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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMayor's Newsletter 10/99MAYOR 'Snewsletter C.2 C I T Y O F E U L E S S Greetings from Your Mayor Dear Citizens, Now that the weather is finally cooling down, I hope you all have many pleasant memories of summertime. We can be proud of the activities the city provided in sports, athletics, library programs, and entertainment for tourists as well as citizens. Over 4500 people attended the Dixie Pre -Majors World Series! You may have noticed that Westpark Way con- struction is completed and landscaping is almost finished. Highway 157 is close to completion, then landscaping will begin. The intersection of Main and Harwood is almost complete and then construction will begin on Harwood east of Main Street. Please note the article on completion of overlays and side- walks inside the newsletter. Your City Council had a very successful budget meeting. Since our ad valorem home values are up this year, the Council has lowered the city tax rate by one penny. We have consistently lowered or main- tained our tax rate in the last several years and have continued to add city services. Hopefully construction will begin on the new Police and Courts facility located on the old Western Hills Inn site by the end of the year and we can look forward to completion in early 2001. The Citizens Police Academy Alumni are selling bricks to purchase a bronze statue in time for the opening. The Euless Library Foundation continues to sup- port the library with special programs and artwork. Their fund raising gala will be held at the Texas Star Conference Centre on October 30. As reported in the July newsletter, the Texas Legislature passed a bill to allow a motor vehicle rental tax to be levied with voter approval. The tax that is mainly on rental cars at the D/FW Airport will bring approximately $3,000,000.00 in revenues to the City of Euless, if passed by our citizens. The City Council has called for an election for the motor vehicle rental tax on November 2, 1999. Voters will also be decid- ing on several constitu- tional amendments as well. Are you ready for Y2K? The city staff is diligently work- ing to be compliant by the year's end. Our library has initiated several new programs recently. The monthly Nite Notes has attracted a large following and a new teen area called "Teen Point" will open in October. Courses in small businesses are being offered as well. A newsletter is available in the library with all the latest events. It won't be long before Thanksgiving and Christmas are here and once again the city is preparing for a spec- tacular Christmas Parade of Lights on December 11. Over and over again I am reminded of what great volunteers we have in our city. We simply could not do all we do without our volunteers. Hundreds show up for Arbor Daze, Dixie Pre -Majors World Series, Collegiate Players Tour National Golf Championship, Musical in the Park, Softball World, and the list goes on. Our youth, boards and commissions, Citizens Police Academy Alumni, Council Members, churches and senior citizens all play active roles in volunteering for our community. If you have not joined in the fun (and work!), you've missed a treat. It's a great way to make friends and Build a Better Tomorrow Together for our future citizens and enjoy the great city we have today! Mary Lib Saleh Mayor Tax We Decreases P. 2 Tax Tips P. 3 Motor Vehicle Rental Tax Election P. 4 (itu computer Conversion P. 6 1` Tax We Decreases enjamin Franklin once said, "A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned," which is a wise statement when a � penny is based on a$100 valuation. Council Members were pleased to present its constituents a penny decrease in the tax rate for the new fiscal year, which began on October 1. Council accepted the FY2000 budget on September 28, with a penny decrease in the tax rate of $.514, based on a $100 valuation. "We were very pleased with the overall Citi Services Supported bu Tates Based on an average home value of $88,622, each household will pay $365* in city taxes for the year, or $30.41 per month, to support these city services: 24 hour Police protection 24 hour Fire protection 24 hour Ambulance service Maintenance of all public streets and street lighting Library facility and services Park facilities including softball fields and walking trails Recreational facilities including a gym and walking track Animal Control services Environmental Health services including restaurant inspections Building Inspections and permitting services Code Enforcement services *assuming that 20%Homestead Exemption is used budget process," said City Manager Joe Hennig. "The Council funded several pro- grams for our staff, which provides many new and enjoyable opportunities for our citizens." Council approved several improvement programs including improvements to J.A. Carr Park lighting, the exterior of Midway Recreation Center and street overlays. Additional library materials will be pur- chased along with new park mowers and computer hardware/software. Council also approved additional staff positions including a Municipal Court Clerk, an Animal Control Officer and two Public Works Field Tech positions. Although the general fund pays Tdx Rate area' ' HIB ISD 1.6313 (propose( 59.3% for most of the projects and equipment for the city, the quarter cent crime tax will fund the