October 21 2024 Mertzon City Council Meeting
- G. Noelke
- Oct 20, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 23, 2024
Below is the agenda for this meeting, with my agenda and meeting analysis underneath. My full analysis of the meeting is pending.
A. Agenda analysis 1. Road closure, item 12: I did not request this to be on the agenda, so any analysis on my part would only be speculative. The photo above illustrates a larger concern: while the new parking lot is a Phase 2 bond project for IC ISD, its ultimate runoff will exacerbate Phase 1 challenges, such as managing and reopening W. Fleming Ave. Given the planned bus canopy and maintenance barn that will also drain into W. Fleming, both the City and the District must address stormwater management holistically.
2. Items 5 and 10, rate change ordinance and sea container: These are matters tabled from the last meeting. My recollection is that the rate increases are required. One way the City could shore up its budget, btw, is to stop paying for private water wells and secure its own water source.
3. Wastewater treatment and water improvement financing, items 6, 7 and 8: The City is going through the motions here to get the financing approved.
4. Tire disposal, item 9: Learn more about the laws related to tire disposal and why you shouldn't just keep them hanging around at this TCEQ page.
While waiting for the 2024 topo map recently done by Parkhill that I have requested under the PIA, I went into my archives and found this topo map done for Jeff Potter, Architect of the 2019 build out. I’ve added the blue arrows to represent the flow of the stormwater as depicted in the photo at the top of this page . This map shows how stormwater has been misdirected away from its most direct path at the lowest elevation. Indeed, the WW (sewer) line is the natural low line, and the District built the elevated tennis courts over over it with 2013 bond funds. The tennis courts misdirect all of its water into Juanita and 4th streets. Thus, with each bond passage the District leverages the City streets and alleys as aqueducts to keep water off its property and passes the burden onto others, including private property owners.
B. Meeting analysis 1. Road closure, item 12: There continues to be traffic driving around the barriers at each end of the closed W. Fleming between 3rd and 4th Streets. In a 3-1 vote, the Council voted to install a field fence at each end. Motion to fence was made by Councilman Crutchfield, seconded by Councilman Lindley. The vote was Crutchfield, Lindley and Councilman for, and Holland against. I spoke during a portion of this item First, folks are continuing to drive the street when it is closed, while others are ignoring the stop sign at the 4th street end. The Council has to continue to manage these intersections because they have become dangerous. Second, I updated the Council to let them know that the amount of water coming down the street as a result of the 2024 bond build has not yet been disclosed to me by the District in response to my PIA requests. And, third, I stated my position that the expense of remediating W. Fleming should be on the District, not on the City. Why the City of Mertzon would be so willing to pay for the clean up after the District is beyond me. The District's stormwater runoff is the most significant contributor to the destruction of the street. And, it is mind boggling, and frankly, offensive, that the District has abused the City by dumping its stormwater into the streets and then acting as if once the water enters the street it is the City's problem.
2. Ordinance to raise rates, item 5: The Council voted to raise rates. Imagine applying for a home mortgage and the lender saying it will deny you unless you can show more income. Or, alternatively, it won't deny you but you will have to pay a higher interest rate because you have so little income. That's basically the situation here. The City has. possibly for the first time, dipped into the municipal bond market and their bond council has said it cannot write a favorable opinion that the purchase of the bonds would be a sound investment. So, in order to get the bonds sold the City has to raise its income by raising its water and sewer rates. The Council voted unanimously to raise the rates. The base sewer rate will go up $4.25 this year and again $4.25 next year. The base water rate will also go up $4.25 a year for two years. Note: Alarm bells ought to be going off for citizens. Running a super lean government budget like the City of Mertzon does regularly has consequences. Consider this a message that outside, independent resources are effectively saying the City is underfunded. Is it broke? No, but it doesn't have much. Can it operate in a serious emergency? Probably not. Government budgets should not be as thin as the City's is now, and a better approach would have been to regularly implement rate increases over a period of years and diversify income resources with investments. Even the mighty can fall, as made clear when IC ISD had this budget mishap and it was only through its investments and a good market did it avert a significant budget disaster. 2. Ordinance and resolutions, items 6-8: These items were approved by the Council without discussion. 3. Upcoming 2025 legislative forecast: The City's attorney, Jeff Betty, gave a sobering analysis about the potential for the elimination of property taxation. Apparently, Gov. Abbott has this on his agenda for the 2025 session, starting in January. The elimination of ad valorem property tax for the City would likely devastate its budget, and any replacement revenue (sales tax?) would not nearly be enough. I won't go so far as to say this is pie in the sky legislative wishful thinking, but I do think it would be a herculean task to undo the ad valorem system we currently have and replace it with, well, anything. This Texas Tribune article says it would take the State about $81.5 billion a year to replace property taxes. And, do a word search for the word "exemption" in Article 8 of the Texas Constitution that deals with taxation and revenue and what do you find? It shows up 112 times! Texas voters have already granted loads of tax exemptions through constitutional amendment, and all of that will have to be revisited and repealed. It numbs the mind to think about the complexities of rewriting the constitution and getting final voter approval. (Constitutional amendments must be approved by voters.) The other huge uncertainty is how any revision like this will impact financial markets, which thrive on certainty. According to the Tribune article, getting rid of property taxes would cost the State $39.5 billion in school property taxes alone. As I mention in my post about the school bond industrial complex (see Commentary), there's a lot of money being made off of the sale of school bonds. And, those bonds are paid for through ad valorem taxation. That is going to equate to a lot of legislative pushback from those markets currently profiting from the status quo. We'll see... By the time the session starts in January 2025, all eyes will be on Washington and our next President, not on Austin and the Texas legislature. All manner of governmental restructuring (privatization of the public's wealth) can happen when the people aren't paying attention because the firestorm is elsewhere. In the end, though, remember, in Texas it's the people that get to amend the Texas Constitution.
Copyright 2024 G Noelke
