HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-08-25 Euless Articles USTRIBUTED TO: PAGE ' OILZ
MAYOR CITYCOUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
rUNG McDONALD QCOLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYAcD�MIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
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' BUDGETING
P.ublic earin s set on
Euless ax ra e
,Proposed
■Some council members
believe that the tax rate' Euless proposed budget
could be even lower. p p g
Adopted Proposed Percent
By TERRY LEE GOODRICH 2005-06 budget 2006-07 budget change
STAR TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER 7t'?;$111 $$3.7 mttl Art',
Total t)UCI i? t@Vt?C1i18
..,... �ax,s.« F
' EULESS —The City Coun Total budget expenditures $73.8 million $80.1 million 8.5%
cil has scheduled public hear 'mer f + e=„ z_=. 47 1 „'Z$2
87 milt
ings on a proposed property General fund expenditures $24.7 million $28.6 million 15.7%
tax rate that would be slightly
t lower for Aug.24 and Aug.29 at Proposed new 2006-07 budget Items
3'4 "`u
1r1Txi�riF �-�'^ YC? A.�'b -0' V DA'
City Hall. � $im
The recommended drop 3 public safety dispatchers $144935 .
crttk � :.
would be from 49.18 cents toGaurt iF p :„ ._
48.95cents per$100ofassessed Juvenile case manager $43480
value,but three council mem-
bers voted against the pro- What it means to you
' posed rate, saying it could be
dropped to 47.2131 cents with- The budget is based on a proposed tax rate of 48.95 cents per$100 of assessed
out pedny to 4Z2dverse effects. property value.That's a decrease from the current tax rate of 49.17 cents.The tax bill
for the owner of an average-priced house would be$519.13,up from$509.85 last
Voting against the public- year.The calculations include a 20%homestead exemption.The average value of a
t hearing date were Carl Tyson, house in Euless increased to$132,567 from$129,595 last year.
Charlie Miller and Glenn Por__
terfleld. SOURCE:City of Euless STAR-TELEGRAM
City Manager Joe Hennig
' said the proposed drop would revenue.
be possible mainly because of Anything higher than that
increased revenue from com- If you g0 rate would mean additional re-
' mercial and industrial growth What:Public hearings on serves the city does not need,
and increased sales tax reve- proposed Euless property tax he said.
nue. rate Hennig said the 48.95-cent
He also said the assessed When:7 p.m.Aug.24 and 29 rate is"just a more cautious ap-
' value of rental cars at Dallas/ Where:Euless City Hall,201 N. proach."
Fort Worth Airport, which Ector Drive "You've got to have enough
falls into the city's tax rolls,has SOURCE:City of Euless fund balance if we have a major
increased from last year. The economical downturn"or oth-
' city's proposed budget esti- er crisis,he said. .
mates expenditures of $80.1 taxes with the proposed rate, The proposed budget would
million and revenue of$84 mil- Hennig said. include money for three addi-
lion. The remaining nine would tional firefighters, raising the
' The city's public-hearing pay more taxes for various rea- number to 62; three public-
notice said taxes on the aver- sons, among them buying a safety dispatchers, raising the
age-priced home in Euless, new home or making home im- number to 15;and a court clerk,
now$132,567,would rise from provements,he said.The total raising the number to 10..
an estimated $509.85 a year to assessed value of property in Additionally,the city is pro-
$519.13, which includes a 20 the city went up, according to posing $1.3 million in capital
percent homestead exemption. figures from the Tarrant Ap- expenses, such as park im-
' It did not include special ex- praisal District. provements and fire safety
emptions for people who are 65 But Tyson said an even low- equipment,' Assistant City
or older or disabled. er rate of 47.2131 cents would Manager Loretta Getchell
But a city survey of 100 cover proposed expenditures said.
homeowners showed that 91 of and the traditional 60-day re-
them would see either a de- serve the city sets aside for un- Terry Lee Goodrich,817-685-3812
crease or no change in their expected expenses or loss of tgoodrich@star-telegram.com
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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SENTENCE
Mangets 50 ar r�e s In
2005 murder of wife
`,
■The 46-year-old Euless In the meantime, the chil-
man pleads guilty to killing dren's grandmother called 911
his wife by hitting her in the and sent officers to the apart-
ment to check on her daughter
Omorogieva begged the offi-
By MELISSA SANCHEZ cers to let him die.
