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City looking for alternate water treatment funding

Wed, 04/21/2021 - 5:00 am

Jacksboro officials are looking into other ways to fund a city water plant which is having major issues.

City Manager Mike Smith said the facility was built in the 1950s. The city had asked for a loan from the Texas Water Development Board and made the list of loans to be approved.

The problem is that it’s so far down the list it may be several years before the city sees any money. A group called Capital Development does offer loans at a cheaper rate as well. The plant needs repairs on two clarifiers and a gear box with a new plant costing in the neighborhood of around $12 million.

Smith said the American Rescue Act for cities is expected to get Jacksboro just under $1 million which needs to be spent before Dec. 31, 2024 which would aid in the construction of the planet. Once the bill is passed the feds have 60 days to get the money to the states which then have 30 days to distribute the money to the cities.

Smith said plant construction is something that needs to be done sooner rather than later.

“Any significant growth in the next 5-10 years and the plant would not handle it,” Smith said.

In the meantime, water department officials will prioritize list of repairs that are needed at the current plant.

The city also received a clean opinion for its audit from its auditing firm for the last budget year. Auditor Mike Edgin said the city has about 4.33 months of operating funds in its rainy day fund for which 3-6 months is co, Edgin said.

The city had a positive change in its fund balance. Even with COVID the city had a decent year in sales tax but a down year in municipal court collections, Edgin said.

City Aldermen also approved a small change in the fee scheduled. Smith said a manufactured home fee was charged to move one into the city. The city found out it couldn’t do that because TxDOT was already charging one.

To keep from losing the money, an inspection fee of $50 will be charged before the home is moved into town. Building Inspector Greg Damron said most of the manufactured housing is coming from 50-60 miles away at most.

In a related item, the city has agreed to hire an assistant code enforcement officer. Permit requests have steadily increased over the last three fiscal years. So far in this fiscal year, with the peak still to come, there have been 340 permits. Smith said the assistant would be tried for a period to see if it warranted further consideration.