Monday - Friday
8:00 am - 5:00 pm

500 E. San Antonio
Suite 301
El Paso, Texas 79901
Phone (915) 546-2111
Fax (915) 543-3817
commissioner2
@epcounty.com

El Paso County Commissioner Pct. 2
Veronica Escobar

  • Efficient Government
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  • In October, the Court approved a budget with no new taxes. While that was good news, we all know the next budget will be much more challenging, with more needs and potentially fewer dollars. Simply keeping taxes level won't address our needs or the cost of growth; collaborating and consolidating wherever possible will be key.

    That's why our office worked for over a year on a Shared Services Summit, which we hosted in November. We had 100% participation from every taxing entity in our community (the various cities, school districts, Thomason and EPCC). It was a fruitful endeavor, supported by the Texas Comptroller's Office and the Texas Council on Competitive Government. We also had private support from the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and UTEP's Institute for Policy and Economic Development (IPED). Professionals from information technology, facilities planning, and purchasing came together to focus on achievable goals to create cost savings for taxpayers. I'll keep you posted on the progress in each of those three areas throughout '09, but the ideas these folks have already come up with will save our government precious dollars and resources. Many thanks to them for their great collaborative work.

    I'm a big believer in collaboration and consolidation, and I will continue to advocate and work toward that goal when it makes sense so we can maximize our investments, resources and dollars.