Second Public Hearing on the Tax Increase
(Yes, I know they’re carefully wording it as “new tax rate,” and not “tax increase,” but let’s call it what it is.)
Only three speakers at the public hearing, and all were against the increase. The point was brought up that alcohol sales have increased sales tax revenues for the city, reinforcing Mike Boucher’s point from last week that sales tax estimates are low by a greater amount than the increased revenues from the proposed property tax increase, but it does not appear that any council members were swayed by this or any other comments.
The actual vote on the increase will be next Tuesday, September 20, at 5:30PM.
http://ci.stephenville.tx.us/Council%20Public%20Notices/NoticeTaxRevenue.pdf
City Council Meeting 9-6-2011 Followup
My comments in blue as usual.
I. Call to Order
II. Citizens’ General Discussion
No one speaking.
III. Erath County Appraisal District Annual Report, Mark Littleton, City Representative; Jerry Lee, Chief Appraiser
No significant changes. This is somewhat positive, given the negative changes in most of the rest of the country.
IV. Consider Approval of Ordinance No. 2011-17 Adopting Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance
Passed unanimously.
V. Consider and take action on Ordinance No. 2011-18 authorizing the issuance and sale of the City’s Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2011 in the amount of $4,000,000, and approving all other matters pertaining thereto
Passed unanimously.
VI. Public Hearing on the Tax Rate for 2011
Five speakers, all against the tax increase; all reminded the council that we are already in hard economic times, and that the school and county tax increases, as well as the city fees are making it hard for residents and businesses alike to make ends meet.
VII. Consider Ordinance No. 2011-19 Adopting the Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year Beginning October 1, 2011 and Ending September 30, 2012
Doug Svien brought up the question of the revenue estimates; Kaiser has always estimated the sales tax revenue well below what actual revenues turned out to be. In this case, as Mike Boucher had pointed out during the tax rate public hearing, the amount of the underestimation is likely to equal a significant portion of the expected revenue increase from the tax rate increase. Svien would prefer to defer the proposed purchase of a new fire truck until midyear when sales tax revenue estimates will be more accurate, and eliminate the property tax increase altogether. Motion by Svien, seconded by Nash to amend the budget to defer the fire truck purchase, failed with only Nash and Svien in favor. Motion by Nash, seconded by Svien to defer city employee raises until midyear, also failed with only Nash and Svien in favor. Motion to pass budget without amendments (sorry, didn’t catch who moved or seconded) passed with only Nash and Svien against.
VIII. Consider Ordinance No. 2011–20 Adopting the Fee Schedule
Passed unanimously.
IX. Consider Approval of Child Safety Funds
Approximately $9,000 available from fees on all citations issued in school zones. Three requests totaling $7,535 from STAR Council, Stephenville ISD and Cross Timbers Family Services. Separate votes were taken, as follows; STAR Council request – Martha Taylor abstained and motion passed without any dissent, SISD request – Scott Evans abstained and this motion also passed without dissent, CTFS request passed unanimously with no abstentions.
X. Consider Approval of Resolution No. 2011-08 Establishing a Moratorium for Permits for Residential Structures with Exterior Metal Walls
Nash asked if the moratorium was intended to deal with a specific issue and was informed that it was in reference to a particular apartment complex on Kight Street. Motion by Cude second by McDanel, passed unanimously.
XI. Consider Approval of Assistants to Firefighters Grant Program
Fire department requesting a grant of $235,000 for a computerized reporting and recordkeeping system and three cardiac monitors. The city will match 5% of the grant from reserved grant-matching funds. Motion by Nix, second by Nash, passed unanimously.
