Highland Village City Council members approved the final read of the 2016-2017 budget on Tuesday night and stood pat on the tax rate.
The city’s property tax rate has remained unchanged since 2000. Assessed valuations came in at a 4.9% increase, allowing supplemental items to be addressed.
The proposed base General Fund Budget expenditures totaled $15,842,050, just a 0.1% increase from 2015-2016. A Supplemental Budget is also included totaling $482,800, resulting in a total increase of 3.2%.
Initiatives this budget year are focused on public safety, technology, personnel, city facilities and city parks.
In public safety, training and implementation of the Emergency Care Attendant (ECA) program to provide medical emergency response by police officers trained to provide initial emergency aid, the continued development of the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system installed in FY 2016 and new equipment for the Fire Department which provides continuous mechanical compressions on patients requiring CPR.
Technology enhancements are included to replace or update the security camera system in all city facilities and parks, implementation of online permitting, and set up off-site back up of the city network.
In personnel, an adjustment is proposed to address market adjustments, certifications, employee increases and provide a $15 compensation floor.
City Hall will receive exterior and interior repairs and a dry fire suppression system will be installed in the IT equipment room at the Public Works Service Center.
A design for future development of Sunset Point Park is included as well as a hydraulic study of the ponds at Unity Park to determine options for future use and associated maintenance.
During the Mayor and Council comments, a swearing-in ceremony was held for Deputy Chief Travis Nokes. Nokes began with the Highland Village Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter 13 years ago.
“Chief Nokes has spent the past 13 years investing in the development of our department; I am excited to see what he will bring forward,” said Fire Chief Brad Goudie.
Mayor Wilcox and Multimedia Specialist Andrew Boyd were presented the City-County Communications and Marketing Association’s (3CMA) Award of Excellence for the 2015 State of the City video. The video portrays a realtor (Mayor Wilcox) showing Highland Village to a potential new resident. 3CMA is a communications and marketing organization for city and county marketing professionals across the nation.
Also during the Report, the HVTV Update informed residents of the events taking place to benefit the Fallen Officer Fund. Highland Village Restaurant Week will take place October 9-15 with participating restaurants donating a percentage of their sales to the Fund. Raffle tickets are available for purchase and an online auction offers products donated by many local businesses. The Fallen Officers Bike Race and 5K Run scheduled for October 15 and will include a Kids Zone, a Fallen Officer Memorial, live music, and vendor booths. Details can be found at www.TXFallenPD.com. The Update also informed residents of the October 8 Concert in the Park featuring Matt and the Herdsmen Band at Pilot Knoll Park.
The City Council early work session and regular session is available on HVTV (Time Warner 16; Verizon 43) and via the website streaming by clicking HVTV. The meetings are also available for on-demand viewing on the city website.
Information provided by the City of Highland Village.
 GIF.gif)
