In the past few days several issues have been raised regarding the governing body of the City of New Boston. I would like to address those as Mayor of this great city. The issues I want to address are the feeling that things are done in backrooms without public knowledge, the rate hike for water and sewer services, the proposed tax rate, and a former city employee still being paid by the city in their position at the 3 Bostons Museum. I will start with the latter.
Elizabeth Lea served our City as Interim City Administrator from early 2020 until August of 2022. In August of 2022 Wayne Dial was hired as City Administrator. Ms. Lea was asked to stay to help acclimate Mr. Dial as it was budget and tax rate time. She helped in the transition and was paid by the city until October of 2022 as a consultant. She has not been paid by the city since that time.
The City Council is governed by the Open Meetings Act. All meetings must be held according to that Act. Regular meetings are the third Tuesday of each month at 6 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Agendas for the meetings are posted on the City’s website, nbcitytx. gov. They are also posted on the door of the Council Chambers. By law, they must be posted 72 hours in advance of the meeting.
Generally, the City Secretary posts them on the Fridays preceding the meetings. There are limited items that can be discussed in closed session, but the Open Meetings Act requires the reason for a closed session to be announced in open session. No action can be taken in closed session. Public Comments are welcome at regular meetings on both agenda and non-agenda items. To address the Council, commenters must sign up and are limited to three minutes. Special meetings are held as circumstances arise that require action to meet timelines that don’t allow waiting until the next regular meeting. They also are subject to the Open Meetings Act and the agenda and posting requirements. They are usually limited to one or two agenda items and the public comments can be limited to only the agenda items that will be acted on in the meeting, The same signup and time limit rules apply. Workshops can be held for different reasons and do not require an agenda but must be posted. No action can be taken at a workshop session. Three budget workshops were held where the proposed budget was developed.
There was one citizen who attended any of those workshops. We cannot act behind closed doors outside the public’s ability to observe.
The recent water rate increase was on the August regular meeting agenda. The reason for the rate increase was the amount the City pays for water was increased by Texarkana Water Utilities. The amount we pay as a member city of Riverbend Water Resource District for retirement of the bond debt they incur in the process of building their water treatment plant increased from $1.20 per 1000 gallons of historical water usage to $2.40 per 1000 gallons. That means our annual payments to Riverbend increased by 100%. At the council meeting in August, Riverbend CEO Kyle Dooley, and board members Fred Milton and Steve Mayo were in attendance. Mr. Milton gave a lengthy presentation of the contracts signed in the past and amortization rates for the debt paydown and the effects of inflation on costs for the treatment plant. There is another $1.20 increase planned for FY 2025. The City also now has two sewer plants to run. We can’t accurately predict the cost to operate the new plant as the technology updates there compared to the older plant makes comparison maybe not apples and oranges, but at least Red Delicious and Granny Smith. The amount of increase was discussed and with the variable of the operation of the new plant and the knowledge of the increase in our costs currently and in the future, we settled at the fifty percent level.
For the proposed tax rate, the budget for 2024, with inflationary pressures affecting everything the City buys from office supplies and nuts and bolts up to road equipment and vehicles, increased. In the three workshops the possible cost cuts were discussed. Cuts in police and fire services were off the table. Public Safety is a primary concern. Water and sewer infrastructure are covered by the water rates discussed above. Street improvements are a priority, and parks are also high on the list. These are the subjects of most complaints. Employee salaries and benefits were a point of review. One of the biggest frustrations of City Administration is hiring, training and deploying employees to positions requiring special skills and having them leave because another city or company can offer more money. So we must be competitive in pay and benefits. The City has grown and that brings revenue, but also increased costs of serving the growth. If the proposed rate is approved by the council, taxes on a $100,000 property will increase by $2.50 per month. The rate (rounded to the nearest cent) would be 40 cents (0.397025). DeKalb’s rounded rate is 51 cents (0.50991), Hooks is 71 cents (0.705822), and Maud is 56 cents (0.558264). I personally feel strongly on the tax issue as I made a comment in response to the Tribune and the Texarkana Gazette when I ran in 2020 that I didn’t foresee a need for tax increases. I always hold myself accountable to my word. However, I didn’t see the effects of a post-pandemic economy. I know and understand concerns of taxes being raised. I am a retiree and my income is from a pension and Social Security.
The next City Council meeting will be September 19. Two public hearings, one on the budget, and one on the tax rate will precede the meeting. They will begin at 6 pm. Come and let your voice be heard.
Ron Humphrey, Mayor City of New Boston PO Box 5 New Boston, TX 75570
