Recently the City mailed out a notice to all residents in reference to a TCEQ Disinfectant Level Quarterly Operating Report (DLQOR). There have been some concerns and Facebook posts as to the safety of your drinking water.
The City is required to send this notice out to all residents. The monitoring and reporting was conducted for that quarter, as required. The violation came after TCEQ reported to us that they did not receive the DLQOR, therefore we received notice of violation for not reporting. Staff did in fact submit the report, but that report was not received by TCEQ. The monitoring quarterly tests were conducted and submitted as normal for the period in question those results showed to be in compliance.
There have also been questions as to the tax rates and employees. In 2023, the City Council lowered your City taxes to .75 from the .80 the previous several years for a savings .5 per 100 valuation in your taxes. Last year, 2023 Council also removed the $15 dollar Capital Improvement Fee from your monthly utility bill.
Council also made the decision to change the trash schedule in order to save the residents on their monthly billing. The rates will go from the old $32.85 to the new rate of $25.45 per month. As for City staff, there are currently five employees at City hall who have different assigned positions. A clerk, a Municipal Court clerk, a bookkeeper, a City Secretary and City Administrator. There are now four Public Works employees, for several months there were only two employees to operate the day-to-day water/sewer/street, and any other City miscellaneous duties. The Police department has seven employees, a Chief and 6 patrol officers.
All residents are welcome and encouraged to attend the City Council meetings to come see what your Council is doing and the direction your City is taking. Several sewer manholes have been repaired, and currently the City is in the process of replacing the old 10-inch main water line, which will extend from the water plant to Fourth St. The City received 2.5 million dollars for funding that project, and will contribute a 20% match.
We have also received 3.9 million dollars from the Government Land Office, which will be utilized for upgrading the City’s wastewater plant. There are also several new projects in the works including housing within the City, replacing the old restrooms at the City’s park, adding emergency generators to City buildings, and the future acquisition through a donation of property to be used as an additional park. Both the Police and Fire departments have received substantial donations from two of our local refineries.
A comment was also made about the “case” of the missing one hundred thousand dollars. There are no missing funds, all funds are, and can be accounted for. The City is financially sound and better off financially than many other Cities in our area. I would ask that you do not listen to rumors, should you have, any questions or concerns please feel free to come to City hall to speak to us. Consider attending your Council meetings to get firsthand information.
Respectfully,
J. A. Cano