XII. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approve Minutes
1. Regular Council Meeting on August 2, 2011
2. Special Council Meeting on August 16, 2011
B. Approve Agreement with City of Fort Worth for Household Hazardous Waste
C. Approve NCTCOG Interlocal Agreement for 9-1-1 Service and Equipment
D. Memorandum of Understanding with Texas Forest Service
E. Routine Airport Maintenance Program with Texas Department of Transportation
Regular Business Meeting—September 6, 2011
F. Change Orders
1. Caporal Lane
2. Concrete Sidewalks
G. Bid Awards
1. Brick Street No. 2
2. Street Materials
3. Bank Depository Services
4. Office Supplies
Cude asked to remove item G3 from the consent agenda, and the remainder was passed unanimously without further comment. Cude then noted that he was abstaining from the vote on item G3 and it was also passed without further comment.
H. Authorization to Sell City Property—2008 Dodge Charger
Passed. Anybody need a Charger with squealing brakes? I think they did at least wear all the goo from the window sticker off.
XIII. Comments by City Administrator
September 9th at 9AM, at the Birdsong Amphitheater stage, our public safety officials will be holding a remembrance service to commemorate the 9-11 attacks.
XIV. Comments by Council Members
McDanel commented that he still doesn’t want the tax increase, but he does want the new firetruck to replace the current 18 year old one.
XV. EXECUTIVE SESSION. In compliance with the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Law, Subchapter D, Government Code, Vernon’s Texas Codes, Annotated, in accordance with Sec. 551.07071(1)(A) Consultation with Attorney; pending or contemplated litigation and Sec. 551.072 Deliberations about Real Property.
A. Part of Lot 1, Block 13, Shapard and Collins Addition; 704 West Frey Street
B. Airport Hanger—Flying A Investments, LLC
C. Lamar Advertising Holding Company v. City of Stephenville, CV31132, Erath County District Court
D. Curt Garrison Drainage Easement
E. Consider authorizing the City Attorney to file suit against a landowner adjacent to the airport to correct and abate a violation of the City’s Airport Hazard Zoning Ordinance
F. Jay and Jamie Anthony d/b/a Cowboy’s Convenience Store
XVI. Action taken on Matters Discussed in Executive Session
XVII. Adjourn
I didn’t eat before the meeting, so I didn’t stick around to find out the results of the executive session.
City Council Meeting 9-6-2011 Agenda
STEPHENVILLE CITY COUNCIL
Regular Business Meeting
City Hall Council Chambers
298 West Washington Street
Tuesday, September 6, 2011, at 5:30 p.m.
I. Call to Order
II. Citizens’ General Discussion
III. Erath County Appraisal District Annual Report, Mark Littleton, City Representative; Jerry Lee, Chief Appraiser
IV. Consider Approval of Ordinance No. 2011-17 Adopting Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance
V. Consider and take action on Ordinance No. 2011-18 authorizing the issuance and sale of the City’s Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligation, Series 2011 in the amount of $4,000,000, and approving all other matters pertaining thereto
VI. Public Hearing on the Tax Rate for 2011
VII. Consider Ordinance No. 2011-19 Adopting the Annual Budget for the Fiscal Year Beginning October 1, 2011 and Ending September 30, 2012
VIII. Consider Ordinance No. 2011–20 Adopting the Fee Schedule
IX. Consider Approval of Child Safety Funds
X. Consider Approval of Resolution No. 2011-08 Establishing a Moratorium for Permits for Residential Structures with Exterior Metal Walls
XI. Consider Approval of Assistants to Firefighters Grant Program
XII. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approve Minutes
1. Regular Council Meeting on August 2, 2011
2. Special Council Meeting on August 16, 2011
B. Approve Agreement with City of Fort Worth for Household Hazardous Waste
C. Approve NCTCOG Interlocal Agreement for 9-1-1 Service and Equipment
D. Memorandum of Understanding with Texas Forest Service
E. Routine Airport Maintenance Program with Texas Department of Transportation
Regular Business Meeting—September 6, 2011
F. Change Orders
1. Caporal Lane
2. Concrete Sidewalks
G. Bid Awards
1. Brick Street No. 2
2. Street Materials
3. Bank Depository Services
4. Office Supplies
H. Authorization to Sell City Property—2008 Dodge Charger
XIII. Comments by City Administrator
XIV. Comments by Council Members
XV. EXECUTIVE SESSION. In compliance with the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Law, Subchapter D, Government Code, Vernon’s Texas Codes, Annotated, in accordance with Sec. 551.07071(1)(A) Consultation with Attorney; pending or contemplated litigation and Sec. 551.072 Deliberations about Real Property.
