Greetings from Bartonville!
With this heat, it is hard to believe that fall is quickly approaching. Now that school is back in session for many students, please be mindful of children and school zones.
We are thankful we have had no deaths reported due to COVID-19. We have 23 active cases and 13 recoveries at this reporting. Please continue to be vigilant.
The adoption of the property tax rate and 2020-2021 fiscal budget will take place on Tuesday, September 15th at 7 p.m. We encourage every resident to attend the meeting to learn about and/or comment on the Town’s finances. We are prepared for limited in-person seating as well as virtually. ZOOM meeting details are found on the front page of the agenda packet, which can be downloaded from www.townofbartonville.com. The Town is proposing to maintain the same tax rate as last year, $0.19294 per $100 valuation, one of the lowest tax rates in Denton County.
We always look for opportunities to increase public safety and awareness. As such, on August 18, Town Council approved the Crime Control and Prevention amended budget, which included the lease of Flock Safety equipment. Our Police Department has partnered with Flock Safety to install license plate reading (LPR) cameras throughout Bartonville. With this, we will be able to monitor license plates coming into and out of town. Like many other communities in our area, our officers will be able to correlate vehicles/license plates to crimes. Vehicles are used in approximately 70% of all crimes, and these readers are a proactive crime deterrent tool. This also supports the varied alerts (i.e. Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts, Blue Alerts, etc.) And yes – privacy is key; access to the data is for authorized personnel only.
Thank you for the comments and questions regarding the Furst Ranch development and potential impact with Bartonville’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). Rest assured, we are committed to protecting the interests of our residents, and that is the paramount topic presented when the town is invited to any exploratory conversations. We update our Town website on ANY developments, not just this request, and have included a Frequently Asked Questions guide regarding ETJs.
The Town of Bartonville will be hosting a Shred Day on Saturday, September 19th, 2020 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Bartonville residents are welcome to stop by Town Hall on that day and securely shred any unwanted documents free of charge.
A reminder that Town Hall will be closed Monday, September 7th in observation of the Labor Day holiday. I wish everyone a safe holiday, and please remember that fireworks are only allowed on your property AND only during a posted Denton County Burn Day.
These are still anxious, trying and stressful times for everyone. I wish everyone health, peace and patience.