By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Rancor and animosity bubbled over Monday night as the Bowie City Council convened into a budget workshop that dissolved into a nasty yelling match.
One councilor challenged the budget proposal she said was filled with incorrect numbers while another reminded the city manager who is his boss.
There were no actions coming out of the two-hour budget workshop.
Prior to hearing from the department heads reviewing their requests, City Manager Bert Cunningham made a few announcements that will impact the budget in some departments.
Public Works Director Dean Grant has submitted his resignation effective in two weeks, as he makes a move to Kansas.
The city has learned it scored number 89th in the loan program through the Texas Water Development Board, so it appears Bowie will not get the loan.
Cunningham said they will keep applying, but he also learned while Bowie does have aging infrastructure it also does a lot right. He pointed to cities where they have massive immediate water and sewer system issues that threaten their systems.
While the city did score high enough to obtain a loan to replace its aging sewer lines, it did get a high ranking for a Texas Community Development Block Grant and may receive a $275,000 grant to replace a sewer line in the Mill Street area under the railroad overpass.
Cunningham said a line has collapsed under the railroad and needs to be replaced.
Placing in the top six he anticipated the city will get the grant which has a $27,000 match. It has been four years since the city received a TCDB grant. Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.