parks, schools, and commercial spaces. Divided into four main components—conventional residential, active adult, a golf course, and a business park—the project will be developed in phases over several years based on market demand.
The residential area will offer single-family homes, multi-family housing, and mixed-use developments that blend residential and retail spaces. A gated, age-restricted active adult community is also part of the plan, though if market conditions dictate, it could be replaced by a traditional residential neighborhood. The inclusion of a golf course, business park, and community facilities ensures Rancho Los Lagos will not only meet the housing needs of the growing population but also foster a vibrant, connected community.
Another key project highlighted in the address was Brawley’s partnership with Clean Water Ventures (CWV), aimed at optimizing the city’s wastewater treatment operations. CWV will use cutting-edge technology to convert wastewater into clean energy, specifically hydrogen gas, which the city will purchase to power its sewer treatment plant. This initiative is expected to yield long-term financial savings, reduce the city’s energy consumption, and generate revenue by selling excess water to CWV. Mayor Castro underscored that this partnership will provide $1.2 million in annual revenue. CWV will be hiring operating staff for its plant and adding about 20 local jobs.
The City of Brawley is the one selling wastewater and generating revenue, so they anticipate new revenues will help to fund the operations of their sewer treatment plant and to reduce the need to increase rates as much as the city otherwise would without this new revenue.
In addressing the city’s financial outlook, Mayor Castro noted the adoption of the city’s $64.4 million budget for Fiscal Year 2024-25. Despite facing a $237,433 deficit, Brawley is committed to maintaining essential services such as public safety, street improvements, and recreational facilities. The city stressed the importance of investing in infrastructure and services, even if it requires tapping into reserve funds.
Looking ahead, Mayor Castro spoke about Measure J, a proposed 1% sales tax increase that will be on the ballot in the November 2024 election. If passed, the measure could generate $3.8 million annually to support critical services like police, fire protection, and street maintenance, helping to close future budget gaps and maintain the city’s high quality of life.
Two-thirds of Brawley’s revenue comes from property, sales, and utility taxes, while expenses have risen 3% since 2020. To balance the FY 2024-25 budget, the city implemented cost-cutting measures. Over 54% of the General Fund is allocated to public safety, with 17% for Community Services. Pension costs have risen 19% in four years, and the city’s CalPERS liability surged 49% for FY 2024-25. With annual pension bond payments of $1.3 million until 2032, Brawley maintains reserves at 15% of operating expenses to support $27.7 million in future infrastructure projects.
Brawley will be the home of the new SDSU STEM building that will add to the Lithium Valley development in Imperial County. Castro mentioned that a good binational relationship is important to build strong relationships with Mexico.
“We need to build avenues to allow people to do business on both sides of the border. Our areas will be intertwined more than ever due to lithium and we need to create those business relationships that will come as a result of Lithium Valley,” Castro said.
