10-24-05 Regular Meeting of Fiscal Affairs Committee Minutes

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taxes at 388 or the rest o - li a he said. The ro ert ta~xem tion alread in ~ f f f, p p y p y place provides a break for seniors on the first $22,500 of valuation. Scott says that exemption saves him $143 each year. City leaders, believing themselves to one day be in line for possible negative financial impact because of fewer tax dollars coming in from seniors, worry that it may affect services to Burleson residents. They also worry that an unfair burden will be passed on to younger families who may have more expenses as they raise children and buy homes. The repeal of the property exemption would have only gone into effect if the senior tax freeze passed in the upcoming election, Mayor Ken Shetter said. Shetter explained that the reason for "rushing" the repeal ordinance was to avoid putting an unfair burden on a future council to remedy the effects of less tax money coming into the city by possibly removing the property exemption later. "We wanted to get an ordinance in place before the voting so that no one feels they got the rug pulled out from under them after the election," Shetter said. Repealing the exemption would not have affected those seniors who are already 65 or older, Scott said. `2'olitically, this was a good move for us,"Scott said. "I just want to encourage people to get out and vote." Early voting starts Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 4 at the Burleson subcourthouse, on Elk Drive across from the high school, and at the community center in Bicentennial Park in Crowley for Burleson residents living in Tarrant County. In other action, the council: F Approved an engineering services contract for the design of several drainage projects on Johnson Avenue and Tarrant Street. The contract is for $274,000 with HDR Engineering Inc. to design a solution to the low-water crossing of Town Creek and Tarrant Street. The project includes reconstruction of the Town Creek culvert under Johnson Avenue, plus drainage system improvements to reduce flooding at the Summercrest and Thomas streets intersection. FAwarded the bid for $100,000 to Joe Bland Construction to relocate the utilities within the state right of way so the Texas Department of Transportation can launch its improvement project after opening bids for that in December on the Interstate 35W and Renfro-to-Alsbury project. The city received four bid proposals, with the top bid exceeding $130,000. Funds to pay for the city's utility moving project are available in the 2005 water and wastewater bond program. F Approved a change order for the Hidden Creek Parkway project concerning a sanitary sewer line that will be installed from the intersection of Royal Oak Lane and Hurst Road to the northeast corner of the Student Discipleship Ministries property. The