NEWS
Bowie City Council meets on Monday night
The Bowie City Council will consider the second reading of the budget adoption ordinance and conduct the final public hearing on the proposed tax rate when it meets at 6 p.m. on Sept. 9.
After months of working on the budget the council approved its first reading at the Aug. 26 meeting.
This budget ordinance shows $8,251,643 in general fund allocations and $9,471,000 in the utility fund. The budget proposal includes several big ticket items.
There is a three percent pay raise for employees, a $700,000 loan that will be used to replace the 40-year-old fuel tanks ($250,000) at the airport and for a new UV system ($441,000) at the water plant replacing its 25-year-old system; and a fleet program to replace about a dozen vehicles across the city service at a cost of $108,000 a year projected to save the city about $133,000 in maintenance and purchase costs during the next three years.
A second public hearing on the proposed tax rate opens the agenda. The rate is offered at .5445 cents per $100 in property value compared to .5250 cents in 2018. The tax rate adoption is listed for its first reading in new business.
City Manager Bert Cunningham pointed out this tax rate increase is offset in the budget by a reduction in the small business commercial electric rate. For a customer with an average 2,000 kilowatt hours this will bring a reduction of about $14.40 per month and impact 656 meters in the system.
In new business an ordinance amending the subdivision rules will be examined. The planning and zoning commission has made a recommendation to make a change that relates to an owner conveying a portion of his land to an adjoining land owner in order to settle a boundary line discrepancy involving permanent structures which are encroached. The commission members believe this small change will expedite this process instead of requiring a full replat.
The final two items of new business is a resolution to nominate a candidate to the Montague County Tax Appraisal District Board and an ordinance amending the municipal budget for fiscal 2018-19 for specified funds, account and line item designations.
Mike Tibbetts of Hayter Engineering and Steve Ruse, structural engineer, were at the City of Bowie raw water pump station this past week to take a look at the location where a new raw water pump will be added at the directive of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The unfunded state mandate requires the city to add a 60-hp pump, to the present pair of 200-hp pumps in order to meet the capacity requirements of state standards. Estimated cost of the pump is between $850,000 to $950,000. (Courtesy photos)
There was very little courtroom activity during the Dec. 17 pre-trial hearing of former District Attorney Casey Hall on theft charges as the judge invited the attorneys into his chambers to discuss what they were doing.
Hall, who lost her bid for a third term as 97th District Attorney in the March primary, was indicted in July on a charge of theft $2,500-$30,000 connected with funds from a Texas Attorney General office’s grant.
The original pre-trial for the theft case was set for Aug. 16, but was rescheduled for Dec. 17. Judge Gabriel came into court that morning and after confirming both Shawhan and Hall’s attorney Abe Factor, were there, he reportedly asked both sides to come into his chambers.
After a brief period they left the judge’s chambers and went into another separate office, before going back to talk with Gabriel.
Court never resumed and both attorneys left the courtroom after picking up their belongings and left. The Nocona News reported as Shawhan left the courtroom when asked if the case was being dismissed he said, “It’ll either be a plea or a trial in February.” The case paperwork in the district clerk’s office does not reflect any additional action in this case or any other scheduled hearing or trial.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
The Texas Department of Public Safety reminds Texans of the upcoming changes to the state’s Vehicle Safety Inspection Program beginning on Jan. 1, 2025.
These changes—which eliminate many vehicle safety inspections—are due to House Bill 3297. The bill was passed by the 88th Legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott in 2023, abolishing the Vehicle Safety Inspection Program for non-commercial vehicles.
As a reminder, starting New Year’s Day, non-commercial vehicles will no longer need a vehicle safety inspection prior to registration. All non-commercial vehicles in the state will still be subject to a $7.50 inspection program replacement fee per HB 3297. The inspection program replacement fee will be paid when you register your vehicle with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
New vehicles (those of the current or preceding model year on the date of purchase) purchased in Texas that have not been previously registered in Texas or another state are required to pay an initial inspection program replacement fee of $16.75 to cover two years.
Note the inspection program replacement fee is not an increase in the cost of your vehicle registration. As its name suggests, this fee simply replaces the revenue source for state programs and operations—like the construction and expansion of state highways—once supported by vehicle safety inspections.
Read the full story in your weekend Bowie News.
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