NEWS
Bowie City Council sees a tight draft budget proposal
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
It is going to be a tough budget season for the Bowie City Council as it works through a draft budget proposal that tries to figure out how to pay for major projects and maintain present operations for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
As per the city charter, City Manager Bert Cunningham presented the budget proposal to the council on July 14, emphasizing without the final certified property values, as well as the final health insurance rates, it truly is a draft. The city staff also await the final bid numbers for the Rock and Pillar drainage project hovering around $2 million with plans to fund it through the budget.
A budget workshop was scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 27 with a public hearing to follow on Aug. 11.
Cunningham said the certified figures may become available by the end of the week, but that is uncertain. Two months ago the city’s preliminary values were up $70,530,035 from the 2025 final values, however, usually the certified values fluctuate slightly from the preliminary numbers, which totaled $497,939,568.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
Members of the Bowie City Council will face a brief agenda when they meet at 6 p.m. on Oct. 13 in the council chambers.
Following routine reports and consent agenda items, the council will consider a resolution authorizing submission of the city’s 2027/2028 Texas Community Development Block Grant application to the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Then council members will consider approving Bob Blackburn for appointment as a reserve police officer with the Bowie Police Department.
Following an executive session, the council will discuss and potentially take action regarding the annual employment evaluations and duties of both the City Secretary and the Municipal Court Judge.
After nearly three months of no rain, Mother Nature brought the showers this past week.
Downtown Bowie rain reports varied from 7 to 8 inches, while the Saint Jo area reported a 10-inch total. The city water plant in Bowie reported 5.55 inches on Sept. 30 with 1.6 Oct. 1-3.
Nocona saw a total of 6.31 inches of rain across Sept. 26 to Oct. 3.
On Oct. 6, Lake Amon G. Carter saw a level of 917.39 mean sea level rising to 81.31% full. Just one week earlier the lake was 73.6% full, while one year ago it was 94.01%. The lake is full at 920msl.
Lake Nocona was 73.7% full at 823.02 on Oct 6. One week earlier it was 70.41% full and one year ago it was 92.41%. The lake is full at 827.5 msl.
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
One Montague County City has joined the battle against any data centers being built in this county and there is a petition drive underway to urge the commissioner’s court to keep data centers out of Montague County.
At a Sept. 28 called meeting of the Saint Jo City Council, officials unanimously approved a resolution stating its opposition to the “siting, permitting, construction or operation of data centers and similar hyperscale computing facilities within the city limits or the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.”
City Secretary Debbie Dennis said several citizens approached Councilor Jack Dunn about their data center concerns and he helped prepare a resolution. The council gave unanimous support.
Read the full story in your Thursday Bowie News.
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