A. Part of Lot 1, Block 13, Shapard and Collins Addition; 704 West Frey Street
B. Airport Hanger—Flying A Investments, LLC
C. Lamar Advertising Holding Company v. City of Stephenville, CV31132, Erath County District Court
D. Curt Garrison Drainage Easement
E. Consider authorizing the City Attorney to file suit against a landowner adjacent to the airport to correct and abate a violation of the City’s Airport Hazard Zoning Ordinance
F. Jay and Jamie Anthony d/b/a Cowboy’s Convenience Store
XVI. Action taken on Matters Discussed in Executive Session
XVII. Adjourn
This is a variant of an article I’ve been thinking of for a while, and finally got around to putting it together for the “open topic” speech in the Intro to Public Speaking class I’m taking.
One of the biggest issues facing candidates for local offices is the lack of voter turnout; everyone has an opinion about local politics, but getting more than a small percentage to actually go vote is extremely difficult. Our city has a population of just over 17,000 people, 8,608 of which are registered to vote. Of those, 779 – barely nine percent of the registered voters – turned out to vote in the May election. In the three contested city council races, the winning margins were 418, 83 and 24 votes; the number of people in a typical college class would have changed the outcome of one race, and the lunchtime crowd at any fast food restaurant would easily have changed the outcome of two. These results aren’t unusual, unfortunately; in last year’s election, the city’s turnout was 694, and it rarely exceeds ten percent of registered voters, or six percent of the total population.
Based on the total turnout last election, anyone receiving 390 votes would have been assured of victory in a two-way race, and 347 would have been enough to win in 2010. Effectively, this means that two percent of the city’s population determines the outcome of the local elections. The most common reason people give for not voting in any particular election is that they feel their vote won’t matter, and so it’s not worth the effort to get to the polls, yet four times as many people vote in state and Federal elections as in local elections where their vote is likely to make a real difference.
Of course, to a candidate, this means that it’s only necessary to persuade three to four hundred voters, rather than the eight to nine thousand that the population count would suggest, or even the four thousand that the voter registration numbers imply. To all of us, however, it means that any minority capable of swaying just over two percent of the people of our city can easily take over its government. The only way to prevent this is to get more informed voters to the polls.
Among the reasons for the lack of voter participation is the difficulty of obtaining reliable information on local politics and candidates; in recent years, newspapers may carry only one or two political articles of local interest in a month, even when there are ten or more items on that month’s meeting agenda, and in a town without significant competition in radio and TV broadcast markets, neither of these becomes a good source for information. The majority of the people I spoke during my campaign weren’t even aware that there were elections in May, nor were many of them familiar with the city council or the school board. On the other hand, as internet access has become more and more widespread, individual bloggers are starting to fill this gap in some areas. The ease of use of such media, and the ability to reach a large audience without the cost of traditional media, and the simple fact that there’s always room for another viewpoint, even on a well-covered subject, has made the internet an excellent resource for candidates and voters alike.
I hope that some of you will take the time to attend local government meetings, learn about the processes involved in city, county and school district business, and share the information you obtain with others, but mostly I hope that you will all seek out information about local candidates for these offices, and will use that information to participate in your local government in the most important way; by being an informed voter.
Public Hearings on Tax Increase
Public hearings on proposed tax increase to be held on September 6th and 13th at the city council chambers, 5:30PM both days.
Budget workshops this week
Don’t forget city council budget workshops this week, August 8-11, 5:30 PM, and budget public hearing Tuesday August 16, 5:30 PM.
Council Meeting 8-2-2011 Followup
Sorry for the delay; I put my notes aside and forgot where I put them.
My comments in blue.
I. Call to Order
II. Citizens’ General Discussion
No one speaking.
