GONZALES — Gonzales' City Council met Tuesday to work on the city's 2026-2027 budget, hoping to avoid another prolonged process to approve a budget following a three-month stalemate in 2025. 

During the public Special Working Budget meeting, Mayor Tim Riley and the council met to work out any issues the budget may have before a public hearing on the budget on April 27. The budget, WBRZ previously reported, must be completed by May 31. 

The whole Special Working Budget meeting can be watched here.

Changes were made to the capital project fund and the Tanger fund in the proposed budget before the meeting started.

The changes to the Tanger fund included reallocating funds to the city's capital outlay fund to cover funding for certain roadways.

Last year, the city council first rejected its proposed 2025-2026 budget in May before shooting down another, $22 million proposal several times over the span of three months before it finally passed in August.

The purpose of meeting several times before the May 31 deadline, Riley said, is to ensure this delay does not happen with the 2026-27 budget.