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER Officers retrieved another
A Euless man who blud- large kitchen knife within
geoned his wife to death with a Omorogieva's reach and a ISATU JOHNNY:.-
hammer
OHNNY:.-hammer last year was sen smaller knife with blood on,it OMOROGIEVA OMOROGIEVA
tenced Friday to 50 years in on the coffee table.
prison,Officials said. This report includes material from-
Johnny Omorogieva, 46, the Star Telegram archives.
pleaded guilty before a state Melissa Sanchez,817-685-3888
district court judge to the mux- /15ancnez@star-retegram com
der of his 36-year-old wife,Isg
tu.
The victim's sister, Uma
Gallah, read a letter to Omcrj-
ogieva from his two children;
during the sentencing. She
stared at him square in the
eyes, she•said. Both wept, she: .•+
said.
"I talked to him and it made
me feel a lot better," said Gal-
lah,who is now caring for the
children.
Euless police say Omorogie-
va lured his estranged wife to
his apartment Aug. 10, 2005,
under the pretext of buying
school clothes for their daugh-
ter,then bashed his wife in the ,
head 20 times with a hammer.
Their daughter witnessed at
least part of the attack;police
said. .w
When his wife of 14 years lay
still, Omorogieva drove the
child to her grandmother's
home and then returned to the
family's apartment on El Cami-
no Real,police said.
When he returned home,
Johnny Omorogieva stabbed
himself with the butcher knife,
police said.
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
�OUNG McDONALD COLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARRYADnMIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
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Cheuirs & Jenulps
Cheers:To the city of Euless for installing more water
' fountains along the bike trail between McCormick and Bob
Eden parks.It really makes a difference to runners like me
and my father in this heat!
Kathy Krell, Euless
t
1
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
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EULESS
Ci events still raking in reeognition
The city sociation,City Council mem- was named best event/organi-
of Euless bers learned last week. zational newsletter.
may have The Fredericksburg-based The council decided in
discontinued association,which has 350 2005 to cancel Arbor Daze,
its longtime member cities,ranked Euless' held annually for 17 years,
award=win- H Arbor Day PoeTree Contest in because of rising costs and �+
ning Arbor April the best educational financial risks.It attracted
Daze festi- program.Euless'promotional crowds of more than 200,000
val,but its Terry Lee poster for its Christmas Pa- and won four awards from the
other special GOOMCh rade was named best promo- Texas Festivals&Events As-
events and tional poster,and the best sociation in 2004.
promotions event photograph was of Eu- Ter Lee Goodrich covers Euless.
have earned kudos from the less'Easter Egg Scramble.The Terry (817)685-3812
Texas Festivals&Events As- city's Euless Today magazine tgoodrich@star-telegram.com -
J,
1
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MAYOR CITYCOUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
�OUNG McDONALD QCOLLINS
/ BARKER GETCHELL LIBRA.R�YADMIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
DATE DISTRIBUTED O l� r DATE OF ARTICLE /a / NEWSPAPER FWST
' INSIDE THE POLICE SCANNER
Ex-pastor's trial set for «
next month...AW�
STAR-TELEGRAM man at a north Euless-apart- to perform additional sex
EULESS—The trial of a ment where the 21-year-old acts on the man,police have
former Methodist pastor lived with his mother,police said.
'
accused of molesting a 21- said. After the man returned year-old man has been tenta- Investigators said the man home,Finley,69,showed up
tively scheduled for next ,t and Finley met in July 2005 at the man's apartment and
month in at a Euless store where the the man called police,offi-
Fort Worth. man worked. cials said.Officers arrested
p
The Finley befriended the Finley about a block from
public-
man for the next several the apartment.
lewdness : months,police said. Finley remains free on
trial is set ' The pastor was arrested $1,000 bail.
' for Sept.29 in December after the man If convicted of the Class
in County called police to report that A misdemeanor,Finley faces
Criminal za he had been molested. up to a year in jail and a
' Court No. The man went to the $4,000 fine.
I• FINLEY police station,and investiga- Finley,who lives in Eu-
James tors urged him to call Finley less,resigned from the Unit-
Finley,who had been pastor and talk to him about what ed Methodist Church min-
of First United Methodist had happened.Police re- istry.
