DICKINSON — The Dickinson City Council narrowly approved an amendment Tuesday removing the assistant city manager funding from the city’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget.

The amendment passed in a 4-3 vote but does not immediately eliminate the position. The proposed budget must still undergo a public hearing and receive final approval from the council, leaving members an opportunity to restore the funding before adoption.

Mayor Travis Magliolo opposed removing position’s budget, questioning whether the council should hypothetically overrule Chaise Cary’s assessment of the staffing needed to operate the city.

“Does it work if Mr. Cary says, ‘This is what I need,’ and we’re just like, ‘No, you don’t need this’?” Magliolo said. “I guess, how does that look to the staff when we’re talking about how we interact? We’re the governing body. We’re not the operational body.”

Council member Mark Townsend supported the amendment but said his vote could change depending on what council members learn during upcoming budget workshops.

“I don’t have a problem voting with this tonight to eliminate it, but if I don’t like what I’m going to hear during the budget workshops … I will vote to put the assistant city manager position back in the budget,” Townsend said.

Magliolo said many of the proposed reductions are intended to free up funding to provide city employees with livable and competitive wages.

“A lot of the proposed reductions are what we’re trying to do,” Magliolo said. “What many of the City Council members are really concerned about is some of our staff is not being paid at our premium. A lot of the reductions are so that we can pay our staff a livable wage, but also a competitive wage.”

Magliolo also raised concerns about city salaries previously being funded through Dickinson’s street maintenance fund.

“One of the things that, when Mr. Cary took over, there were a lot of salaries being funded out of our street maintenance fund, which is not something we should have ever had in mind,” Magliolo said.

Inflation and the city’s current sales tax revenue are also contributing to the difficult budget decisions, according to the mayor.

Council members additionally heard concerns about potential reductions involving Bayou Animal Services.

“I understand the city has difficult budget decisions to make, but after listening to tonight’s discussion, I would strongly encourage council not to significantly cut Bayou Animal Services before a sustainable alternative is actually in place,” Lifeline’s Caroline McKenna said.

In separate unanimous votes, the council approved the Dickinson Economic Development Corporation’s fiscal year 2027 budget and agreed to schedule a special meeting concerning the city budget.

Magliolo described Tuesday’s initial budget workshop as productive despite disagreements among council members. The assistant city manager funding could still be restored before the budget receives final approval, and residents will have an opportunity to comment during the required public hearing.