The village of Vinton, struggling to operate without a budget after missing the deadline last week, met again Tuesday evening to try to balance the budget and pass a tax rate.

The village again failed to pass a budget and tax rate on deadline and the mayor has asked for state Rep. Dee Margo to intervene.

In Tuesday's council meeting, a motion was made at the advice of the city attorney to extend last year's budget for 90 days to buy more time while a new budget is negotiated.

Council members Juvencia Ontiveros, Maria Medina and Martha Garcia voted against the proposal,leaving the village without a budget and a tax rate to submit to the county by Friday's deadline. This has never occurred in state history.

"In this case tonight, while they might not have done anything illegal, they certainly bordered on immoral or unethical in fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility to the residents," Margo said.

At the meeting, the only comment Ontiveros would give KFOX14 was doing this for her constituents.

KFOX14 first reported the problems Vinton is facing months ago and has been at every meeting since.

Vinton is doing its best to provide basic services to the residents and keep the lights on. Last week, KFOX14 was there as Vinton made Texas history after council members were unable to balance a budget.

Without a budget the Village was forced to lay off two employees, the accounting assistant and the community outreach coordinator.

The village is trying the best to save money by conserving electricity at Village Hall and looking for ways to cut expenses.

The village is also not engaging in any new business at this time.

"We continue to hope that the council will come to an agreement and finally we will be able to pass a budget and ratify a tax rate," said Mayor Madeleine Praino.

The village faces a half-million dollar debt to an engineering firm for waste water and sewer, and the debt could be eliminated if the village accepted state grant money, which the councilwomen have voted against.