construction of the new Police and Courts facility, which will be built on the Western Hills site and is scheduled to open in the year 2 00 1. "The City Council and city staff have worked diligently to provide the very best services available for our citizens while keeping a reasonable tax rate," said Mayor Mary Lib Saleh. "We are pleased to be able to lower our tax rate. Hopefully, we can con- tinue this trend." If you have any questions about the new budget, please call the Finance Department at 685-1826. (ountu Wospi I .264336 .23407 9.63% 3.5% Euless .514754 13.7% Jr. (ollege .1064 3.37% Tdx Tips Sales Taz 8.25% collected in Euless on purchases made in city. The state of Texas collects 6.25% of this tax, while Euless collects the remaining 2%. The distribution is as follows: I% sales tax 1/2% economic development sales tax 1/4% crime control district sales tax 1/4% property relief sales tax Refer to the following definitions of each tax. Half Cent Sales Taz Approved in 1993 by Euless residents to collect an additional half cent sales tax for economic development, new public library (opened 1996) and Parks Athletic Center (opened 1997). (rime (ontrol District Sales Taz Quarter cent sales tax approved by Euless residents in 1995. Funds have been used for new officers, drug search dog, mobile police unit and will be used for the construction of the new police and courts facility. Property Relief Sales Taz Quarter cent sales tax approved by Euless residents in 1996. This tax decreased ad valorem rates while adding a 1/4% sales tax to items purchased in Euless. (its of Euless Tdx Rate Trend .70 .65 HIM 0s soo0 o000 .60 .55 .544980 0.514754 .50 .45 .40 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 TAX RATE IAPA(T - FY 99/00 AVERAGE HOME VALUE (1999) Less: Homestead Exemption, 20% Adjusted Value Annual Tax Burden: (at current tax rate .514754) $88,622 $(17,724) _ $70,898 • $364.94 (or $30.41 monthly) OVER 65 AVERAGE HOME VALUE $79,825 Less: Homestead Exemption, 20% ($15,965) Adjusted Value $63,860 Less: Over 65 Exemption ($30,000) Net Value $33,860 Annual Tax Burden: (at current tax rate .514754) $174.30 (or $14.53 monthly) Note. Home Values are based on July 1999 average home values provided by Tarrant Appraisal District. page 3 Motor Vehicle Rental Tax Election The City Council has called an election for a Motor Vehicle Rental Tax on November 2, 1999. For any questions about the proposed tax or election, please call (817) 685-1424. What is a Motor Vehicle Rental Tax? With the approval of House Bill 92 in 1997, the State Legislature allowed Texas cities to levy a motor vehicle tax on short term rentals, with citizen approval in an election. The City of Euless would be able to levy this tax on all rental cars at the Consolidated Rental Car Facility (to be completed in March 2000) at DFW Airport and in Euless city limits if approved by regis- tered voters. Why would Euless be allowed to collect a tax on cars rented from DEW Airport? The new Consolidated Rental Car Facility under construction at DEW Airport is located within Euless city limits on the Airport property. Euless Officials negotiat- ed with Airport Officials to locate this facility on Euless property and share any motor vehi- cle rental tax revenue received with Dallas and Fort Worth (owners of the Airport). Each city will receive one-third of the rental tax revenue generated from the facility, upon voter approval. Now much proposed revenue could be realized through the passage of the Motor Vehicle Rental Tax? City Officials have estimated that the proposed 5% tax could generate $6 million annually, which would be divided three ways among Euless, Dallas and Fort Worth (due to the Revenue Sharing Agreement). ©Now will this tax impact Euless residents? This tax will not impact Euless residents unless they rent a car from a facility located in the City of Euless. If the tax is passed through this election, where would the additional revenue be used? The legislation does not specify that the revenue generated be used in a particular area of the city, which enables the City Council to designate the expenditure of the funds where our city specifically needs the assistance. City Council has proposed that the funding be utilized to address the follow - ing priorities: 1 /3 OWL FUND Property Tax Support: • reduction of current rate • assist with limiting future increases Police and Courts Facility: operational costs Library: expansion of library purchase additional materials 1 /3 DRISENT AND [UTURE DEBT Streets: street rehabilitation Infrastructure: water lines sewer lines Sidewalks and Ramps Street Lighting Police and Courts Facility: • debt retirement 1 /3 SDKIAL NEEDS City Revitalization Economic Development Incentives Transportation Erosion and Flood Control Conference Centre Expansion Parks at Texas Star -Phase II -additional baseball/softball fields -soccer fields Senior Citizen Programs Youth Programs page 4 ELECTION E0;090- DAY Tuesday, November 2, 1999 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Polling Locations: Euless Public Library 201 N. Ector Bear Creek Elementary 401 Bear Creek Drive Early Voting will be held at the Euless Public Library, 201 N. Ector. October 18-22 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. October 23 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. October 24 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m October 25-26 