Facts and Demographics

Located on the eastern edge of Hidalgo County, centered between McAllen to the west and Harlingen to the east. Seven miles north of the Mexican Border city of Nuevo Progreso.

Population
Year 1980 1990 2000 % Change 90-002005 (Census)
City 19,331 21,877 26,935 18.78Estimate 30,416
County 283,229 383,545 569,463 32.6
State 14,229,000 17,045,000 20,851,820 18.25

Geographic Data
City Area: 13.1 sq. miles
Average elevation: 70.5 ft.
County area: 1,567 sq. miles
Miles of Street: Graded 1.65
Paved 91.85

Climate
Average Annual
Rain: 23.34"
Snow: 0"
Temperature: 74 º
Seasonal Temperature: January: 51 º, July 90º
Direction of Prevailing Wind: Southeast

Municipal Services


Date of Incorporation: 1919
Date of Adoption of City Charter: December 14, 1927
Council of Governments Member: yes
Form of Local Government: Commission-Manager
Annual Budget: $29,302,216
Building Permits: 2005
Permits Issued: 1,084
Estimated Cost: $50,388,512

Police (Full-time): 75 Firemen (Full-time): 60
Number Employees 104 Number Employees 51
Number of Sub-stations 4 Numbers of Sub-stations 0
Number of Stations 1 Number of Stations 3

Number of pumper trucks: 5 and 1 ladder
Dive Rescue team and Hazard Material team
Fire Insurance Rate: Class 4
Fire Service Outside the City: yes
Ambulance Service: yes     Rescue Service: yes
Number of Ambulances: 5
City Zoning Regulated: yes
City Planning Commission: yes

Utilities


WATER
Supplier: Hidalgo County Water District #9
Water Source: Rio Grande River
Plant Capacity: 7.9 mgd     Avg. Daily Use: 5.214
Peak Use: 7.618 mgd
Basic Rate: $9.65
Cost/1,000 gallons over Basic Rate: $1.67
Elevated Storage: 1.03 mgal     Ground Storage: 1.85 mgal

Sewer

North Sewer Treatment Plant

Treatment Type: Extended, Aeration racetrack
Plant Capacity: 3.0 mgd     Present Load: 2.3 mgd
Sanitary Sewer: yes
Complete Sanitary Sewer Coverage: 112 miles
Storm Sewer: yes     Storm Sewer Coverage: 50.94 miles
Flat Rate: $10.35     Cost/1,000 gallons over Basic Rate: 1.18
Solid Waste Disposal Type: City
Residential: yes     Commercial: yes     Industrial: yes

South Waste Water Treatment Plant

Treatment Type: Extended, Aeration racetrack
Plant Capacity: 2.5 mgd    Present Load: 1.6
Sanitary Sewer: yes
Complete Sanitary Sewer Coverage: 101.27 miles

Service Suppliers
Electric Company:
CPL Retail Energy
First Choice Power, Inc.
Entergy Solutions Ltd.
Nueces Electric Co-Op Retail
Gexa Energy, Gexa Green- 100% Pollution Free
Starlight Electric
Commerce Energy
Green Mountain Energy Company
Gexa Energy, Power Plan
Cirro Energy, Residential Electric Service
TXU Energy Services
Green Mountain Energy Company
Reliant Energy, Guaranteed Savings Plan
ECONnergy Energy Company Inc.
Amigo Energy

For questions on how to choose a Retail Electric Provider call 1-866-PWR-4-TEX. For questions about a particular REP’s offer or pricing, contact REP directly. (Source: www.powertochoose.org)

Natural Gas Company:
Texas Gas Service Company
1-800-700-2089
Harlingen, TX 78553
www.texasgasservice.com

Telephone Company:
Verizon
Residential Service 1-800-483-4400
Business Service 1-800-483-5000

Cable Providers:
Time Warner
(956) 425-7880
Harlingen, TX 78550
www.timewarnercable.com/riograndevalley

Transportation


HIGHWAY/INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION
Nearest Interstate Hwy: I.H. 35     Distance: 100 miles
Nearest Major Highway: U.S. Hwy 83     Distance: 0
U.S. Highways: U.S. 83, U.S. 77, U.S. 281

MOTOR FREIGHT COMPANIES
Major Freight Carriers:Nafta Motor Freight, Overnite Transportation, Central Freight, Motor Express, Roadway Express, ABF Freight, Yellow Freight, FedEx, UPS Store

AIR TRANSPORTATION
Name of General Aviation Airport: Weslaco Mid-Valley Airport
Length of Runway: 5,000 ft.     Surface Type: asphalt
Landing Lights: yes
Instrument Landing System: yes
Aircraft Storage: yes
Aircraft Maintenance: yes
Name of nearest Airport with Commercial Services:
Harlingen – 17 miles
McAllen – 17 miles
Commercial Air Freight Services: yes
Air Carriers: American, Southwest, Continental, Northwest, Alligent, Delta (Feb. 2006)

BUS AND RAILROAD
Providers: Valley Transit, Trailways, Rio Metro Transit
Rail Express: Rio Valley Switching, Union Pacific

SHIPPING
Nearest Deepwater Port: Port of Brownsville
Distance to Port: 40 miles
Channel Depth: first 15 m. are 42 ft., last 2 m. to turning basin are 36 ft.
Barge Service: yes
Nearest Water Access: Port of Harlingen
Distance to Water: 21 miles
Water Depth: 12 ft.-14 ft.

