At the Nov. 18 meeting, San Marcos City Council approved funding for the Human Services Grant Board (HSGB).
City council members approved the funding unanimously, allowing the allocation of $750,000 from the City’s General Fund and additional funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The allocation of these funds will provide financial relief to non-profit agencies through HGSB, such as Southside Community Center.
Southside Community Center, located at 518 S. Guadalupe St., is a non-profit that offers San Marcos residents resources such as medical care, emergency assistance, case management, food and shelter, according to the Southside Community Center website. Southside was allocated $48,000 in grant funding from the HGSB for the 2025 Fiscal Year on Jan. 7 from the City’s General Fund.
The HGSB requested $100,000 for Southside Community Center, and will be funded $50,000 to aid in emergency assistance and eviction prevention, according to the San Marcos’ Government website.
Jessica Cain, a representative of Southside Community Center and the Director of Neighborhood Engagement, stated, “the ripple effect of keeping these neighbors in stable housing is abundant. An investment in Southside is an investment in the entire community’s stability.”
HGSB requested $80,000 for the Hays County Food Bank’s Food Assistance program and will be granted the funds in full, as well as requested $180,000 for the Hill Country Mental Health Mental Retardation/ Mental Health Developmental Disabilities (MHMR/MHDD) Center’s Mental Health program, and will be funded $60,000.
The largest request from HSGB was for $200,000 for Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid’s San Marcos Justice and Stability Project, a program providing legal aid, but will not be funded for the fiscal year of 2026.
City Council member Matthew Mendoza asked for the reallocation of $4,500 from Rough Draft, a non-profit that offers “classes focused on creative expression for incarcerated men, women, and children to find value in their voices,” according to Rough Draft Texas’ website, to the Southside Community Center.
City Council member Amanda Rodriguez was reluctant to vote yes on this reallocation of funds, as it would defund Rough Draft entirely.
“This is one of the toughest things we do, this and setting the tax rate,” said Mayor Jane Hughson.
This reallocation amendment passed 5-2, with City Council members Shane Scott and Alyssa Garza voting no.
“I understand the value and the need of Southside, this just isn’t the time or place to be making seemingly haphazard funding decisions, even if they’re well-intended,” Garza said.
Mendoza proposed two additional amendments to move $10,000 from Hill Country MHMR, an organizatiom providing individuals without health insurance access to mental health resources, and $5,000 from Life Long Learning, an organization that provides free or low-cost experiences for senior citizen residents of San Marcos, stating, “it’s not that these organizations aren’t vital…but we all know just how important [Southside] is to us.” Mendoza said.
The amendments to reallocate these funds to the Southside Community Center failed 6-1, with Mendoza voting yes.
Cain stated if all three of these amendments passed, they would be able to assist an addiotional 10 additional families, with each family averaging just over two people.
Garza said that she would not support reallocating any funds due to there being no representatives present of the organizations that were having their funding amended. “[I] appreciate the thought of meeting people’s direct needs now, but is not interested in moving money from mental health resources due to the deep intersections of a person’s mental health and their ability to maintain housing,” Garza said.
The San Marcos City Council meets at 6 p.m. every first and third Tuesday of each month. For more information, visit its website.
