09-07-1989 (City Council) Minutes 4 2 2
CALLED CITY COUNCIL MEETING
MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 7 , 1989
The City of Wylie City Council met in called session on
Thursday, September 7, 1989 at 7: 00 p.m. in the Council
Chambers at the Municipal Complex, 2000 Hwy 78 N. , Wylie,
Texas . A quorum was present and the meeting had been posted
in the time and manner required by law. Those present were
Mayor Pro-Tem Bud Naish, Councilmembers John Akin, Jim
Swartz , Steve Wright, Ortie Messenger, Pat Stemple, City
Manager Charles Norwood, Finance Director James Johnson, and
Administrative Assistant Candi White. Mayor Trimble was
absent .
Councilman Akin gave the invocation which was followed by
the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Pro-Tem Naish called the meeting to order.
CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING ON A PROPOSAL TO INCREASE TOTAL TAX
REVENUES FROM PROPERTIES ON THE TAX ROLL IN 1990 BY 5.99
PERCENT . City Manager, Charles Norwood explained to the
council and citizens that a public hearing was required by
law if the tax rate was to increase more than three percent.
He also said there would be a public hearing on the budget
the following Tuesday, September 12, 1989 . Mr. Norwood said
this was his 27th budget to prepare, but his first for the
City of Wylie and added that he was very pleased with it.
Mr . Norwood moved to a flip chart he had prepared to outline
the major changes in the budget that would substantiate a
tax increase. He said that he was proposing to raise the
tax rate from .5125 to .555 and explained that the following
items contributed to that increase:
1 . Warrant Officer - cost of $34,000 or 1 3/4 cents.
2. Street Work - cost of $75 ,000 or 2 3/4 cents. Mr .
Norwood explained that 9 to 10 miles of streets could
be seal coated with this $75 ,000 , but this was based on
Collin County providing the labor.
Mayor Pro-Tem Naish asked what the City would do if the
County didn' t provide the labor . Mr. Norwood said that
there would still be $75,000 to use on streets, but the City
wouldn ' t be able to do as much work. Councilman Akin added
that he felt very confident that the County would work with
the City on the seal coat program.
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3 . Equipment, such as a slope mower to maintain ditches, a
pick up for the code enforcement department, tire
changer for the garage, sprinkler system for the park,
and FAX machine - cost of $27 ,000 or 1 cent .
4 . Two police patrol units - cost of $28 ,000 or 1 cents .
5 . Twelve to eight hour shifts for police officers - cost
of $33 ,000 or 1 1/4 cents.
6 . Workers compensation and employee insurance - cost of
$34 ,000 or 1 1/4 cents.
Mr . Norwood continued , explaining that he had randomly
selected several homes in the community and compared the
taxes at the present rate to those at the proposed rate as
follows:
Present Tax Rate Proposed Tax Rate
.5125 .555
Residential Property Comparisons
Value Current Rate Proposed Rate Difference
$161,384 $827 .09 $883 .65 $56 .56
102 ,196 523 .75 559.77 36.02
100,528 515 .21 553.25 38.04
93 ,115 477.21 502 . 76 25.55
48,529 248 . 71 269 .33 20.62
71 ,307 365 . 45 387 . 71 22 .26
Councilman Akin added that senior citizens were also given
$30 ,000 exemption.
Mr . Norwood said that at the public hearing the following
week he would have more detail on the budget itself. He
said that last year ' s budget was used to build the current
budget. Mr. Norwood added that the 1988-89 budget was lean,
therefore the 1989/90 was also lean but some had been added
to it. He said he felt there was a good foundation and no
fluff in the budget.
