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Wilson County News • 1012 C St • Floresville • TX • 78114 • Ph: 830-216-4519 • Fax: 830-393-3219 • Email:
Friday, May 24, 2013
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Jim Miller  
Floresville, TX  
September 24, 2012 8:15am
 		 DTR:

You continually make statements (in both English and in Spanish) that I, and other posters to this blog are haters, racist, confused, and do not know what we are talking about. It would appear that when you are unable to discuss or debate the facts or the issues that you resort to calling the discussion racist or hate based.
You claim that you want to talk about the issues. I very much want to discuss the issues, as they are critical to the future of our City. The election on November 6th should be based upon where the candidates stand on the issues and how they plan to deal with them.

Let’s continue the discussion on the facts and the issues that relate to essential City Services (Streets, Water, Sewer, and Public Safety).

STREETS:
Facts:
The City of Floresville collects a ¼% Street Maintenance Sales Tax. This revenue is projected to be nearly $380,000.00 in the coming fiscal year. The best “plan” the City can provide is a priority list.

Issue:
As the voters have approved this Street Maintenance Sales Tax and the revenue can be projected with a reasonable degree of accuracy, why is there not a schedule of these street repairs and improvements?

WATER:
Facts:
“While the water system as a whole is prepared for increased population it is impossible to determine if water pressures will hold and water quality remains consistent as new piping is added. A water motel is essential to effectively plan for water system needs and delivers a return on investment” (Source: “High Priority” recommendation in M&S Engineering Project Number: 11FLORES001). “A major hole within the city’s <sp> current regulations and ordinances is the absence of impact fees and a means to collect them. Impact fees are a well-established and accepted method for cities to generate revenue for new businesses and developers looking to construct in the city charged when hookups are made to the city’s infrastructure.” (Source: “High Priority recommendation in M&S Engineering Project Number: 11FLORES001).

Issue: This is an obvious issue that is not currently being addressed in the FY 2012/2013 Budget much less in any long term planning.

SEWER:
Facts:
“Some master plans reveal a competing list of projects each approximately equal priority which are difficult to set an order of recommendations to. This is not the case with the City of Floresville as one project has emerged above the rest in the course of this evaluation by M&S Engineering. The top priority for Floresville must be beginning the process of upgrading the wastewater treatment plant before potential violations begin to occur.” (Source: M&S Engineering Project Number: 11FLORES001).

The proposed budget for FY12/13 does NOT include any funding for a wastewater treatment plant expansion. (Source: City of Floresville Proposed Budget for FY 12/13).

The dollar figure proposed in the Five Year Capital Improvement plan is only a “guestimate” as the actual cost to upgrade with wastewater treatment plant has yet to be determined. (Source: City Manager’s answer at Public Hearing, September 13, 2012).

The proposed funding source for this wastewater treatment plant expansion is the USDA. (Source: Five Year Capital Improvement Plan)

ISSUE:
The proposed funding source, USDA, does not provide 100% funding of such a project. At best, this is a 20% Grant/80% Loan program. The 80% Loan portion of this “funding” is a low interest 40 Year Loan. Review of the amortization process of the USDA is that the maximum 20% grant is outweighed by the fees and interest over the 40 years. None-the-less, there is NO FUNDING in the proposed budget for this loan! How will this be paid?

PUBLIC SAFETY:
FACTS:
The population of the City of Floresville is expected to increase by as much as 1337 new residents each year beginning in 2013 through 2022 due to the Eagle Ford Shale. (Source: M&S Engineering Project Number: 11FLORES001 and Center for Community and Business Research at UTSA: Economic Impact of the Eagle Ford Shale, February 2011).

There are no increases, other than to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, to the budgets of the Police Department, Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Services in the proposed FY 2012/2013 Budget.

The Five Year Capital Improvement Plan projections for Fire/Police/EMS equipment are unfunded.

ISSUE:
What are the requirements for our Police Department, Fire Department, and Emergency Medical Services to support this population growth? These requirements need to be identified and funding programs developed so that these future needs can be met.

There are many more immediate needs that our City needs to be focused on that include Planning and Zoning, Financial Accountability and Transparency. Should you like to discuss my position on these issues I will be more than glad to go over them with you in detail.

AND, for the record, I know “Airborne Trooper” personally; I have never met “Eric”; and I ALWAYS sign my name. My comments here reflect my beliefs and principles and as such will never be posted anonymously.

Jim Miller,
Citizen, Registered Voter, Business Owner, and
Candidate for City Council, Place #1
830-534-5251

www.jimmillerforfloresville.com

On Facebook: Jim Miller for Floresville
     
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