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Petitions verified for Tier 2 election

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Organizers of the Tier 2 petition against forced annexation turned in all their signatures reaching the goal needed to request an election from the Montague County Commissioner’s Court.
That petition will be discussed in a called meeting of the court at 1 p.m. on Feb. 15.
County Elections Administrator Ginger Wall said the group submitted all its petitions late last week shooting for 1,340 verifiable signatures of county voters. Wall said they surpassed that number with more than 1,350.
The petition ask the court to place the issue of moving from a Tier 1 county to a Tier 2 county on the May 4 election ballot.
The drive was spearheaded by Montague Citizens Protecting Property Rights and referred to Senate Bill 6, approved during the 85th Legislature and going into effect Dec. 1, 2017.
The bill requires landowner or voter approval of annexations in the state’s largest counties (Tier 2 – those with 500,000 or more in population).
Smaller counties less than 500,000 are Tier 1, and can opt-in to the bill through a petition and election process which would move them into Tier 2 status.
If approved where any potential involuntary annexation would have to be voted upon by the area in question. Without a change in tier status, the annexation process would remain unchanged.
Last November voters in Wise, Parker, Palo Pinto, Johnson, Freestone and Atascosa approved the measure moving from a Tier 1 to Tier 2 county in Texas.

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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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