NEWS
Infrastructure needs dominate Bowie budget workshop
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Bowie City Councilors learned Monday night there are limited ways to increase budget revenue to help fund badly needed infrastructure as they reviewed and debated the budget draft for 2023-24.
All the council members attended with the exception of Jason Love. It was an opportunity for councilors to ask questions about budget requests and needs. The workshop lasted two hours.
Overall budget expenses are offered at $21,805,000 for the utility and general fund. Finance Director Pamela Woods presented the draft last week noting this is about $600,000 above last year’s budget. The draft does not include new debt service or vehicle lease details for the new year, but uses the prior year’s amounts as the figures are finalized.
The budget includes a 3-5% salary increase that would be administered by the department heads to their staffs based on merit pay policy. Health insurance is expecting a 12% raise and property liability and worker’s compensation will go up 15%, and those figures are being finalized. The city also is awaiting the arrival of certified property values in mid-July to put a final projection for ad valorem taxes.
On the revenue side there will be a rate increase for sewer rates which was part of an overall rate plan connected to repayment of the Texas Water Development Board $9.7 million loan for replacing 10 miles of sewer line. For base residential the rate will go from $23.90 to $24.86 the per 1,000-gallon rate above base will go from $4.16 to $4.33.
New employees will include those who staff summer recreation as the parks department tries to revitalize that program with 10 part-time workers. Previously it was stopped due to a lack of staffing. The fire department has asked for three new workers and one part-time person.
In finance, it has been sharing a worker with water, but has asked to make that person full-time. The police department also reflects the two new school resource officers that were added mid-year. The legislature has now mandated security officers at various levels based on district size.
There were questions about funds for improvements, additional staffing and how they were going to pay for some major infrastructure projects.
Read the full story on the workshop in the mid-week Bowie News.
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
The Bowie City Council accepted a $1.38 million bid for phase two of the sewer line replacement program and received an engineer’s update on Nelson Street drainage.
Council members met Monday night and opened the evening with the presentation of proclamations for Emergency Medical Services Week and National Travel and Tourism Week. Members of the Bowie EMS service accepted the first proclamation and Cindy Roller of Bowie Community Development accepted the second.
City Manager Bert Cunningham reported the city received one bid for phase two of the sewer line project that will replace the Glenn Hills lift station and sludge pumps at the wastewater plant. While the bid came in above the original estimate, Mike Tibbetts of Hayter Engineering, said there are several things that can be removed to lower the costs.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
Pictured – replacing a manhole in phase one. (Courtesy photo)
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
In its six-month financial report for fiscal 2024-25 Bowie City Council members saw budget revenues were not coming in as high as projected, despite the budget using conservative figures.
During the Monday meeting, Finance Director Pamela Woods reviewed the numbers at the half-way point of the year. She said all the department heads are doing well keeping their expenses within budget just below the 50% level or 49.26% overall. Despite that, expenses are above revenues in the utility fund by almost $100,000.
In the utility fund revenues are 46.11% of budget in water; 53.19% in sewer and 43.74% in electric. The total utility fund revenue is at 46.42% of the budget or $5,572,694.
(Pictured above) Carol Moore also addressed the council on disrepair at the Pelham Park walking track urging it to make repairs and maintain it.
Read the full council story in the weekend Bowie News.
Two people were transported to the hospital with possible injuries from a three-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon in a highway department work zone on State Highway 59.
The accident occurred on Hwy 59 near Allison Road at 4:09 p.m. on May 14. There were three vehicles containing a total of six people.
Vehicle one driven by Carlin Jaster, Bowie with his passenger Zana Lara, Bowie, were traveling south on Hwy. 59. Two other vehicles driven by Kjersti Compton, Sunset and Edward Meadows, Grapevine were also southbound but stopped in a construction zone.
Jaster failed to control his speed and a chain-reaction crash occurred as he struck Compton who then hit Meadows.
Jaster and Lara were transported to Nocona General Hospital with non-incapacitating injuries. The others were uninjured. Tuesday was the first day for road construction along State Highway 59. Digital signs were posted for delays.
(Pictured above) Bowie Rural Fire Department and Bowie EMS responded to this three-vehicle chain reaction crash on State Highway 59 near Allison Road on Tuesday afternoon. There were a total of six people in the three vehicles, and two were transported to Nocona General with possible injuries. (Courtesy photo)
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