Wednesday, Lubbock’s mayor Mark McBrayer held the city’s 43rd State of the City Address, the first during his time as mayor.
He described it as an opportunity to introduce himself to more members of the community and to let them know what their city government is doing.
“Right off the bat, I want to say that I'm proud of the work that we've been able to do, that I've been able to do with our city council,” McBrayer said. “We've accomplished a lot of things in a very short period of time with a lot of people on the council who are new to it.”
McBrayer provided updates on city projects and spoke with various department leaders about topics like economic development, taxation, water, recreation, road construction, fire, and police.
Lubbock’s Growth
Assistant city manager Eric Rejino provided an update on the 2022 road bond. He said several projects have been completed, including two projects on 34th Street, and there is current construction from that bond at 98th Street, 146th Street, and in neighborhoods.
The bond is a five year program and Rejino says there will be six additional projects going up to bid this year and two more years of projects are currently being designed.
In addition to the city’s 2022 and 2024 voter-approved road bonds, McBrayer addressed construction to the Texas Department of Transportation projects on Loop 88 and 19th Street.
“Now, I know all this progress is inconvenience,” he said. “But all these projects are because of the tremendous growth we're experiencing. Street improvements across the city are vital components of a successful future for our city.”
Lubbock’s growth is also reflected in other areas of transportation, like in air passenger traffic. According to the mayor’s presentation, Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport had a 3.3% increase in passengers from 2023 to 2024, and a 14% increase over 2022.
The construction of new homes in the city has been steadily increasing for the past several years, according to McBrayer’s address, and is expected to continue. At the same time, Lubbock’s unemployment rate is at just 3.2% as of January and the job market continues to grow.
“The number of jobs available in Lubbock has increased 21% in the past two decades. And our labor force, fortunately, has kept up with this growth by growing at 20% during that same time frame,” he explained. “The number of jobs in Lubbock County is expected to increase by 27,545 in this decade.”
The state of Lubbock’s taxes was a point of pride for the mayor. There has been a more than 50% increase in sales tax collections since 2016, which he said is a sign of a growing economy.
While McBrayer reminded the room that he voted for a no-new-revenue rate, which did not have the votes to pass in city council last year, the current budget still lowered the tax rate. He said Lubbock also has a low property tax rate when compared to other similar Texas cities.
Some key items in that approved budget include road maintenance, the evaluation of a permanent location for the Godeke Branch Library, vehicles and equipment, Lubbock Power & Light, and public safety.
Public Safety
In its budget, which was approved in September, the city council created three new positions for firefighters and a new division chief for Lubbock Fire Rescue and three new patrol positions at the Lubbock Police Department for public safety officers.
In 2024, Lubbock not only got a new mayor and four new city council members, the city also swore in new chiefs of police and fire.
Lubbock Police Chief Seth Herman told McBrayer the department is focused on the crime rate and on increasing personnel.
“Our officers responded last year to 123,000 calls for service,” Herman said. “When you compare that to the self-initiated endeavors that these officers committed to. Of 116,000 – little over 116,000 – that's a 7,000 difference.”
Herman said the number of calls for officers initiating contact is “pretty impressive” for a city with the population and sprawl that Lubbock has.
Fire Chief Richard Stewart, when speaking with the mayor, explained that of the 27,000 calls that Lubbock Fire Rescue responded to, 71% were for emergency medical services.
Stewart said that compared to a metroplex like Irving, where he spent thirty years of his career in firefighting, Lubbock has to be self-reliant.
“So we have a high angle rescue team, a hazardous material team, a dive team, along with a wildland team that actually deploys across the state and even into like California a couple months ago,” Stewart said. “So we are very well rounded, very equipped to handle virtually any emergency that arises.”
As many of McBrayer’s conversations focused on public safety, two departments – which have been getting a lot of attention in Lubbock in these first few months of 2025 – were notably missing from the State of the City Address: Lubbock Animal Services and Lubbock Public Health.
In January, Lubbock’s city council discussed potential changes to city policy regarding LAS and pet ownership, but ultimately failed to pass any amendments to the city code of ordinances.
During his conversation with the mayor, city manager Jarrett Atkinson said this year’s budget created new customer service positions at LAS to increase responsiveness.
After the conference, McBrayer said that Lubbock Animal Services is working very hard. And that state representatives are considering action which could help the city.
“Our state legislature is looking to change some of the legislation on dangerous animals that will help us, because our hands are tied a lot of times,” McBrayer said.
Lubbock Public Health has taken a key role in response to the recent outbreak of measles in West Texas, which has now become a concern for state and national health officials as well.
“The measles outbreak is something that we're very concerned about,” he told KTTZ. “Our health department's really on top of that.”
But the city’s health department was getting local attention even before the West Texas measles outbreak was identified in late January.
In December of last year, Lubbock Public Health director Katherine Wells gave a presentation before city council on the Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan.
Those reports were eventually accepted by the city council in January, but that decision was not without contention. Several members of the council expressed concern that LPH was extending beyond what a public health department should be providing, despite Wells’ explanation that the reports were identifying priorities for the whole community – not just the city government.
McBrayer told KTTZ the departments were not part of the presentation due to time constraints.
“We couldn't cover everything,” McBrayer said. “But people have been able to watch the council as we've dealt with those issues in the past. So I think they're kind of aware of where we are on that because of how long those council meetings were, and they got a feel for where we are.”
Recreation
McBrayer and Lubbock’s director of public works Wood Franklin explained that in addition to the part it plays in Lubbock’s 100 year water plan, Lake 7 is going to be a recreational area.
Lake 7 is the latest project in a system that started back in 1960. Located between Loop 289 and Buffalo Springs Lake, it will be a “reuse lake,” Wood explained.
The lake will have water supplied by the Leprino mozzarella cheese factory and replenished with water from two treatment plants.
The city received its permits for the lake’s water supply from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in 2024.
Parks and recreation director Colby Van Gundy celebrated the reopening of Meadowbrook Golf Course, the opening of the city’s brand new splash pads in July, and pickleball courts in November.
Van Gundy also told Mayor McBrayer that construction started a few weeks ago on new walking trails, which he said were “one of the number one requests in our master plan.”
He said there will be 12 new trails, each in a different park, with two in each council district. They are expected to open this summer.
McBrayer also discussed the council’s commitment to the 4th on Broadway Festival and the city’s planned upgrades to the Civic Center, where the event was held.
“Being able to showcase Lubbock more to outside businesses and visitors will be a key to keeping Lubbock a true hub of West Texas,” he said.
‘Great things always happen in Lubbock when we work together.’
The State of the City Address is a chance for city leaders to explain what the local government is doing to plan for the future.
It’s also an opportunity for the mayor to present a donation from a portion of the proceeds of the state of the city event to a charity of his choice. McBrayer chose the Guadalupe-Parkway Neighborhood Centers, a volunteer charity that has worked to offer social and educational programs to North and East Lubbock residents for more than 60 years.
From water and infrastructure to the workforce and recreation, McBrayer is optimistic.
“Lubbock’s future is only going to get better,” he said at the end of his address. “Because the people in this room are committed to moving Lubbock forward in the right direction.”