III. Cross Timbers Fine Arts Council Annual Report and Budget Presentation—Julie Crouch, Executive Director
IV. Consider Request from Erath County Habitat for Humanity to Waive Building Permit Fee for House located at 727 West Frey Street
The Empire Tribune has already covered this one here.
V. FMC TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
A. Public Hearing to receive comments regarding the Nomination for Enterprise Project Designation for FMC Technologies, Inc.
B. Consider Adopting Ordinance No. 2011-12 Approving the City’s Participation in the Texas Enterprise Zone Program
Approved unanimously. Essentially, this costs the city nothing, but allows FMC some breaks on state taxes based on the number of jobs created and maintained for at least five years.
VI. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
A. Consider Adopting Ordinance No. 2011-13 Declaring an Alley to have been Abandoned In the 500 block of West Walnut Street
Approved unanimously.
B. PUBLIC HEARING—Consider Request to Rezone from B-1 “Neighborhood Business District” to B-2 “Retail and Commercial Business District”, the north part of Lot 6, Block 135, City Addition, located at 1112 West Washington Street.
C. Consider Approving Ordinance No. 2011-14 Rezoning from B-1 “Neighborhood Business District” to B-2 “Retail and Commercial Business District”, the north part of Lot 6, Block 135, City Addition, located at 1112 West Washington Street.
Also covered by the Empire Tribune here.
VII. Consider Approving Resolution No. 2011-07 directing publication of notice of intention to issue certificates of obligation to fund costs of street improvements and the construction of a fire station, and resolving other matters pertaining thereto
This is one of those “approve discussing looking into seeing about deciding whether it’s worth considering doing something” measures. Nash brought up the concern that it is rather vague. The total amount in question would be $4 million, with approximately $2.5 million of that for the new fire station, and the remainder for unspecified street projects for “major thoroughfares,” with no definition of what constitutes “major.”
VIII. Consider Adopting Ordinance No. 2011-15 Approving a Negotiated Resolution Between the Atmos Cities Steering Committee and Atmos Energy Corp., Mid -Tex Division Regarding the Company’s Fourth Annual Rate Review Mechanism
Atmos wants to increase gas rates, cities don’t. I admit I wasn’t paying as much attention to this one since I don’t have any gas appliances, but the summary is that the average customer should see only a few cents per month increase. Passed unanimously.
IX. CONSENT AGENDA
A. Approve Minutes, Regular Council Meeting on July 5, 2011
B. Authorize the Sale of City Property—Dodge Charger and Toro mower
C. Bid Award for Concrete Projects—Pecan Hill Entry and City Park Sidewalks
D. Change Orders
1. Concrete Improvements to Dale/Meador/Park
2. Concrete Improvements to Sloan Street
3. Brick Street Project
E. Ordinance No. 2011-16 Rescinding Identity Theft Program
F. Approve Amendment to Section 903.2.8.3 of the International Building and Fire Code
I think item F was trying for a record for longest discussion of a Consent Agenda item. McDanel requested that this item be removed from the Consent Agenda for further discussion, and proposed amending the Amendment to clarify provisions for storage buildings with offices and/or living quarters. Passed unanimously.