Church of Euless,is accused corded the conversation, —Domingo Ramirez Jr.
of molesting the"immature" during which Finley offered
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MAYOR CITYCOUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
DATE DISTRIBUTED l S / DATE OF ARTICLE �/a a l �' NEWSPAPER FWST
THE WATCHDOG
o inion by Texan attorney
clarifies disclosure'law
■The law,which took effect Jan.1, requires vendors and public The forms that are filed
officials to disclose potential conflicts of interest. must be made available to the
ave It covers city and-,cdtunty : public'�at government offices
Lieber A tool that helps reveal financial 1 Elected officials, city manag- or, for governments that serve
relationships between public offi-
cials and vendors who do govern- `ers,school board members,su- •
ment business in Texas was rein perintendents and govern-
forced this month. ``went board and commission Disclosure law
Texas Attorney General Greg -members. Transportation, Here are some of the impor-
---- _____ food;'entertainment and lodg- tant points in Texas Attorney
Abbott released an opinion that uig expenses are exempt. General Greg Abbott's opinion
gives public officials more direc- Additionally, the law re- on the new vendor disclosure
tion on how to handle the require- 4 quires all vendors who signed law:
ments of the state's disclosure law, , contracts to do business after x professional services con-
which has met with spotty eompli Jan.l or who want to do busi- tracts,such as no-bid con-
ance since taking effect, on Jan. 1. ness with a government to file tracts with lawyers,financial
conflict-of-interest question- consultants,insurance brokers
The opinion helps spell out exactly naires'detailing family or busi- and engineers,are subject to
who must comply and,in a few cas- disclosure.
es,who is exempted. nets relationships with anyone Besides individual vendors,
Among those who asked Abbott in the government. business partnerships and
to help clarify the law was its'au- The law could ultimately corporations must also file.
thor,state Rep.Beverly Woolley, a shake up the so-called good of a A local government is not
Houston Republican. boy network, in which some required to force vendors to
"The law doesn't say you can't government officials do busi- comply or even notify vendors
tress with their friends, rela- of the requirements.A local
do business with someone, Wool � government can cancel a
k,.tives or even one another.
ley told me in a telephone inter- ".-When I asked Woolley how did tract not fileeith a vendor who
view last week."It just says the re- s110 got her bill passed on votes All vendors must file.a
lationships have to be disclosed. ;.ofl31-0 in the House and 31-0 in disclosure statement even if
"It's designed to give the cite the.Senate, she chuckled and there are no personal relation
zens and taxpayers the informa eplied, ``It may have some ships with government offi-
tion,so they can make the decision thing to do with the position in cials.Local governments must
on whether they want it to happen '�f e House that I hold." post the information on their
�° Web sites if the have them.
or not.If they don't mind that,say,a 6•*-What position?I asked. vendors with they
City Council person has abusi- N-, She,is chairwoman of the
Hess that does business with ;House Calendars Committee. signed before Jan.1 are not
required to file,but any con-
r tli e,city,well,so be it.At least it It schedules every bill that goes tract changes after that are
should be disclosed.That is the to the House floor for.a final subject to disclosure require-
intent." "vote. Without committee ap ments.
The law requires many gov- proval, a legislator can't get a E The law does not apply to
ernment offi- `bill passed. 11' charter schools or regional
cials to re- The disclosure law has con- education service centers.
YM p fused vendors and ' ublic offi- The law applies even'when
ort when p the vendor is related to a local
s the or rela-
Y cials. Although all vendors government official.
tives receive who sign contracts with or ONLINE
gifts or tax- want to do business with a gov-
able income ernment are supposed to file EXCLUSIVE
worth more the disclosure forms, a check To read previous stories or to
than $250 of some municipal Web site contact Dave Lieber,go to '
WOOLLEY from anyone shows that few have done so.
www.star-telegram.com m.com and click.`
who does or on"Columnists."
Only 17 city vendors in Fort
wants to do business with the Worth and three in Arlington large populations,on the Inter- '
government. are listed as having filed, ac-
net.
cording to those cities' Web
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
UNG McDONALD COLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
to
DATE DISTRIBUTED I a Iy/" DATE OF ARTICLE a 106
Q NEWSPAPER FWST
Governments can void any
contract if a vendor or official
required to file did not do so.
