08/07/2017-CC-Minutes-Work SessionCITY OF SANGER, TEXAS
MINUTES: CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
August 7, 2017, 6:00 PM
502 Elm Street, Sanger, Texas
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Thomas Muir, Councilman Bill Boutwell,
Councilman Lee Allison, Councilman David Clark, Councilman Gary Bilyeu, Councilman
Allen Chick
COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None
The Mayor and All Council Members Were Present Constituting a Quorum.
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Mike Brice City Manager, Cheryl Price City Secretary, Alina
Ciocan Director of Economic and Development Services
1. Call Meeting to Order.
The Meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm.
2. Budget Workshop.
City Manager Brice advised that we received our certified totals on the property tax and we
did take a little bit of a dip in the end of the year like it always does with the protests. It was
expected. 2016 Taxable Value was $534,000,000 and this years Taxable Value is
$578,000,000; so it is about an 8% increase over last year. The Effective Rate this year is
$0.642543. The Rollback Rate is $0.679100; the current tax rate is $0.679500 so staff
recommends that we adopt the Rollback Tax Rate of $0.679100. The difference between
the Rollback Tax Rate and the Current Tax Rate is just a few thousand dollars which is not
that much of a difference. Some of the highlights are that our taxable value increased by 44
Million, which includes new residential, residential, and about 2 million in Commercial.
The debt rate went down because taxable value went up and we haven’t added any debt, so
the debt rate went from 12.7 to 11.5 which is a good thing. Property Tax Revenue budgeted
originally at $3,141,000 which calculates at to 96.5% of the levy and we usually collect
about 98% to 99% of the levy so that is still very conservative from what we budgeted. He
noted there have been a few changes that he wanted the Council to be aware of since we
went over the budget last. We added $12,000 for Forensic Testing in the Police Budget.
This was put in because of the DPS who said they were going to start charging for it, which
after much protest the DPS came back and said that they were not going do it, but, they may
eventually and we would like to keep in the budget as a place holder, just in case they
change their mind. We put an additional $25,000 in street maintenance, so we are going
from $150,000 this year to $200,000 for 2018 and this will be for patching, pot holes and
concrete patches. That is not the $450,000 for Street Construction. We put in $10,000 for
mowing the rights-of-way We were just going to mow about four times a year, but have
discovered we have to mow it more than that; and, it helps keep down the trash. We are
now mowing every couple of weeks; and then, once a month in the late summer and fall. It
helps the look along the highway. We added an additional $5000 for GIS next year
(Geographical Information Systems) which we have quite a backlog on GIS that we need to
get caught up on. GIS is plots and maps everything from where our street signs, lights, and
fire hydrants are to creating zoning maps, etc. We hired a guy on contract basis this year and
he is doing an outstanding job. He noted on the Agenda tonight we will be setting the tax
rate. We have to set the Tax Rate before we do the Public Hearings. We can always change
the tax rate between now and October 1, we can go down, but can not go up. The Rate we
will be recommending tonight is the $0.679100 which is the Rollback Rate. We will
verbally set that and take a record vote along with Resolution for the Public Hearings on the
Tax Rate and Budget. City Manager Brice noted that the key for lowering the taxes is
Industrial and Commercial Development which creates a larger tax base and does not
require a lot of new services. It was noted to bring development of this type into the City is
the reason why we spent the money to put the utilities in along I-35. There was no further
discussion on the budget.
3. EXECUTIVE SESSION: CLOSED MEETING
Pursuant to the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, the City Council Will Meet in a Closed
Executive Session in Accordance With the Texas Government Code:
Section 551.087 Deliberation Regarding Economic Development
– Economic Development Incentives.
Council Convened into Closed Executive Session at 6:11 pm.
4. RECONVENE: OPEN MEETING
Council reconvened at 7:08 pm
No Action was taken.
5. Overview of Items on Regular Agenda.
There was no discussion on items on the Regular Agenda.
6. Adjourn.
The Work Session adjourned at 7:08 pm.