Highland Village approves more homes in Ladera

A new senior development will have two more homes than originally planned.

At their June 13 meeting, the Highland Village City Council approved an amendment to the Ladera Highland Village development increasing the units from 100 to 102.

The development, located on the east side of Chinn Chapel Road, south of the railroad tracks and directly north of Chapel Hill Estates, was approved in July 2016.

Ladera Highland Village will be an age restricted, maintenance free, gated residential community with amenities such as walking trails, community pool, gazebos and pavilions, sports court, parks, and open space.

Council received an update from Representative Ron Simmons on the 85th Legislative Session and the upcoming Special Session.

City Council expressed their concern on the revenue cap bill for city and county entities, excluding school districts. Highland Village has proposed legislators consider a four year average of revenues to more accurately identify a trend of increased values rather than a single year or two year spike.

The proposed annual revenue cap will jeopardize public safety services and significantly impact the City’s ability to provide basic essential services, city officials said. In return, residents would see only a small savings on their property taxes.

Highland Village is nearly built out with no potential for expansion of city limits to develop new revenue streams. As a primarily residential community, 68% of the city’s budget is derived from property tax. A state-wide regulation is not suited to address the diverse makeup of cities in Texas, in other words one size does not fit all. Accountability at the local level will best address the balance of desired services and related costs. Highland Village residents have expressed satisfaction with the level of service received in relation to the amount of taxes paid.

During the Mayor and Council reports, Mayor Wilcox presented Assistant City Manager Ken Heerman the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its current budget. This award represents a significant achievement by the City and it reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the city had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation designed to assess how well an entity’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communication device. Budget documents must be rated “proficient” in all four categories, and the fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories, to receive the award.

“This is the thirteenth year the city has received this award. I am pleased to present this award to Ken Heerman, Assistant City Manager and to congratulate the entire Finance department, on a job well done,” stated Mayor Charlotte Wilcox.

During the Mayor and Council reports, Council member Barbara Fleming recognized winners of the Highland Village Lions Club Poster contest. The winners, students at Highland Village schools, submitted poster drawings depicting the 30^th Annual Balloon Festival. The festival will take place the weekend of August 18-20 at Unity Park in Highland Village. Event details can be found at lionsballoonfest.com.

The HVTV Update highlighted the opening of Doubletree Ranch Park, informed residents of the Parks and Recreation summer Kids Kamp program, and the upcoming Movies in the Park scheduled for Friday, June 16 at Doubletree Ranch Park where Middle School – The Worst Years of My Life will be featured.

The City Council early work session and regular session is available on HVTV (Spectrum 16; Frontier 43) and via website streaming by searching HVTV. The meetings are also available for on-demand viewing on the city website.