' Governments can. also repri-
mand, suspend or terminate
public officials who do not
comply.
Vendors and officials who
don't file could be fined up to
$500,but the law allows a grace
' period for them to avoid prose-
cution if they quickly file after
being told they have not.
The Texas Municipal
' League, which trains officials
and lobbies on behalf of cities,
is holding a full-day workshop
on the new law Monday in Aus-
tin
Woolley said that because of
confusion surrounding the law,
' she expected low compliance
initially. She called the law a
"work in progress"that may be
altered during the 2007legisla-
tive session to address con-
cerns that have arisen,such as
confusion over who has to file
and which volunteer boards
' must comply.But she said she
hopes the law will not be weak-
ened. Enforcement measures
could be added later,but for
' now, taxpayers and reporters
should help police the law,she
said.
She is an adamant believer
' in the need for the law: "We
have seen problems in differ-
ent governmental entities,and
' the more information we can,
give taxpayers and citizens to
make judgments, the more
open our government will be.
' It shouldn't be a problem for
anyone that's not doing any-
thing wrong."
' Dave Lieber'4 Watchdog column appears
Sundays and Fridays.817-685-3830
watchdog@a star-telegramcom
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MAYOR CITYCOUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
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INTERSTATE BATTERIES
• •
Anew.-charge Is in .theai•r - _.. ..
■Interstate Batteries' en- meant to appeal to women r<�
ergized approach is meant and younger buyers,as well as
tc appeal to women and battery users who are increas 'k
younger buyers. ingly more tech-savvy.It's al
so turning heads of prospec-
By ANDREA DARES tive franchise owners. .:
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER " r
The franchisees are going at i�
EULESS — Interstate Bat- bonkers over it," said Mickey .'
teries officials are charged up Elam, company vice press
about a new store plan that dent.
they unveiled last week. The company plans to have
"The store at the southwest 400 locations by 2010,grow- '
corner of Glade Road and Tex- ing through new franchisees.
As 121 is the first in Texas to of- Now there are 61 Interstate ' l I a K<=
fer what the company calls an Batteries stores in 26 states. :
k%
,animated experience"of col- .,The new format debuted fl
orful graphics, wood floors, two weeks agoin Des Moines,
flat-panel televisions and Iowa, at a high-performing )
track lighting.Besides batter- store.Terry Schulze, director ` "
ies, the store sells related of operations, said buyers
items such as battery-operat- there are spending more than
ed bicycles,crank emergency the typical$20 to$50. w s
radios,iPod covers and jump "We have two weeks of da °Y
F
er cables. ta,ex but has,without a doubt, STAR-TELEGRAM/LAURIE L.WARD
Rick McClure shows fellow Interstate Batteries employee Stephen
The new store is a dramatic exceeded our expectations,"
change from its predecessor, he said. 'peck an electric bicycle at the store's reopening Thursday in Euless.
Which displayed batteries and Americans spent $11.1 bit guarantee that it can supply teries changed (in a guaran-
a few accessories on spare, lion on batteries last year,ac- all batteries to all devices and teed 15 minutes).
white shelving. cording to market researcher an emphasis on customer ser- "You hear about extreme
.. The finishing touches'on Freedonia Group. Dallas- vice. The new store, for in- sports,"Schulze said."This is
the. 1,600-square-foot outlet based Interstate Batteries also stance, has a massage chair extreme customer service."
were added last week. wants to take a large bite of 'that customers can use while Andrea Jares,817-548-5522
The energized approach is that growing market with a they're getting their car bat- mares@star-tetegram.com
:I
r
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
�OUNG McDONALD QCOLLINS BRKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
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EULESS
411
MID
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STAR-TEL EGRAM1VL.GRAY
Jeff Benezue,a D/FW Airport firefighter and paramedic,watches from a distance as a fire is extinguished at the Collins Park at Bear
' Creek complex in Euless.No residents were injured,but a firefighter was taken to a hospital with heat exhaustion,a fire official says.
re an aredis a
ce
a� er -a arm a ar Men re
■A resident told investigators that at Bear Creek apartments along Texas "It was hard to get equipment back
a candle fell over and caught a 360, south of Mid-Cities Boulevard, there, and we could only attack from
mattress on fire,a fire official says. Assistant Fire Chief Robert Isbell said. the one side,"Isbell said.
