VOL 10 No. 39
email: editor@ independent.com
Phone: 281-980-6745 50 cents
www.fbindependent.com ww .fbindependent.com
FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County & Missouri City
K-9 partner Rik sniffs hidden treasure
The Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force, a Houston HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) initiative composed of local agencies, interdicted a large amount of U.S. currency on U.S. 59 south. On Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, a member of the Interdiction Team conducted a traffic stop of a maroon SUV for a traffic violation on U.S. 59 South in Rosenberg Texas. During the road side investigation, the interdiction Officer and his K-9 partner, “RIK,” located $237,576 in U.S. currency concealed inside the vehicle. Ann Marie Alvarado, 37, of Mission, Texas,and her four juvenile children were released at the scene pending investigation on charges of first degree felony money laundering.
Sugar Land City Council split on raising tax rate
By BARBARA FULENWIDER It was a long drawn out agenda item but Sugar Land City Council members finally did approve a tax rate at their Sept. 18 meeting. It took council members three motions and two amendments on different amounts to finally get it passed by a required vote of five yeas. The new tax rate is 31.762 cents , a 1.5 percent increase. The allocation for maintenance and operations (M&O) is $0.17921 and $0.13841 for debt. The finance staff initially proposed a tax rate of $0.32233 plus 3 percent for the 2017 tax year. It was based on the effective tax rate of no new taxes and was proposed because it could totally fund the city’s new budget by raising the same amount of property tax revenue as in the 2016 and 2017 tax years. The reason for that rate, Finance Director Jennifer Brown said, is because tax revenues
have come in 5.3 percent lower than the original budget, 7.4 percent lower than the prior year and 1 percent lower than projections. She told council the budget adopted by council has no new programs or services in it and moves rehabilitation work from the capital improvement program (CIP) into the general fund at a reduced level. The 2017-18 budget includes $2.9 million in reductions and are $655,000 in fixed costs, $561,000 in salary savings and $1.7 million in rehabilitation funding. Brown told council that the tax rate had to be set after the budget is adopted. She said, “We need a 6/10s increase to fund the budget as it was proposed. That is still less than the tax rate we justified in raising to be able to pay for parks.” When the finance director finished with her presentation, Mayor Joe Zimmerman said he is “comfortable that we’ve made
the adjustments we needed to make on this reasonable budget. Sales taxes have fallen.” He then said he wants council to adopt the proposed tax rate of $0.32233, a 3 percent increase because it’s the rate recommended to support the budget. He went on to say that the city was authorized to issue $31 million in park bonds, which was voted on by residents and added three cents more per $100 valuation to their tax rate. “We (council) said we would not increase taxes unless it is absolutely necessary. We need to make up the capacity in the debt service fund that we no longer have,” the mayor said. Brown said if council does not adopt the $0.32233 tax rate there will be a $350,000 impact on capital projects and City Manager Allen Bogard said it would eliminate all pavement reconstruction that’s in the budget. “Those are projects we have
issued debt to do the design on and for the First Colony trail project,” Bogard said. If the $0.32233 tax rate is not adopted, the city manager said he recommends “canceling the design contracts as soon as we can because there’s no reason to believe we would be funding the construction.” The city manager went on to say that Sugar Land has a long history of citizens and city council discussing taxes and especially since the 1990s. “Having a debate about taxes runs real deep in the history and culture of Sugar Land. This goes way, way back – concern about property taxes has always been a great concern for council and residents.” Since the 1990s Sugar Land has been recognized for low taxation, Bogard said. “Since the 2000s we have had additional reductions in the tax rate from 36 cents down to 31. See TAX, Page 3
Missouri City celebrates community unity