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. October 27-29 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Precinct Numbers for the Election on November 2, 1999 CITY PRECINCT 1 Precinct Numbers 3036 3160 3183 3247 3329 3335 3336 3391 3414 3432 3511 Polling Place Euless Public Library 201 N. Ector Euless, TX CITY PRECINCT 2 Precinct Numbers 3216 3322 3389 3390 Polling Place Bear Creek Elementary School 401 Bear Creek Drive Euless, TX Certificates of Appreciation from Euless Animal Services JANUARY Jina Nichols and Dinah Kohler, for assistance with suffering wild raccoons. Carole Miller, for aiding a Sheltie who had been hit by a car. AWN Phi Theta Kappa, TCC, NE Campus, for generous donations to Euless Animal Shelter. APRIL Terry Jernigan, for rescuing an injured crow. MAY Ray Kester, for rescuing an injured Rock Dove, which was a racing pigeon from out of state. James Bendall and Melvin Taylor, for saving three cats and their kittens from an empty building. Lydia Evans, for donating her time and professional skills at the Dog Daze of Summer event. Dawn and Christian Sly, for bringing an injured dove to the Shelter. JUNE William D. Wood, D.V.M., and assistant Ryan Griffin, for rescuing and donating treatment to an old, injured Siamese cat. John Lewis, for informing Animal Services of a deceased mother opossum with twelve babies. Serene Calkins, Shelly Whipple, Beth Stone, Scott Dennett and the entire "Carin' for Herons" group for their concerned efforts, including Lawrence Neary and CBS Payroll. page 5 (itu Computer Conversion Facing a Year 2000 (Y2K) issue, the city realized that the software used in the Finance Department (which affects several areas of the city), is approximately 17 years old and not Y2K compliant. As a result, the City has recently invested in a new financial and administrative computer system, which will make each department's computer system Y2K compliant. The City is on an aggressive time schedule to have the new software implemented prior to year-end. The general ledger, budget, accounts payable, purchasing, occupational licenses and code enforcement modules were successfully transitioned to the new system in July. Payroll and courts were operational in August. Building permits, planning and zoning and utility billing are scheduled to be working by December. The new system will allow the depart- ments greater access to the information they need without delays. All data will be provided in a "real time" environment with depart- ments having access to view accounts on-line. This would include access to up to date account balances, vendor information and internal employee information. Purchase requisitions and pur- chase orders can also be processed on-line as well as payment approval. The system has an imaging feature that will allow the City to attach an invoice copy to a payment so that personnel may view the invoice copy from their computer terminal. Departments will be able to input time sheets directly into the system from their computer station. The purchasing module will allow the City to track purchases using commodity codes that will allow the City to take advantage of volume discounts and pro- vide a ready list of vendors by searching com- modity types. An automated work order sys- tem will eliminate the need for manual work orders and will allow better communication between the departments involved. This can be used for utility customers work orders as Citizens Police Academy he Euless Police Department is accepting applications for the Citizens Police Academy. The Academy allows citizens to have a first-hand opportunity to learn more about the Police Department and their neighbor- hood officers. Close interaction with police officers in the classroom, riding along on rou- tine patrols and learning how citizens are an active part of the police department are a few opportunities that former Citizen Police Academy graduates enjoyed during their training. "The Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association is a vital extension of the Euless Police Department," said Sgt. Ron Williamson. "Their continued support and assistance brings our department clos- er to the needs and desires of our residents." The ECPAAA has a Citizens On Patrol program that helps police officers insure prop- er markings on handicapped parking spaces, monitor homes of people who are away for an extended time period, and patrol certain areas as in-house work orders. A central land management feature is expected to allow departments to view all data relating to any parcel of land within the City from one location. This would include information contained in the utility billing system, the court system, the code enforce- ment system or the building permit system. The building permit system offers a unique feature, which will allow developers to call 24 hours per day to schedule inspections or receive inspection results. "Through this transition process, we have quickly realized how beneficial this system is for the city's long term use," said Loretta Getchell, Finance Director. For additional information, call the Finance Department at 685-1826. police are closely watching. Through the CPA and COPS programs, Euless Police Department has been able to make a positive partnership with the community so they can work together to make Euless an even safer place to live. The Euless Police Department has graduated nine classes since