The Whitney City Council approved a six-month trial of the city’s new permitting process during a Thursday, April 17, meeting.
The council created a committee last summer to simplify and clarify the permitting process. The committee includes two council members, local general contractors, the permitting clerk, Mayor Janice Sanders and Operations Director Billy Pribble.
Pribble told the council last month that the committee’s work has culminated in an extremely simplified process to help citizens determine whether a permit is needed and lays out a clear process for appeals.
Work that requires a permit generally involves structural changes to a property and not cosmetic work.
If a citizen disagrees with the permit clerk about whether a permit is needed, they can appeal to the building official appointed by the city council. If there is still a disagreement after that, they can appeal to the city council for a final decision.
Pribble said that it is time to try out the new system so the city can make adjustments if needed.
The council also approved the release of a citizen engagement survey ahead of the annual budget process. Pribble said that citizens were surveyed on their budget priorities last year, but only 13 people responded. He said that he hopes to see more engagement this year.
The city will send out surveys in water bills and post information online and in the newspaper, with responses accepted in May and June.
Dates were set for the council’s 2025-26 budget workshops to help the city finalize its budget calendar. The workshops will be scheduled August 12 and August 26.
In departmental reports, Mayor Sanders updated the council on the installation of a Welcome to Whitney monument at the “y” on Highway 22. The council initially approved the project in 2013, and a site plan and survey were submitted to the Texas Department of Transportation. Sanders said that she picked the project back up when she came to the chamber in 2019.
Due to employee changes at TxDOT, Sanders said that there have been delays in the process. The property was surveyed and a new site plan has to be submitted. “Even though this project is taking forever to get done, the chamber is still working diligently to get it done,” the mayor said. She added that all of the components have been donated, and the project is not costing anything except for a little time to get through the process.
In the administrative report, Pribble provided a financial report to the council as the city reached the six-month mark in its budget for this fiscal year on April 1.
Pribble said that he asks department heads to provide a budget report every quarter to determine where they are at on expenditures, although he pointed out that a 10% variance is acceptable because some larger expenses come at certain times in the year.
The city had collected just under 72% of its general fund revenue, including property tax payments, as of April 1. Sales tax revenue is coming in strong, with 53% of the year’s projected revenue collected. He said that franchise fees are also better than projected, and the city is doing well on its revenue.
General fund expenditures were within the 10% variance at 57% for the six-month mark, which includes a large expenditure for the city’s new management software earlier this year.
The city has collected 55% of its projected revenue in the water and sewer account, and water/sewer expenditures are at 50% and on track to make the budget.
In the emergency services report, Megan Leighman said that the ambulance service responded to 47 calls in March, with four of those being mutual aid for CareFlite in the county. The average response time was five minutes in the city and 11 minutes in the county.
She reported that the fire department responded to 88 calls in March, which breaks down to seven fire calls in the city, 17 fire calls in the county, 35 first responder calls in the city and 29 first responder calls in the county. The department also completed eight business safety surveys in March.
Police Chief Josh Scholes said that March was a busy month for the police department, and officers responded to 412 calls. The department made six arrests and responded to calls at Whitney Middle School that resulted in two juvenile detentions, including one for two felony counts of assault on a public servant.
Scholes said that March was the first month this year that the department has been fully staffed on patrol, which resulted in a 162% increase in traffic stops. There were 210 total citations or warnings issued.
He said that he has received four bids for a new animal control shelter and will review them and present them to the council.
Public Works Director Chris Brennan said that the department addressed four water leaks in March and had 13 after-hours water calls and six after-hours sewer calls. The department is still short one staff member, and one employee has completed an animal control course.
The library report showed that there were 1,368 visitors in March, which was a 33% increase over February’s numbers. Digital checkouts continue to increase as patrons show interest in the library’s free e-book and audio book options. The library offered seven programs over spring break and provided information and tools for tax season.
The municipal court report for March showed $4,837 collected.
Several residents spoke to the council in open forum.
Amy Teal asked the city to share information on a regular basis about the upcoming election to encourage residents to vote, saying that turnout is low for May elections.
Teresa Wyatt said that the mayor is accusing Ken Scales of having a fake Facebook profile and read social media exchanges to the council, saying her husband is being attacked by multiple people.
Wesley Turner said that he likes to help the City of Whitney and was thanked by the council.
Carol Eubank thanked the mayor, council members and public service workers for their work and encouraged the community to work together to support city leaders who volunteer their time. She said that some in the community have become sources of disruption, fear and anger, and if the community stays divided it cannot accomplish anything.
Jason Sneed spoke as both youth pastor at Whitney Fellowship and a Whitney school board member and thanked the city for its efforts. He said that he has served on the school board for over eight years and sees a sharp juxtaposition between previous and current city leadership. He said that the current mayor, council and operations director have collaborated well with the school and youth projects, while collaboration attempts with past administrations were delayed, ignored or opposed.
The council convened in closed session, but no action was taken when open session resumed.
The council’s next regular meeting is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at the Lake Whitney Public Library.