X. Comments by City Administrator
XI. Comments by Council Members
XII. Adjourn
City Council Meeting 8-2-2011
STEPHENVILLE CITY COUNCIL Regular Business Meeting City Hall Council Chambers 298 West Washington Street Tuesday, August 2, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. I. Call to Order II. Citizens’ General Discussion III. Cross Timbers Fine Arts Council Annual Report and Budget Presentation—Julie Crouch, Executive Director IV. Consider Request from Erath County Habitat for Humanity to Waive Building Permit Fee for House located at 727 West Frey Street V. FMC TECHNOLOGIES, INC. A. Public Hearing to receive comments regarding the Nomination for Enterprise Project Designation for FMC Technologies, Inc. B. Consider Adopting Ordinance No. 2011-12 Approving the City’s Participation in the Texas Enterprise Zone Program VI. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION A. Consider Adopting Ordinance No. 2011-13 Declaring an Alley to have been Abandoned In the 500 block of West Walnut Street B. PUBLIC HEARING—Consider Request to Rezone from B-1 “Neighborhood Business District” to B-2 “Retail and Commercial Business District”, the north part of Lot 6, Block 135, City Addition, located at 1112 West Washington Street. C. Consider Approving Ordinance No. 2011-14 Rezoning from B-1 “Neighborhood Business District” to B-2 “Retail and Commercial Business District”, the north part of Lot 6, Block 135, City Addition, located at 1112 West Washington Street. VII. Consider Approving Resolution No. 2011-07 directing publication of notice of intention to issue certificates of obligation to fund costs of street improvements and the construction of a fire station, and resolving other matters pertaining thereto VIII. Consider Adopting Ordinance No. 2011-15 Approving a Negotiated Resolution Between the Atmos Cities Steering Committee and Atmos Energy Corp., Mid -Tex Division Regarding the Company’s Fourth Annual Rate Review Mechanism IX. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approve Minutes, Regular Council Meeting on July 5, 2011 B. Authorize the Sale of City Property—Dodge Charger and Toro mower C. Bid Award for Concrete Projects—Pecan Hill Entry and City Park Sidewalks D. Change Orders 1. Concrete Improvements to Dale/Meador/Park 2. Concrete Improvements to Sloan Street 3. Brick Street Project E. Ordinance No. 2011-16 Rescinding Identity Theft Program F. Approve Amendment to Section 903.2.8.3 of the International Building and Fire Code X. Comments by City Administrator XI. Comments by Council Members XII. Adjourn
Council Meeting 7-5-2011
Short agenda tonight, and an under-30-minute meeting. My comments in blue, as usual.
I. Call to Order
II. Citizens’ General Discussion
None.
III. Planning and Zoning Commission
A. Public Hearing – Consider Request to Rezone from B-1 “Neighborhood Business District” to R-3 “Multiple Family Residential District,” Lot 11 and part of Lot 10, Block 64, City Addition, located at 691 North Graham Avenue.
Two citizens commenting in favor of the rezone. There is already a single family dwelling at this location.
B. Consider Approving Ordinance No. 2011-11 Rezoning from B-1 “Neighborhood Business District” to R-3 “Multiple Family Residential District,” Lot 11 and part of Lot 10, Block 64, City Addition, located at 691 North Graham Avenue.
Passed unanimously.
IV. Consent Agenda – Approve Minutes, Regular Council Meeting on June 7, 2011
Passed unanimously.
V. Comments by City Administrator
Dale and Meador Street repairs are completed, and water usage is staying below the threshold levels for the current phase of water conservation. Kaiser did mention that Sunday and Thursday are generally the highest water usage days, so if you’re trying to decide on a day to fill the pool or water the lawn, you might want to avoid those days if possible.
VI. Comments by Council Members
Dr. Cude stated that he feels the city should carefully observe traffic issues along McIlHaney and other streets near Tarleton as the traffic patterns establish themselves in the wake of the Lillian and Vanderbilt street closings.
VII. (The executive session planned regarding the IRS Audit was removed from the agenda due to a lack of information available to the council at this time.)
VIII. (This item was for action to be taken on matters discussed in executive session.)
IX. Adjourn
Passed unanimously.
Council Meeting 6-7-2011
I’ve been waiting for the city to post the agenda on their website, but it’s not there yet, so I’ll be typing it in myself as I go. My comments in blue.
I Call to Order
II Citizens’ General Discussion
Drew Allen will be doing his Eagle Scout Project over the next couple of weeks, painting gates, bollard posts and other items at the City Park and the Long Street low-water crossing.
Marian Cole, speaking on behalf of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, requested that the city repair the curb in front of the church, which has been deteriorating for some time and is an eyesore as well as a potential safety hazard.
III Citizens’ Budget Requests
There were no new budget requests made at the meeting.
