City Council Briefs
City proposes lower property tax rate Olney residents could see the City’s property tax rate fall by nearly 10 cents under the first draft of the fiscal year 2026-27 budget presented to the City Council on Aug. 10.
City Administrator Andy Wolfe said the draft budget was built using the no-new-revenue rate of $0.765223 per $100 valuation, compared with the current rate of approximately $0.862. The no-new-revenue rate is designed to generate about the same amount of property tax revenue from property taxed in both years.
Olney’s taxable value increased from approximately $161.1 million last year to $176.8 million this year, a rise of about $15.7 million, including new property added to the tax rolls.
The City’s voter-approval rate is $0.902223, while its de minimis rate is $1.074780. The Council could select the no-new-revenue rate or another rate within the legal limits.
The Council is expected to consider a proposed tax rate and revised budget at its next meeting on Aug. 24. The proposed budget then must be filed with the city secretary and made available for public review before final adoption and the required public hearings.
Street funding could nearly double
The preliminary budget would increase the City’s street maintenance allocation from $100,000 in the current fiscal year to $192,000 in fiscal year 2026-27.
Mr. Wolfe said approximately $40,000 remains in the current street budget. He said the City plans to tee up a project before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
Mr. Wolfe and Public Works Director Michael Jacoba recently met with a paving contractor and reviewed several streets. The company is preparing estimates based on square footage and possible repair methods.
The proposed street allocation includes $100,000 transferred from the utility fund. Mr. Wolfe said the transfer is justified because City crews frequently must cut into streets to repair water lines, install taps or work on meters.
Councilmembers said street repairs remain among their highest priorities and discussed making steady, incremental improvements each year.
City weighs $75,000 Lake Olney project Councilmembers are considering setting aside $75,000 to begin rehabilitating the City-owned recreation area at Lake Olney and Lake Cooper.
Mr. Wolfe told the Council that the proposed funding could be used to improve drainage and parking near the boat ramp, install a floating convenience dock for boaters, and begin work on a separate fishing pier. The improvements would encourage anglers not to use the boat dock for fishing once both are installed.
The Council discussed partnering with the Olney Economic Development Corporation and pursuing grants or donations to stretch the City’s contribution to the lake project. Councilmembers discussed concerns about vandalism, illegal dumping, maintenance and law enforcement at the lake, which lies outside Young County.
Councilmember Thea Sullivan questioned whether the money would be better spent on streets. Others said setting aside local funds could demonstrate the City’s commitment when seeking matching grants.
Councilmembers agreed to visit the property and evaluate its condition before deciding whether to include the project in the final budget. No lake funding was approved Aug. 10.
Aging Main Street water line targeted
The proposed utility budget includes $100,000 to begin engineering a replacement for an aging cast-iron water line beneath Main Street near Big Love’s BBQ and Allsup’s.
Mr. Wolfe said the six-inch line is believed to have been installed during the 1950s or 1960s and has experienced repeated breaks. The engineering funding would not pay for construction but would give the City completed plans that could be used to replace the line incrementally, possibly one or two blocks each budget year.
The Council also discussed increasing the line’s diameter to eight inches, particularly if the City places its proposed water treatment plant closer to town.
The draft budget includes an estimated $2.5 million for engineering, possible land acquisition and initial construction connected to the proposed new water treatment plant. The money would come from the approximately $14.5 million in water-system revenue bonds approved in 2022.
Council orders manufactured- home zoning review
The Council asked the Olney Planning and Zoning Board to review the City’s rules governing mobile, manufactured and modular homes and update its decades-old zoning map.
Councilmember Steven Nurre said the City needs clear definitions and designated locations for the different types of housing as new residential development moves forward. He also questioned whether a previously adopted mobile-home moratorium remains in effect.
The discussion revealed that the term “mobile home” generally applies to units built before federal construction standards took effect in 1976. Homes built after that point are typically classified as manufactured housing, potentially limiting the effectiveness of a moratorium that refers only to mobile homes.