the inception of page 6 along with a Youth Police Academy. The Academy is open to all Euless residents and business owners. It is a twelve week course that is generally held from 7:00-10:00 p.m. on a weekday night (the day and time is subject to change with each class). Classes are held at the Euless Police Department, 205 N. Ector. To register for the next Citizens Police Academy class, call Sgt. Ron Williamson at 685-1563. cricks for Bronze he Euless Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association is selling monogrammed bricks, which will be placed around the new Police and Courts facility, to raise funding to pur- chase a bronze statue. The statue will be located in the courtyard of the new Police and Courts facility (opening 2001), being built on Highway 10 on the previous Western Hills Inn site. This inexpensive way of supporting the Euless Police Department will provide not only an everlasting monogrammed brick of your family name or business, but it will also bring a special distinction to the City of Euless. Please fill out the information listed below and order your monogrammed brick today. TUE PRICES 01 TUE BRICKS ARE AS FOLLOWS: Individual Brick (one name onlu) $25.00 each Iamilu Brick $50.00 each Corporate Brick $100.00 each You will receive a confirmation letter along with a tax-deductible receipt upon verification of order form. To order a monogrammed brick, please fill out the following information: (PLEASE PRINT) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The monogrammed brick measures 75/8"x 3 5/8 "x 21 /4"and is available in two letter ; sizes. Please indicate which letter size you prefer. 3/4" lettering allows for a lines per brick with up to 14 letters, including spaces per line. 5/8" lettering allows for 4 lines per brick with up to 16 letters, including spaces per line. Name Address Phone Line ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ J ❑ ❑❑❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ' Line ❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑ Line ❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑❑ Line 4 ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ ❑ Please mail this form along with your payment to: ECPAAA P.O. Box 926 Euless, TX 76039 ATTN: Brick Fund Raiser Make Check Payable to: ECPAAA. For additional information, call 685-1563. ; O(TOBIP 6 Educational Town Hall meeting on Motor Vehicle Rental Tax election, 10:00 a.m., Euless Public Library 11 Educational Town Hall meeting on Motor Vehicle Rental Tax election, 10:00 a.m., Euless Public Library 12 City Council meeting, Municipal Complex, 201 N. Ector Bldg. B, 7:00 p.m. 14 Educational Town Hall meeting on Motor Vehicle Rental Tax election, 5:30 p.m., Euless Public Library 16 Teen Point Program, Euless Public Library, 201 N. Ector 18-22Early Voting for Motor Vehicle Rental Tax, Euless Public Library, 8:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. 23Early Voting for Motor Vehicle Rental Tax, Euless Public Library, 7:00 a.m — 7:00 p.m. MISSION STATIAINT THE MISSION OF THE CITY OF EULESS IS: To provide citizens the most efficient services possible that protect and enhance quality of life, through planning and visionary leadership. T H EMC I T Y O F SS Mayor's Newsletter is WA printed on recycled paper. 24 Early Voting for Motor Vehicle Rental Tax, Euless Public Library, 11:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. 25-26Early Voting for Motor Vehicle Rental Tax, Euless Public Library, 8:00 a.m. — 5:00 p.m. 26 City Council meeting, Municipal Complex, 201 N. Ector Bldg. B, 7:00 p.m. 2 7- 29 Early Voting for Motor' Rental Tax, Euless Public Library, 7:00 a.m. —7:00 p.m. 30 Family Fall Costume Party, Midway Rec. Center, 7-9 p.m. (685-1666) Euless Library Foundation Gala, Texas Star Conference Centre, 6:30 p.m. MOVIABIP 2 Motor Vehicle Rental Tax Election, 7:00 a.m. — 7:00 p.m., Euless Public Library and Bear Creek Elementary 5 Tish Hinojosa concert, Texas Star Conference Centre, 8:00 p.m. 9 City Council meeting, Municipal Complex, 201 N. Ector Bldg. B, 7:00 p.m. 15 Boards and Commission Appreciation Dinner, Texas Star Conference Centre, 6:30 p.m. Magor Mary Lib Saleh (ouncilpersons Carl Tyson Leon HoSS Bobby Baker Charlie Miller Mayor ProTem Glenn Porterfield Katie Edwards 19 Austin Lounge Lizards concert, Texas Star Conference Centre, 8:00 p.m. City Council meeting, Municipal Complex, 23 201 N. Ector Bldg. B, 7:00 p.m 25-26Municipal Complex closed, Thanksgiving holiday DECEMBER Holiday in the Library, Euless Public Library, ( 7:00 p.m. 8Christmas Puppet Show, Euless Public Library, 10 a.m. & 3:30 p.m. 11 Parade of Lights, begins on Main Street, 6:00 p.m. (685-1666) 14 City Council meeting, Municipal Complex, 201 N. Ector Bldg. B, 7:00 p.m 25 Municipal Complex closed, Christmas Holiday 31 Trout Fishing in America concert, Kids Show at 2:00 p.m.; Millennium Countdown Show at 10:00 p.m.; Texas Star Conference Centre, Tickets on sale Nov. 1(685-1666) (itg Mdmer Joe HenniS Deputu (itg Manager Gary McKamie (ommunicdtions/ Marketing Amur/ Feature Article Editor Jenny Kratz The Mayor's Newsletter is a quarterly publication of the City of Euless. If you have any comments or suSSestions, please call 685-1821 or write to: 201 North Ector Drive POSTAL CUSTOMER Euless, Texas, 76039. 201 North Ector Drive, Euless, Texas 76039 817/685-1821 BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT #28 EULESS, TEXAS