Clocking just 75 minutes, the Richardson City Council held a relatively short work session August 07, 2023. Agenda items were a review of the upcoming Corporate Challenge, reviews of utility rate requests by Atmos and Oncor, and action items setting dates for public hearings on the proposed tax rate and municipal budget, and naming a temporary location as the official City Hall.
By my count, although all of the Councilmembers said something, none offered any suggestions for change on any matter. The three matters put to a vote all passed unanimously.
First, an odd moment during the public comment portion that's standard at every meeting. If you have watched these Council meetings for any length of time, you know the routine. As City Manager Don Magner states in introduction, "The Texas Open Meetings Act prohibits the City Council from discussing or taking action on items that are not posted on the agenda. The Mayor or City Manager may respond with facts of policy or direct city staff to respond to the speaker after the meeting." This week, the only public speaker was Laurie Garvie, Executive Director and President, Richardson Symphony Orchestra. She was there to plug the "exciting program that we're going to begin publicizing tomorrow." So far, all routine. But when she finished, Mayor Bob Dubey said, "Council, any questions for Laurie?" I was surprised. The Council never engages with a public speaker. I thought, "Good for you, Mayor, ignoring a stupid state law". But the rest of the Council sat there in silence, as usual, as expected, as required by law. So the letter of the law was maintained.
Then came a review of the upcoming annual Corporate Challenge, presented by Corporate Recreation Manager Jonathan Winters. 43 Companies. 10 Weeks. 24 Events. In 2022 $175,080 was raised and donated to Special Olympics Texas. After his short presentation, Mayor Dubey again asked for questions and comments, this time as expected and allowed by the Texas Open Meetings Act. Still, the Council responded with silence, which I didn't expect. This was the time for nice words about a good program.
Then came an hour-long review of rate requests by Atmos and Oncor and a review of the Atmos franchise agreement. First up was Atmos. The negotiated Atmos rate increase will result in an average bill increase for residential customers from $88.47 to $94.94, a 7.31% increase. The average bill for commercial customers will go from $476.43 to $501.14, a 5.19% increase.
Councilmember Jennifer Justice asked, "Does Atmos have any programs that can help seniors or whoever may need it with assistance with this increase?" The answer was yes, Atmos makes annual donations to Network. They are allowed to work with customers as needed. Councilmember Dan Barrios asked "Why the bigger increase on residential" versus commercial? The answer wasn't so much an answer as a statement that investments on the residential side don't always match investments on the commercial side. No numbers were presented to support the different rate hikes.
Next up was Oncor. Newly enacted state law allows an electric utility to adjust its rates twice a year. Oncor is expected to do that. The City of Richardson staff recommends that the City Council deny Oncor's request for a rate increase. Denial would give Oncor 30 days to appeal. The staff's "resolution authorizes the attorneys and consultants" of the Steering Committee of Cities Serviced by Oncor (OSSC) "to review the filing, continue to negotiate with Oncor, and make recommendations regarding reasonable rates."
Councilmember Ken Hutchenrider didn't have a question. He wanted "people listening in" to know that, in Richardson, gas and electric utilities have separate charges for energy and distribution. There are multiple electricity providers but not gas providers. Unfortunately, neither his question/statement nor the answer was stated very clearly, and I had difficulty summarizing. Go back and listen for yourself.
Next up was the tax rate. The current tax rate is $0.56095 per $100 valuation. Because of higher property appraisals, a cut in the tax rate to $0.50602 would still raise the same amount of revenue as the current tax rate. City Manager proposed keeping the tax rate at $0.56095. This allows for the following:
• Increases merit-based market increases from 5% to 6%
• Increases longevity pay from $6 to $8
• Increases Street Rehabilitation funding by an additional $925,407 – 19% increase
• Increases Facility Maintenance funding by an additional $116,101 – 24% increase
• Increases Park Maintenance funding by an additional $116,101 – 24% increase
• Increases Equipment Replacement by an additional $167,445 – 3% increaseSource: City of Richardson.
The Council unanimously set a public hearing on the proposed tax rate of $0.56095 for August 21, 2023.
The Council then voted unanimously to set a public hearing date of August 28, 2023, for the proposed budget for the fiscal year of 2023-2024.
Finally, the Council voted unanimously for Resolution number 23-19, designating a temporary location as the official City Hall until the construction of a new city hall is complete and occupied. The address is 2360 Campbell Creek Blvd.
And with that, the Council's business was done.
"Public stage is set
For tax and budget's ballet.
Song and dance go on."
—h/t ChatGPT
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