424
Mr . Norwood said that an outline of additions to the budget
were as follows:
1 . Slope Mower $12 ,000
2 . Shoring Material 10,000
3. Air Packs 1,700
4 . 2 Police Units 28 ,650
5. Pick up for Code Enforcement 7 ,000
6. Garage Tire Changer 1,800
7 . Sprinkler System 2 ,500
8 . Chemical Sprayer 4,000
9. Pipe Rack/Fencing 2 ,300
10 . FAX Machine 1,500
11 . Seal Coating 75 ,000
12 . Incentive Pay - Police 4 ,175
13. Warrant Officer 34 ,000
14 . Painting Water Tower 50 ,000
15 . Fencing Lift Stations 10 ,000
16 . Regional Sewer System 20,000
17 . 2 Additional Officers (April) 33 ,000
Total $297 ,625
Mayor Pro-Tem Naish said that the funds were increased for
the Librarian' s salary since the City had to pick up the
funds that were paid by the Meadow' s Foundation in the
previous budget . He also said that funds were increased for
employee training , as well as for the park employee' s salary
for a full year rather than six months as in the previous
budget.
City Manager, Charles Norwood outlined other changes in the
budget as follows:
1. Council Reserve increased from $58 ,500 to $88,000 .
2 . Increase in Merit Pay from $28,800 to $43,925 .
3. Debt Service from $429 ,000 to $508,725 .
4. Library Increase from $26,740 to $57 ,250.
Mr . Norwood said his objective was to build on the 1988
budget , and felt if the City could get through 1989/90,
there might be some breathing room in the 1990/91 budget.
Mr . Norwood closed his presentation saying he felt that .555
was reasonable when considering the type programs that were
being proposed. He added that he was open to all questions
from the public.
425
Councilman Akin said he was impressed with the budget and
felt that council may have overlooked things in the past
while trying to cut too thin in order to help the taxpayers,
but sometimes they may get penny wise and dollar foolish.
He added that he was glad to see the police officer ' s change
to eight hour shifts, the purchase of police cars , and
especially the street program. Councilman Akin added that
the City needed to get the wastewater problems out of the
way.
Mayor Pro-Tem Naish thanked Mr . Norwood and the City staff
for their budget preparation as it was much easier than the
previous year . He added that the shoring material and air
packs would be purchased from the utility budget and that
they weren' t currently planning to raise utility rates.
Mr. Norwood said that the City was suffering somewhat in the
utility fund due to the cool weather and rain. He added
that the wastewater system was the only real burden on the
utility fund and that would be approximately $2 ,000 ,000 .
Mr. Norwood said that he hoped when the bids came in, the
job could be done for less. He added that San Antonio
Savings had already agreed to help, and that alone would
save approximately $400 ,000 .
Mr . Norwood said one of the projects in the utility fund was
to paint the water tower . He said if the tower had to be
replaced , the cost would be $250 ,000 , rather than a cost of
$50 ,000 to paint it , which would make it last an additional
ten years . Councilman Swartz explained that it wasn' t just
a simple paint job on the tower , but painting inside and out
for protection. Councilman Wright added that the council
had talked about an on going maintenance program.
Mayor Pro-Tem Naish said they had also talked about
budgeting funds every year so that funds would be available
to paint the tower every ten years . Mr . Norwood agreed that
emphasis should be placed on planning . Councilman Swartz
added that he felt they were already moving that way in the
budget.
Councilwoman Stemple added that she liked the budget and
felt they were doing much for the citizens . Councilman Akin
felt that the fact that there were very few citizens at the
public hearing indicated that the citizens were trusting the
council more to make sound decisions. Councilman Wright
agreed that they were holding themselves accountable to the
citizens.
Citizen, Lois Swartz told the council that she felt the lack
of people in the audience showed trust in the council and
that in just one year they had gotten some roads paved and
some good programs started .
426
Mayor Pro-Tem Naish said he would rather the chambers be
packed with people so they would know what their money was
being spent for. He added that the people he had asked
about attending said they weren' t going to because they
trusted the council .
Councilman Messenger said he wanted to echo what all had
said about the way Mr . Norwood had presented the budget. He
said it was imperative that the budget contain new programs
and a reasonable tax rate.
Mr . Norwood said he had a good staff to work with. He
explained that each department head submitted a budget to
him and he interviewed each department head and trimmed
their budgets and then submitted them to the council . He
added that he had prepared 27 budgets and had never had a
council work so hard on one. He told them they were to be
complimented for their interest and that the citizens were
also to be complimented.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned .
Bud Naish, Mayor Pro-Tem
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