IV Specialized Billing Annual Report – Bruce Glover
This is in reference to billing and collections for EMS services. No significant changes from previous years.
V PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
A. Public Hearing – Consider Request to Rezone from B-2 “Retail and Commercial Business District” to B-5 “Restaurant – Alcoholic Beverage Service District” part of Lot 3, Draper Addition, 3024 West Washington Street.
This is the old TC Buffet Yard location. There were no speakers for or against the rezoning.
B. Consider Approving Ordinance 2011-08 Rezoning from B-2 “Retail and Commercial Business District” to B-5 “Restaurant – Alcoholic Beverage Service District” part of Lot 3, Draper Addition, 3024 West Washington Street.
Motion passed. I thought I heard one “no” vote from the west half of the council chambers, but I can’t say for sure.
C. Consider Approval of final plat Elliott Addition, being 140.6 acres of land in the J. B. Dupuy Survey, Abstract 196, City of Stephenville, Erath County, Texas.
1200 block of Alexander Road. Passed unanimously.
D. Consider approval of Final Plat Dvorak Addition being a 42.69 acre subdivision, 33.67 acres of land in the J. C. Hudson Survey, Abstract 342, and 9.02 acres of land in the J. B. Dupuy Survey, Abstract 196, City of Stephenville, Erath County, Texas.
1600 block of Alexander Road. Passed unanimously.
VI Consider Approving Ordinance No. 2011-09 Approving a Negotiated Resolution between the Steering Committee of Cities Served by Oncor and Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC Regarding the Company’s Application to Increase Electric Rates.
Didn’t catch some of this, but the part that I did get is that a proposed rate increase of around $33 million was negotiated to a little over half that. Passed unanimously.
VII Consider Approving Ordinance No. 2011-10 (Corrected) Granting to United Electric Cooperative Services, Inc. an Electric Power Franchise (third and final reading)
Standard contract renewal. Passed unanimously.
VIII Consider Approval of Council Committee Appointments
Whatever they were, they passed unanimously. Sure would be nice if the city could hurry up and share this information with us so I’d know who to yell at about what this year.
IX Election of Mayor Pro-Tem
Dr Cross again, by unanimous vote.
X Election of Voting Representative to North Central Texas Council of Governments
Dr Cude again, also by unanimous vote. Unfortunately, the blogger who was keeping up with NCTCOG’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee seems to have given up a couple of years ago, so maybe Dr Cude will be able to shed some light on happenings there.
XI Consider Approval of Contract with Erath County for Municipal court Services
Passed unanimously.
XII Consent Agenda
A Approve Minutes
1 Regular Council Meeting on May 3, 2011
2 Regular council Meeting on May 17, 2011
B Consider Accepting Elk Ridge Estates Subdivision – Phase 2B
C Consider Approving Community Development Block Grant Documents
1. Resolution No. 2011-07 Adopting Section 3 Policy
2. Resolution No. 2011-08 Establishing Section 504 Grievance Procedures
3. Resolution No. 2011-09 Adopting Citizen Complaint Handling Procedures
4. Resolution No. 2011-10 Accepting the 2009 TX CDBG Sewer Improvements Project – College Farm Road
D Approve Bid Awards
1. Dale, Meador, and Park Streets Concrete Improvements
2. Brick Restoration Project
3. Slurry Seal Project
Items B & D were removed by McDanel and Cude for clarification of projects. All items were ultimately passed unanimously.
XIII Comments by City Administrator
XIV Comments by Council Members
XV Executive Session. In compliance with the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Law, Subchapter D, Government Code, Vernon’s Texas Codes, Annotated, in accordance with Sec. 551.072 Deliberations about Real Property and sec 551.07071(1)(A) Consultation with Attorney; pending or contemplated litigation
A. Lot 3, Block 7, Golf Country Estates, Stephenville
B. Lamar Advantage Holding Co. v. City of Stephenville
C. Internal Revenue Service
XVI Action taken on Matters Discussed in Executive Session
I didn’t wait around to see if there would be any action on any of these items.
XVII Adjourn