Mr. Nurre noted that the City already has scheduled-use provisions identifying where manufactured and modular homes may be placed, but the language and zoning map need review. The current zoning map dates to 1998 and lacks “transparency to local contractors that want to come in” to build homes as part of the city’s two Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones. “If they’re looking at zoning maps and it’s so far out of date, it might give them a red flag,” Mr. Nurre said. “We need to look at our zoning where mobile homes are actually allowed in the city.”
The zoning board will be asked to recommend updated definitions, permissible locations, and a revised map for later consideration by the Council.
Council approves final TIRZ plans The Council approved the final project and financing plan for Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1, the developer-led housing zone involving Olney Development and Tower Extrusions.
The action replaced the preliminary plan previously approved by the Council with the final documents recommended by the TIRZ No. 1 board.
The Council also approved a corrected interlocal agreement with the Olney Hamilton Hospital District. The correction reflects the district’s intended participation at 75 percent, 50 percent and 25 percent of its tax increment during successive 10-year periods. Officials said an earlier document incorrectly showed the district beginning at 100 percent participation.
Mayor Rue Rogers and Councilmember Colson Ballard recused themselves from both votes because they are employed by Tower Extrusions.
Delayed 2023 audit receives clean opinion The Council accepted the City’s fiscal year 2023 audit, which received an unmodified, or clean, opinion from the auditor.
The audit showed the general fund with approximately $586,000 in assets, $781,000 in liabilities and a year-end fund deficit of about $250,000. General- fund revenue totaled nearly $2.7 million, while expenditures were approximately $2.8 million, producing a loss of about $150,000 for the year.
The utility fund reported more than $8 million in net position, and the $14.5 million in revenue bonds earmarked for a new water treatment plant earned approximately $1.6 million during the year. The airport reported about $134,000 in net position and approximately $40,000 in earnings.
Officials attributed some reporting difficulties to earlier accounting practices, a software conversion and the work required to reconstruct records for the former Olney Industrial Development Corporation.
Work is underway on the delayed 2024 audit. Officials said they hope to complete it by the end of this year and bring all City audits current next year.
Police Department earns perfect audit score Olney Police Chief Bryan Barrett reported that the Police Department received a perfect score in a recent audit by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
Chief Barrett said the state agency reviewed the department’s compliance with standards governing police officers, law enforcement agencies, and required conduct.
“We passed 100 percent with flying colors,” Chief Barrett told the Council.
Police Department faces software, dispatch increases The Olney Police Department will receive new records-management software as the City plans to re-focus on municipal court collections and enforcement in the coming fiscal year.
City Administrator Andy Wolfe told the City Council on Aug. 10 that the department expects replace its current CopSync system with eForce, which should improve communications among officers, dispatchers and prosecutors.
The City hopes to split the roughly $80,000 expense between the current and upcoming fiscal years. Young County’s dispatch charge is also expected to rise by about $18,000, bringing the combined impact of the software conversion and dispatch increase to nearly $100,000.
Mr. Wolfe said he expects renewed attention to municipal court fines and enforcement to produce additional revenue.
Public Works budget to include new equipment, mowing contracts The Public Works Department could receive a newer three-quarter-ton pickup to replace a 2012 Dodge Ram with nearly 150,000 miles in the proposed 2026-27 budget. City Administrator Andy Wolfe budgeted $35,000 for a used 2022 truck with about 30,000 miles and another $22,000 for two zero-turn mowers.
Mr. Wolfe proposed spending $41,500 to contract out cemetery mowing during the busiest part of the growing season. He said outsourcing the work would free Public Works employees to handle water leaks and other infrastructure projects without the full expense of hiring additional employees.
He placed another $10,000 in the code-enforcement budget to contract mowing of neglected private properties to protect City employees from liability for entering private property and to remove the expense from the Public Works budget.
The City’s utility fund also would contribute $110,000 to the general fund for portions of salaries paid to employees who perform utility-related duties, including administrative and billing work. All noncontract City employees, including eligible Public Works personnel, would receive a proposed 3-percent cost-of-living raise.