Recap of Special City Council Meeting - 6/16/22 by Councilmember Hines and Approved by Mayor Rasco

Recap June 16th Special Meeting of the City Council

Submitted by Councilmember Debra Hines and approved by Mayor Jeff Rasco.

Item 1: Acceptance of the resignation of City Manager Brenton Lewis and posting of the qualifications of the job for new applicants was passed unanimously by all present. Mayor Jeff Rasco thanked Mr. Lewis for his service to our community. He then went on to briefly review the process for hiring an interim manager and the timeline citizens can expect for the position to be filled by a permanent employee.

Item 2: Removing former City Manager Brenton Lewis, and replacing Councilmember Brent Pulley, as signatory at Texas Regional Bank passed with 3 ayes and Councilmember Pulley abstained. This is a formality in that all checks require two signatures for the City and it is good policy to have three authorized individuals if one individual is out-of-town or ill.

Item 3: The creation of an ad valorem homestead exemption of $30,000 for 65 and older or disabled passed unanimously by all present. Councilmember Grummert noted that a home that has increased in taxable value by $100,000, like many have in Woodcreek in the past year, with this reduction will still have a $70,000 in increased value for which the city can draw ad valorem income. Councilmember Hines noted that this reduction in ad valorem value would be around 3% of the 18% increase projected for 2022 ad valorem income, estimated at $309,582,377 by Hilltop Securities. The overall ad valorem tax income for the City is projected to significantly increase due to heightened values of homes and the many new homes. Additionally, it was discussed that the County Tax Accessor/Collector would be responsible for addressing the actual tax rates used in the budget process and establishing the no new revenue rate.