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Cumby council member Betty McCarter discusses the employee manual/ Screen Shot
Funds from increase would go to improve streets, emergency funds Mayor says
The city of Cumby discussed raising water rates, among other items during their regular May meeting.
After a call to order at 6:30 p.m., the council unanimously approved the previous month’s meeting minutes as well as April financials.
Mayor Doug Simmerman updated those assembled that they had received the requested report from Cash special utility district regarding receiving water during possible future emergency water shut offs. According to Simmerman, connecting to Cash was “not feasible,” as it was “more than just hooking up one pipe,” and would cost the city as much as $500,000. Simmerman stated that the $2000 engineering study from Cash had been waived, however, and the check the city sent to Cash for the study had been returned.
Citizens then presented comments during the public forum. Citizens Audri Mayo and Johnny Nabers spoke regarding allowing golf carts on city streets [see related story].
Citizen Sheryl Lackey spoke regarding outstanding items from past council meetings.
“I’m curious about where we’re at with the yearly audit, as well as where we’re at with the forensic audit,” citizen Sheryl Lackey asked. “What’s the update on the auction of 216 Tarrant Street, and can we be updated in the next couple of months as to what our outstanding debt from January 2019 to present?... I just want to know financially where we’re standing with certain things.”
Simmerman declined to respond to Lackey’s comments during the public forum.
EMPLOYEE MANUAL
Simmerman stated he had “added some corrections” to the employee manual from the last time it was presented before council, including that “any certification testing or training must be approved by the mayor prior to attending,” although the city would pay for the courses.
It also stipulated that the city would pay for two chances for an applicant to take a wastewater certification test, but after the second failed test, the applicant would be responsible for their own testing costs.
The employee manual provides for mileage and lodging reimbursement and a $45 per diem during training, as well as step pay from $25 to $100 per month extra depending on licensure.
The council previously discussed the employee manual in both February and April, and at that time council member Betty McCarter stated she had concerns that employees might use the city as a “training ground” to obtain education or certification at the city’s cost.
McCarter restated these concerns in May.
“Say we have the two guys that are certified now quits,” McCarter stated. “Are we going to pay for someone to get their certification?... If we’re hiring people not certified, that’s like walking into a hospital and saying okay, train me to be a doctor. It’s not our job to pay for their school, no strings attached.”
“They won’t be allowed to go to any training they choose,” Simmerman stated. “The mayor will have to deem it’s necessary for their employment.”
Simmerman admitted “you never know if an employee’s going to stay, but we haven’t really run into that issue.”
McCarter suggested a provision in the employee manual where a trainee would sign a contract promising to maintain employment with the city for a certain period of time upon completion of training.
“You should be able to talk with somebody and figure out if they’re going to be long-term,” Simmerman stated. “You can tell.”
Council members Guy Butler and Julie Isham Morris voted to approve the employee manual, and McCarter voted not to approve the manual. Simmerman did not vote. The motion passed 2-1 and therefore the manual was enacted.
INCREASE IN RATES
The council voted unanimously to increase trash removal rates 3.5%, as consistent with a price change necessitated yearly by their waste disposal company, Republic Services. This will “help the city stay in the black on the garbage side of it,” Simmerman stated. This translates to an extra 50 cents for both commercial and residential rates, according to city documents.
Simmerman then brought before the council a proposed increase in water and sewer rates to create a capital improvement fund.
Simmerman’s proposed ordinance would not bill by water minimum, but rather per every 1000 gallons, he stated. The new water rate would be set at $8 per 1000 gallons, whereas the current rate is set at $1.29 per 1000 gallons, according to city documents. This marks an increase of more than 600%, according to calculations.
“We’re gonna take that extra money… and it will develop a capital improvement fund for things such as the Depot Street project,” Simmerman said. “We need to be able to set some money aside to start working on those improvements.”
“We have almost $800 worth of late [water] fees and I have a problem with that,” Isham Morris replied. “We’ve got residents in our city that can’t pay their water bills now and we want to go on up with it?”
“The Texas Water Commission said that everyone’s switching over to the 1000 gallon deal and that our rates are by far the lowest,” Simmerman stated. “They suggested we go up… we want to use that extra money… to have some money set aside in case the water plant goes down. I figured we’d collect somewhere around $2200 a month.”
According to Simmerman, over a 12-month period this would generate enough revenue “if a well went down we wouldn’t have to worry about it.” By Simmerman’s calculations this would be $26,400.
“We have people in this town that can’t pay their water bill, it gets shut off every month, and we want to raise rates," Isham Morris reiterated. "I understand we got to pay bills, but we have to look out for our citizens.”
Isham Morris expressed she did not have a desire to make a motion attached to this agenda item, and the council moved on.
Isham Morris did move to establish a capital improvement fund, as “someone… could give us a source of funding, like... a birthday check.” The council unanimously approved the decision.
Simmerman then introduced an ordinance to establish an increase in rates for residential permitting.
“I’m not a big permit guy… but we have nothing like this in place and about every city has one,” Simmerman stated.
According to city documents, those constructing new residences could expect to pay the city $1,680 or more in permitting fees, depending upon the size of the home. Failure to obtain proper permits could result in a fine between $500 and $2000 paid to the city, according to the documents.
“Why are we doing this all of a sudden?” McCarter asked.
“We’re starting to get a few new buildings and we want them up to standard,” Simmerman responded.
However, members of the citizen audience stated they believed builders in new construction “brought in their own inspection people.”
“They bring them in through the bank or lender,” said citizen Larry White. “You’re not going to get finance without an inspection service.”
Simmerman stated he was not a home builder, and therefore did not know.
“The city don’t do inspections,” White stated. “The city works with permits, so that puts the reliability and the liability on the homeowner.”
The council did not engage in further discussion of the proposed ordinance. After discussing golf carts [see related story], the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. without any further business.