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Jan. 31 tax deadline nears

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There are 13 days until the Jan. 31 deadline to pay your 2018 county, city and school taxes before any penalty and interest begins accruing.
Officials at both the county tax office and appraisal district report traffic has been normal for January, but they expect it to pick up as the month draws to a close.
Customers should strive to meet the Jan. 31 deadline to avoid the seven percent penalty and interest that starts on Feb. 1. The amount increases each month afterward and on July 1 attorney fees are added.
Kim Haralson, chief appraiser for the Montague County Tax Appraisal District, said they are at 50.59 percent of collections as of Jan. 17 for all its entities.
The MCTAD collects for the cities of Bowie and Saint Jo and school districts of Bowie, Gold-Burg, Montague, Prairie Valley and Saint Jo.
Syd Nowell, county tax assessor-collector, said her collections are hovering at just under 50 percent for all the entities. However, she said the heavy hitters like the big energy companies have not come in yet. The county is at 45 percent, while it is 45.70 percent overall for all the entities she collects.
Her office collects for the county, Forestburg Independent School District, the two watersheds located in the county and the Nocona city, school and hospital district.
Taxpayers are urged to make arrangements for partial payments to reduce the penalty and interest on the outstanding amount. Call the county tax office at 894-3881 or the MCTAD office at 894-2081 with questions. Both offices are in Montague.

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Amon Carter Lake Board to meet

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Members of the Amon Carter Lake Water Supply Corporation will meet at 6 p.m. on May 26 in the office at 607A Lindsey for a monthly meeting.
Items on the agenda include a consent agenda and minutes and financials. Possible discussion/action may be considered on the following topics: Treasurer’s report, review of finance and current loans; president’s report as to the written agreements with contractual employees; consider current water rates and a possible increase; and review of expenses and areas that need amendment.
An executive session may be entered to discuss personnel issues.

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Saint Jo City Council hires fire marshal

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The City of Saint Jo has a new fire marshal as the city council made the appointment during its May 13 meeting.
Gary Hines, a retired professional firefighter and certified fire investigator, will take the position. City Secretary Debbie Dennis said the post is required by ordinance but has not been filled for a long period.
The council set dates for a budget workshop for 2 p.m. on June 14 and 2 p.m. on June 28 for the ordinance workshop, as the council works to update its rules.

Aldermen gave their support to a proposition by Councilman Jack Dunn who is asking the Legislature to allow Texas’ smallest cities, those with 2,500 or few in population, to receive an additional share of sales and use tax. He would like to see the funds used in these communities to repair and replace aging infrastructure without new taxes or reliance on state grants.
In letter to State Rep. David Spiller, whom Dunn will meet with on June 1, the alderman explains much of the state’s 6.25% share generated locally flows into general funds and is spent on other priorities. He would like Spiller to author this legislation. Dunn gave the letter to the council along with a powerpoint on the plan.
“A single water treatment plant upgrade or sewer rehab carries massive, fixed costs that do not shrink with population size. These communities, often with only a few hundred or a couple thousands residents, simply cannot spread those costs across enough ratepayers or a broad tax based,” the letter states.
Dunn suggests a “graduated sales tax retention policy:” 1% additional share for cities with 2,500 or fewer residents; .75% for those 2,500 and 5,000; and .50% for cities between 5,001 and 10,000. It would be dedicated to infrastructure. Dunn says the overall statewide fiscal impact would be negligible, but could help sustain small, rural cities.

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City of Nocona buys water storage tank, review dam repair

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The Nocona City Council approved a bid for a new 203,000 gallon capacity tank for potable water at the water plant and learned a slide repair to the lake dam is going to be pretty costly.
At its May 12 session the council received three bids on the tank and went with one from Tank Depot of Cleburne for $193,923. It is for a a 217,600 gallon tank usable for 203,000 gallons. The price could change slightly since it was based on estimate freight costs.

Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.

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