Tax Structure


Property Tax (Rate/$100 of assessed value)
Rate Assess. %
City of Weslaco: .6995 100%
Hidalgo County: .5900 100%
Weslaco ISD: 1.43 100%
South Texas ISD: .0392 100%
Hidalgo Co. Drainage Dist. #1 .0435 100%
So. Texas Community College .1589 100%
Total Effective Tax Rate: $2.9611

Sales Tax
City: 2 % County: none State: 6.25%

State Taxes
Corporate Income: none
Individual Income: none       Gasoline: $0.20
State Corporate Franchise Tax: 4.5%

Education


Number of School Districts: 1
Major Independent School District:Weslaco Independent School District
Number of Schools: 19 Total enrollment: 15,703
Enrollment in 12th Grade: 686
Avg SAT Score: 945       Avg ACT Score: 17.7
Number of Teachers: 1,024
Number of Private Schools: 4
Number of Colleges within 30 miles: 4
Number of Public Library Volumes: 80,000

Weslaco Independent School District
Airport Drive Elementary School
A.N. Tony Rico Elementary School
Clecker-Heald Elementary School
Dr. R. R. Margo Elementary School
Rodolfo “Rudy” Silva, Jr. Elementary School
Memorial Elementary School
North Bridge Elementary School
Justice Raul A. Gonzalez Elementary School
Louise Black Elementary School
Sam Houston Elementary School
Beatriz G. Garza Middle School
Central Middle School
Dr. Armando Cuellar Middle School
Mary Hoge Middle School
Secondary Schools
Weslaco East High School-Grades 9-11
Weslaco High School Grades 9-12
South Palm Gardens High School -Grades 10-12

Alternative Schools
WISD Alternative School Grades 5-8
Horton AEP Campus Grades 9-12

Other Schools
Mid Valley Christian School PK3-12th Grade Private School
San Martin de Porres Catholic School PK-6th Grade Private

South Texas Educational Technologies ISD
Horizon Montessori II PK- 3rd Grade Public Charter School
Technology Education Charter High School Grades 9-12 Public School


South Texas College
South Texas Vo-Tech
Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies

Commercial/Industrial Services


Bank Branches: 13
Credit Unions: 4
Bank Deposits: $298,124,594 (September 2005)
Number of Daily Newspapers: 2
Major Newspaper in City: Mid Valley Town Crier
Circulation: 23,500
Number of Radio Stations: 3
TV Stations: 1
Cable TV Service Available: yes

Health Facilties


Number of Hospitals: 1       Total Beds: 233
Number of Doctors: 206
Number of Dentists: 9
Nearest Emergency Room:Knapp Medical Center Level 3 Trauma Facility, Heli-pad
Nursing Homes: 4
Number of Veterinarians: 1

Recreational Facilties


Golf Courses:2
Swimming Pools: 2
Lakes: 0
Tennis Courts: 6
Parks: 6
Hunting & Fishing Available: yes

Hotels & Churches


Number of Churches: 45
Number of Hotels & Motels: 9       Rooms: 608

Labor Market (December 2005)


Total Civilian Labor Force (MSA): 268,728
Total Civilian Labor Force (Weslaco): 13,046
Civilian Labor Force Unemployment Rate (MSA): 6.9%
Civilian Labor Force Unemployment Rate (Weslaco): 6.8%
Radius of Labor Drawing Area: 60 miles
Nearest MSA: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission
Distance to MSA: 15 miles
Wage and/or Labor Survey Available: yes

MAJOR AREA EMPLOYERS
Employer Product Employees
Barbee-Neuhaus Implement Retail 85
Burton Auto Supply Retail Auto Parts 56
City of Weslaco Government-City 367
Foremost Paving Inc. Contractor 150
H-E-B #1 Retail-Grocery 255
H-E-B #2 Retail-Grocery 186
Home Depot Retail 92
John Knox Village Retirement 110
Knapp Medical Center Hospital 1,000
KRGV-TV Channel 5 TV Station 105
Payne Auto Group Retail-Auto 246
Retama Manor Nursing Home 90
South Texas College Education 240
Texas A&M University-Kingsville Research Center 180
Texas A&M Experiment Station 64
Texas A&M Extension Center 19
Texas A&M Citrus Center 45
Torres-Espino Cabinets Wood Finisher 120
US Border Patrol Government 150
USDA Research Center 123
Valley Grande Manor Nursing Home 115
Wal-Mart Retail-Dept. Store 500
Weslaco Holding Manufacturing 150
Weslaco ISD Education 2,276
WoodCrafters Manufacturing 376

Economic Dev. Contact Information


Martha Noell
Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce
Phone: 956/968-2102
Toll-Free: 888/968-2102
Fax: 956/968-6451
Email: chamber@weslaco.com
Web Site: www.weslaco.com
Hernan Gonzalez
Weslaco Economic Dev. Corp.
Phone: 956/969-0838
Fax: 956/969-8611
Email: hgonzalez@weslacodc.com
Web Site: www.weslacodc.com