Bridge City has joined other local communities supporting the effort to get a Veterans Administration inpatient hospital in Orange County. The City Council approved a resolution Tuesday night requesting the establishment of a VA facility in Orange. Mayor Kirk Roccaforte said the idea to convert the Baptist Hospital in Orange into an inpatient facility for veterans is a good one. Roccaforte pointed out that the hospital in Orange has had its ups and downs, but converting it into a veterans’ inpatient facility would serve the people around here very well.
The City Council adopted a water conservation ordinance which City Manager Jerry Jones indicated is necessary to approve periodically. Jones said the water conservation plan is adopted as a contingency in case of another serious drought period and is approved about every 5 years. Bridge City agreed to participate in the revision of the mitigation action plans which is also revised every five years and is coordinated by the South East Texas Regional Planning Commission which makes the city eligible to receive state grants.
David Gauthier was appointed to fill a position on the Board of Adjustments. City Attorney Paul Fukuda met with the Council in a closed session regarding boundary dispute litigation with the City of Port Arthur, but no action was taken afterwards in open session.
The City Council will hold their second and third budget meetings for FY 2015-16 in Bridge City Wednesday and Thursday evenings. City Manager Jerry Jones informed the Council Tuesday evening that his proposed budget for the next fiscal year will be $7,486,294. Jones said this represents an increase of $326,000 from this year’s budget. Jones stated to cover the increase in the budget he is proposing an increase in the tax rate to 49.5 cents per $100 value which is below the rollback rate. The main reason for the increase Jones explained is the need to get Bridge City’s reserves back up to about a six-month level or about $1.7 million.
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