FBISD drops tax rate by 2 cents The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees adopted a reduced tax rate of $1.32 during the board meeting on Sept. 18. The rate of $1.32 per $100 valuation marks the first change to the overall tax rate in seven years, and accounts for a Maintenance and Operations rate of $1.06 and $0.26 for Debt Service. Although the Board formally adopted the tax rate Monday, FBISD’s previously-adopted 2017-18 Budget was based on the lower overall tax rate, a reduction made possible by growth in property values and the District’s strong debt management program. “Fort Bend ISD is proud of its active debt management practices, which allowed us to give our constituents tax relief,” said Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees President Kristin Tassin. “This action demonstrates our continuing commitment to our taxpayers, who are partners in our efforts to inspire and equip all students to pursue a future beyond what they can imagine.” Prior to Sept. 18, Fort Bend ISD’s tax rate had remained at $1.34 since the 2010-11 school year, consisting of a $1.04 Maintenance and Operations Tax Rate and a $0.30 Debt Service tax rate. Even with the reduction approved Monday, Fort Bend ISD Chief Financial Officer Steve Bassett acknowledged that due to rising property values, some taxpayers will continue to pay more in taxes. “The two penny drop in the tax rate is a reduction of 1.5 percent,” said Bassett. “Homeowners with property growth higher than 1.5 percent will pay more than last year. However, the District is doing what it can to lower the rate even while we are in the middle of a bond program to address the rapid growth of the District. We are committed to not increasing the tax rate for the duration of the bond program.” At $1.32, Fort Bend ISD’s tax rate continues to be one of the lowest among its surrounding districts. Additionally, Fort Bend ISD continues to receive state recognition for its strong fiscal management. For the sixth consecutive year, Fort Bend ISD has received a Five Star Rating from TX Smart Schools, a state organization that analyzes how well Texas school districts spend resources compared to student achievement. For the 2016-17 school year, Fort Bend ISD has earned a Superior, or A, rating in the Texas Education Agency (TEA) Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST). It is the 15th consecutive Superior rating for FBISD.
Four-time Grammy Award Winner Wayne Toups, left, and Legendary Jazz Saxophonist Kim Waters, above, are set to headline free live performances at Missouri City’s Second Annual Community Night Out. Also playing in the lineup are from bottom left: Kyle Turner, Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws, Coffey Anderson, Karen Briggs and the Conrad Johnson Orchestra. As the area recovers and rebuilds from Hurricane Harvey, Missouri City is finalizing plans to celebrate the unity of its citizens at the Second Annual Community Night Out Weekend festival on Saturday, Oct. 7 and Sunday, Oct. 8 at the City Hall Complex, 1522 Texas Pkwy. In addition to welcoming a lineup of world-renowned musicians, including fourtime Grammy Award Winner Wayne Toups and Jazz Legend Kim Waters, the FREE twoday event will educate and engage residents and visitors through a first-time cultural festival and health fair, food trucks with global fare, music, children’s activities, and outreach initiatives.
“This two-day festival is dedicated to the citizens in recognition of their unwavering commitment to making sure our City is strong and sustainable,” said City Manager Anthony J. Snipes. “Council and staff are very proud to serve this close-knit community that is recognized as one of America’s best and we know that we can count on our residents to weather any storm.” Snipes added that in light of the outpouring of support the City received from citizens and businesses during Harvey, “we are looking forward to saluting them during this special community unity event.” ***
On Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., guests will sway their way through live performances by Waters, and other national and regional artists: Kyle Turner (Jazz), Step Rideau & the Zydeco Outlaws (Zydeco), and Coffey Anderson (Country). Festivities will also include a spectacular laser show, food trucks, bounce houses, a rock climbing wall, face painting, public safety apparatus, event booths and more. Guests are encouraged to arrive early to secure a spot to watch the day’s live entertainment and to bring their own lawn chairs. Then, on Sunday, from 2:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the City will showcase its First Annual
Cultural Festival and Health Fair. Guests will be able to visit with medical professionals from around the region and receive FREE immunizations, and screenings for dental, vision, speech/language, height/ weight, blood pressure, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The inaugural Cultural Festival will provide participants an opportunity to immerse themselves in a global array of food, music and art. Live music entertainment will feature four-time Grammy Award winner Wayne Toups (Zydeco), the Conrad Johnson Orchestra, and Karen Briggs (Jazz).