The City Council in Bridge City on Tuesday night unanimously approved the same tax rate for next fiscal year. Mayor David Rutledge clarified before the vote that the 52 cents per 100 dollars valuation is no change from the current tax rate. Rutledge stated that because Texas law requires the city to word the notice of the tax rate in certain terminology it might possibly appear that Bridge City was increasing the tax rate. The city will receive more tax revenue next fiscal year than this year because of increases in appraised property values. Rutledge concluded, “The rate is not being raised, in effect it’s the same number.”
Following approval of the same tax rate, the City Council unanimously approved increasing both the water base rate by 50 cents and the sewer base rate by a dollar. City Manager Jerry Jones said the increases were necessary because of costs resulting from tests required by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The city manager called the increases in the two rates as minimal considering the amount of additional requirements the TCEQ and other organizations have put on Bridge City regarding testing of the water. He predicts even with the increases the city will not break even with what the city did this past year. “We needed to try to at least cover some of the additional cost that we have,” Jones explained.
The final item of business by the council was approval of a Mutual Aid Agreement between Orange County and the City of Bridge City. The agreement will allow Orange County to oversee pickup and removal of debris from Harvey using their contractor Ashbritt in the city limits of Bridge City. Current FEMA regulations are more restrictive on post disaster cleanup procedures. Other cities including Pinehurst and West Orange have approved similar Mutual Aid Agreements with the county.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
Social Media