It took 50 firefighters to get the fire The fire appears to have spread
By MARK AGEE under control, Isbell said. No resi- quickly from a breezeway on the third
STARTELEGRAM STAFF WRITER dents were injured,but one firefighter floor through the attic,Isbell said.
EULESS — An accidental fire de- was taken to a hospital with heat ex- A third-floor resident told investi-
' stroyed a 24-unit apartment building haustion,he said. gators that a candle fell over and
in Euless on Sunday evening, author- Crews of firefighters were rotated caught a mattress on fire, Isbell said.
ities said. in and out to try to combat the heat. The resident said the mattress was
More than 40 people lost their They were also slowed by the location dragged out of the apartment into the
homes in the three-alarm blaze,which of the building,No.6,in the back of the breezeway, and the fire spread from
started about 6 p.m.at the Collins Park apartment complex.
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMIN` LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
DATE DISTRIBUTED g I a s/a k DATE OF ARTICLE I l / NEWSPAPER FWST
there.
A group of residents.from Apartment fire
the building gathered at,the
complex's entrance to meet
with friends and family. The
Red Cross was helping them .
find a place to stay the night.
They said the fire spread a e DIFE�
quickly. One man fled with- .' ovd.
out a shirt and had to wear title
one from a neighbor.
Christine Bensen,33,lives IST
in building 7,but her parents.
lived in G.When they saw the
flames,they went from apart M pgmd
60
"It was hard to get rte U
equipment back there, ,83
and we could only
B
STAR-TELEGRAM/JIM ATHERTON
attack from...one side."
Assistant Fire Chief Robert;
Isbell,on the fire's location
meet to 'apartment - with.
Bensen's son, 1-year-old'
Ryan, in tow — banging on. .W
doors,telling their neighbors:
to get out. She had burns on
the back of her neck from fall-
ing embers.
"We had gotten half the
people out before the smoke
detectors went off," Bensen
said.Ryan was all right but"a
little shaken up from hearing
his mom scream her head
off,"she said.
Division Chief and Fire
Marshal,Paul Smith said that:
because the fire spread:
through the breezeway and
attic, it may have bypassed
smoke detectors until it was
already roaring. New apart-
ment buildings are now re=
quired to have smoke detec-
tors and sprinklers in their at-
tics,he said.
Mark Agee,817-685-3821 ,
rmagee@star-telegram tom
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
rUNG McDONALD COLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARRYADMIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
DATEDISTRIBUTED /C'� DATEOFARTICLE J /`�` NEWSPAPER FWST
NORTREAST TARRANT BRIEFS
Cost of bless blaze EULESS
' totals $1.5 million
EULESS—A fire that de- BLAZE DESTROYS
stayed an apartment building- 24 APARTMENTS
Sunday evening caused about -
$1,.5 million in damage,a fire
marshal said Monday.No resi-
dents were injured,but a
Grapevine firefighter was hos-
pitalized for heat exhaustion,
authorities said.A candle that
fell on a mattress started the
blaze about 6 p.m.Sunday at
the Collins Park at Bear Creek
apartments,2001 N.Texas 360,
' authorities said.A resident
dragged the mattress out of
the apartment into a breeze-
way,where the fire spread,
authorities said.FirefightersF
from five cities and Dallas/Fort
Worth Airport fought the fire.. STAR-TELEGRAM/KELLEY CHINN
for several hours before it' was Euless Fire Lt.Jerry extinguished.The fire destroy- Sutton helps a resident at
ed 24 apartments.About 40 Collins Park at Bear Creek
residents were living in the apartments retrieve
building at the time of the belongings Monday after a.
' blaze,authorities said.On fire destroyed 24
Monday,apartment officials apartments.
were attempting to help them
relocate.
' -Domingo Ramirez Jr.
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MAYOR CITYCOUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMIN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
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NORTHEAST & REGION BRIEFS .
Fears of gas leak lead
to schools evacuation
EULESS—Students and staff
at South Euless Elementary
School were evacuated for 75
minutes Tuesday morning after a
staff member reported the odor
of natural gas.Representatives
from Atmos Energy and the
Euless Fire Department were
called about 8:35 a.m.They In-
vestigated and determined that
there was no gas in the building.
