The Whitney City Council accepted the resignation of City Administrator Billy Pribble, proposed a tax rate for the coming year and discussed other city business Thursday, August 20.
Pribble originally submitted his resignation last year after starting his own business, but he decided to stay with the city after he was asked to continue in his role. Pribble said that his business has now grown to the point that he needs to commit to it full time. He told the council that he will continue serving through October 1, and he is willing to stay on as a temporary employee to train his replacement through the end of the year. The council accepted the resignation.
Council members also discussed the city property tax rate for the coming year, which will be adopted after the budget for the upcoming fiscal year is finalized. The council proposed the no-new-revenue rate of $0.5411 per $100 property valuation, which will result in $39,922 less property tax revenue for the city in the coming year.
The proposed rate is a decrease from the current rate of $0.5764. No public hearing will be needed on the proposal since there is no increase.
Council member Amy Teal reiterated that she is opposed to property taxes and voted no, and all others voted in favor of the proposal.
The council approved employee health benefits for the coming year, opting to go with a Baylor Scott & White plan with a Difference card add-on that will pay the first $4,000 of an employee’s $7,500 deductible. Principal Life Insurance Company will continue providing the city’s ancillary insurance benefits. Council member Teal abstained, and all other members voted in favor of the plans.
An opening on the Parks Advisory Board was discussed after only one applicant applied for the position. The applicant works in the city and has a background in recreation but lives in Clifton. Parks board members said that they were not aware that an applicant could live outside of the city and asked to advertise the position again to get more applicants. Council member Vicki Wilson abstained, and all other members voted to advertise the position again.
Library Advisory Board President P.J. Hicks presented a recommendation to the council that the city hire a full-time head librarian with an annual salary of $50,000. He said it is the position of the board that the library requires consistent, dedicated leadership, and the library director has expressed support for the recommendation. Hicks urged the council to treat the position as an essential municipal investment and not a discretionary line item, highlighting the benefits that the library offers the community.
The board also requested a marketing budget of $2,000 to $6,000 to produce professional videos to communicate the library’s needs, programs and volunteer opportunities.
Council member Teal pointed out that the municipal budget is tight and encouraged the board to consider other funding opportunities. She said that the majority of library card holders live outside the city limits, and the library may need to consider non-resident fees. Council member Cheryl Taylor-West expressed support for providing library funding.
A recommendation of the Parks Advisory Board to place a GaGa pit at Whitney City Park through donations was approved by the council. The pit is a low-walled, octagonal enclosure where both adults and children can play a version of dodgeball. The location will be decided at a future meeting.
A special event permit request submitted by the Lake Whitney Chamber of Commerce was approved for the Halloween Trunk or Treat event Saturday, October 31.
Action was tabled on a request from Health Now Urgent Care, which approached the city about building a facility for its on-call personnel. Information presented to the council indicated that the project started as an addition to the existing building, then shifted to a site-built tiny home, and finally became a recreational vehicle that is prohibited by city ordinance. The owner has requested that the city reimburse the costs of ordering the recreational vehicle, but she was unable to attend the meeting and asked that the item be tabled.
In departmental reports, Mayor Janice Sanders reported on feedback the city received after seeking input on the budget process. She said that there were 35 total responses, 29 of which were validated from city residents. Overall, respondents asked the city to emphasize core infrastructure and essential services before discretionary projects. Water and sewer reliability, streets, sidewalks and drainage appeared most consistently in the responses.
Emergency Services Director Robert Matthews reported that the fire department responded to 156 calls in July. There were 10 fire calls in the city and 26 in the county, along with 55 first responder calls in the city and 65 in the county. He said that in the second quarter of the year, from April through June, Whitney fire department was the busiest department in the county and was dispatched to 689 calls compared to the next busiest department, which responded to 242 calls.
Matthews reported that EMS responded to 68 calls in July, with 65 in the city and three in the county as mutual aid for CareFlite. The average response time in the city was 5.7 minutes, and it was 6 minutes in the county.
Whitney Police Chief Joshua Scholes reported that the department responded to 294 total incidents in July, made three arrests, conducted 84 traffic stops and issued 106 total citations or warnings. There were nine animal control calls for service and 14 code enforcement complaints in July.
Lake Whitney Public Library issued 43 new library cards in July and served a total of 1,123 visitors. There were 160 visitors who used computers, 62 served with direct assistance, 36 unique programs and events provided, and 208 visitors attending events and programs. Patrons checked out a total of 869 materials in July.
See the accompanying story in this edition for more information about a proposal for the former Cato Drug building presented by the Parks Advisory Board.
The Lakelander 