This week Melissa McSwain (Franklin County Tax Collector) has received the property valuation from the appraisal district. Staff has obtained the city’s debt position which has been provided to her also. She will now be able to start calculating the tax rates. Once we have this, we will be able to have a portion of the revenue projection for the FY 27 budget. This will allow us to begin budget preparation in earnest next week. Melissa has been extremely helpful to the city staff. We appreciate the relationship we have been able to develop with our county partners the last few years.
Andrew, Angie, Chad, and I will be meeting with the department heads on their final budget drafts next week. We hope to begin meeting with the council members and mayor the following week.
Rodney Caudle our new code officer has hit the ground running this past week. He is meeting with property owners in various neighborhoods to address issues. His approach is based on developing relationship which produce voluntary compliance. Rodney will be attending state sponsored code enforcement officer training the second week of August. We are working on obtaining a vehicle for his use. The fire chief is obtaining a uniform for Rodney.
Christie Burnett, our court clerk attending training in Austin this week. Christie has assumed her duties with enthusiasm. She is doing a great job in her role. This training is the first step ion her certification process. The appointment of a municipal judge will be on the August 10 council agenda.
We have received applications for two projects from local business owners. These will be placed on the EDC August 13 agenda. One of the projects will be in the downtown area and will need Historic Landmark Commission approval. We will be scheduling this meeting ASAP. I have also received a call from an investor’s representative who is interested in developing retail space on the SH 37 or IH30 corridor. They may have interest in the N. corridor project area. He has requested the strategic plan, zoning, and future land use documents. The investor has recently acquired property near the lake and plans to move here soon.