Students 'returned to class at
9:50 a.m."At no time were any
students or staff in danger,"
Principal Carma Schellhorn wrote
in a letter to parents."All mea-
sures taken were precautionary."
The gas was turned back on by
the end of the day.
—Katherine Cromer Brock
r
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
tOUNG McDONALD �COLLINS BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMlIlN LIBRARYREF ANIMAL CNTR
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1 EULESS
1 Celestial wonders
1
await sky watehers
' By TERRY LEE GOODRICH' :
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER x p
it � it
EULESS—About the time #
astronaut Neil Armstrong set f
1 foot on the moon in 1969,the
light that we see coming from
the giant sun Arcturus
zoomed into space far faster -
1 than any
Stars Over speeding
bullet —
Euless 186,000
10 9:30 to 10:30, miles per
p.m.Friday second, to
Bob Eden Parkbe exact.
10 901 W.Mid- Thirty-
Cities Blvd. seven
years later, locals who want If skies are clear Friday, tele-"ve1
to see Arcturus and other ce-lestial wonders can do so scopes will focus on Jupiter's
four Galilean moons.
through telescopes .Friday
night at Bob Eden Park dur- "It would take 500,000 years
1 ing Stars Over Euless. They at that same speed to get to
also can look at four of Jupi- Arcturus."
ter's 63 known moons. Galileo discovered the
"The world's best rocket four moons of Jupiter in 1610,
1 goes 10 miles a second,and it he said.
would take it two years to get The city of Euless is spon-'
to Jupiter at that speed,"says Boring the free event and will
Robert Bonadurer,director of douse park lights.
1 the Planetarium at the Uni- In-case of clouds, there
versity of Texas at Arlington. will be a video tour of the sky.
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MAYOR CITY COUNCIL CITYATTORNEY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT
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EULESS
Size of cut In MIXUate debated
BY TERRY LEE GOODRICH
STAR TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER •
EULESS — Several Euless Euless proposed budget
residents at a public hearing
Thursday said that a proposed Adopted Proposed Percent"
drop in the city property tax 2006 budget 2007 budget change
rate is not enough and that the Totaf budget fevenue $767 milllot�.: $83.7 million;; , 5;0
Total budget expenditures $73.8 million $80.1 million 6.3
city will end up with more re- fieneral fund rev2llUC $24,7 fnilllon $ 81 rrjallapnA
serves than it needs.
General fund expenditures $247 million $28.6 million 40
But others among the 50 or general fund re xerves a
so people in the audience Proposed new 2006-07 budget Items
praised the city for a proposed 3 FfreilghterslParamedlk
rate they said would provide a 3public safety dispatchers'----
$144 935
cushion in case of economic Court ClerlC .r'".
turndown or a crisis like 9-11. Juvenile case manager $43,480
The city staff is recom Tarh";, b �' r isAIM
�,, ' �'z' %.'a'.ress $�4tP4W(
mending that the property tax
rate, now 49.17 cents per,$100 What it means to you
evaluation, be dropped to The budget is based on a proposed tax rate of 48.95 cents per$100 of assessed
48.95 cents. property value.That's a decrease from the current tax rate of 49.17 cents.The tax bill i
Three of the seven council for the owner of an average-priced house would be$519.13,up from$509.85 last
members have said the rate year.The calculations include a 20 percent homestead exemption.The average value a
- of a house in Euless increased to$132,567 from$129,595 last year.
could go even lower, to 47.21 f
cents, a rate they said would SOURCE:city of Euless '
leave the city with ample re-, STAR-TELEGRAM
serves, including enough to cause the city anticipates Ray Kunze said the pro-
cover 60 days of standard op- more revenue from commer posed 48.95 rate would be 1
erating costs. cial and industrial growth, "overkill."
A second hearing on the tax sales taxes and rental cars at "We're functioning better
rate will be at 7 p.m.Tuesday at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. than all our sister cities be-
City Hall. The council will If the 48.95-cent rate were cause you manage this city like
vote on the rate Sept.12. adopted,the owner of an aver- a well-oiled machine,"he said. .r
The proposed'2007 budget age-priced home would still Others expressed confi-
calls for $80.1 million in ex- pay more, from $509.85 last' dence in the projections'of city a
penditures.Last year's budget year to $519.13, because as- staffers.
was$73.8 million.The tax rate
sessed values have gone up,ci- Terry Lee Goodrich 817-685 3812
can be lowered,however,be 'ty officials Said. terry@star-telegram.com
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' PROPERTY TAXES
AlcalAT. gimmick at R
We�re shocked — shocked
■Texas property appraisal figures are a lot states,notably.Califorma M
But by naming the task force,Perry can
' more reasonable.-and believable-than appear to be mightily concerned about your
t governor's political rhetoric. taxes—just in advance of the election.
Richard Nixon's detractors dubbed him Never mind that one of the governor's pet
' ricky Dick. We Texans have Tricky Rick. appraisal proposals could,if adopted,actually
Gov.Rick Perry,in his latest poorly dis- result in many Texans paying higher property
ised act of cheappolitical is taxes or seeing local government services
p gimmickry,has I
ed a task force to study Texas'"skyrocket- reduced.Never mind that in many Texas counties—
ing"property appraisals t including fast-growing Tarrant County—
' even though most are not overall increases in appraised values of homes .
skyrocketing. have been very modest this year.
' But Perry doesn't want Perryhas attempted unsuccessfully in re-
the truth getting in the way cent years to get the Legislature to approve
of athird-rate campaign property appraisal caps that would further,
Sf stunt.He's up for re-election restrict the amount that taxes can be in
Nov 7.Polls indicate that i creased b rising valuations.Currently,there's
M many Texans aren't exactly y go
a 10 percent cap on the annual valuation in-
Jack Z. enamored of him,even if he crease allowed for tax purposes.Perry has
Smith is a well-coiffed,hip dude supported lowering the cap to as little as 3
who spouts street language percent.
4I that rhymes with mojo. I That sounds enticing unless you stop to
So Perry is once again trotting out a favor- think`about it.
ipolitical bogeyman,the tax appraisal sys- Ad
tem: option of a markedly lower appraisal cap
' ' -- -
If you think this is all about the governor would be an unfair,foolish move that could
wanting to lower your taxes...well;that result in many Texans actually facing higher
• s tax rates end paying more taxes to local ov-
' exactly what he wants you to think.But it's g
really all about politics and the governor ernments,or seeing services reduced.
wanting to get re-elected. Caps are unfair because they distort the
fundamental principle of uniform appraisal
That's why he has named his new task and' taxation based on fair market value.Cas.
.force,which will begin hearings on Sept.15.It P
will be headed by former state Republican shifi a greater share of the tax burden to the
_many property owners who don't bene
Party Chairman Tom Pauken,who already has . fit from
declared the state's appraisal system"broken the caps,leaving them with potentially higher.
' and badly in need of fixing,"while lamenting a tax bills.
"stealth tax-a hidden tax as a result of rising Because caps reduce tax revenues,imple-
property values." menting them increases the chance that local
It's baloney to say that Texas'appraisal• governments will raise tax rates or cut services
system is"broken."Residential property valu- es to offset the revenue loss.Caps don't re-
ations.have risen considerably in the past . duce the cost of picking up trash or filling
decade,but that merely reflects the fact that potholes by a single penny.
homes are selling for more. Let's look at those"skyrocketing"apprais
' Many new homes have high appraised Val als that Perry is yapping about.
ues because they are much bigger and fancier Tarrant Appraisal District figures show that
than residences built in earlier decades.Texas' the net taxable value of all county property'
' residential valuations are still very low com rose 9.2 percent this year,but 47 percent of
pared to those in other heavily urbanized that increase was from new construction.
Values of previously existing properties rose a
very modest 4.9 percent.
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In fact,58 percent of single-family,homes in
Tarrant County showed no change in ap-
praised value this year.Only 36.5 percent saw
an increase.A scant 5.2 percent-only Ione in
20 homes—increased more than 10 percent in
value.Approximately 5,5 percent declined in
value.
The average appraised value for a home in
Tarrant County is only$136,728—far lower
than many U.S.metropolitan areas.Inboom-
ing Fort Worth,the average home value is only
$108,256,which might buy you a nice outhouse
in Southern California.
"Skyrocketing"appraisals?That's what
Tricky Rick would have you believe. - rr
Jack Z.Smith is a Star-Telegram editorial writer.
817-390-7724 jzsmith@star-telegradi.com
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