CITY & COUNTY
News from San Marcos, Buda, Kyle & Hays County
“IN REFERENCE TO BROKEN WINDOWS THEORY ... THAT IS QUOTE OF NOTE
Council green-lights tra c studies in Kyle
AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Residents of Hays County now have access to a variety of data to help increase knowledge and transparency.
DATA INCLUDES:
Voting centers Edwards Aquifer zones: • transition • recharge • contributing
Hays County boundaries School district boundaries Commissioner precinct boundaries
San Marcos City Council Meets Oct. 18 and Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. at 630 E. Hopkins St., San Marcos 512-393-8000 www.sanmarcostx.gov Kyle City Council Meets Oct. 18 and Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. at 100 W. Center St., Kyle 512-262-1010 • www.cityo yle.com Buda City Council Meets Oct. 11, 18 at 6 p.m. at 405 E. Loop St., Buda 512-312-0084 • www.ci.buda.tx.us Hays County Commissioners Court Meets Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 at 9 a.m. at 111 E. San Antonio St., San Marcos 512-393-2205 • www.co.hays.tx.us MEETINGS WE COVER KYLE The City Council amended its food truck ordinance Sept. 20 as the code in place placed signi cant restrictions on businesses seeking to establish short- or long-term food trucks. Changes include reduced required parking spots, increased exibility and time on where and how long a truck may be parked; an increased number of food trucks allowed in one court; and more robust re code requirements. SAN MARCOS The City Council approved a contract with Electric Cab North America for $500,000 for a microtransit pilot program to shuttle people to and from downtown to outer parking areas, through downtown tax increment reinvestment zone funding. NUMBER TO KNOW was awarded to 16 businesses in Buda Sept. 20 from the Economic Development Corporation as part of its small business program to help new or existing businesses prosper. $85,000 CITY HIGHLIGHTS BUDA The City Council canceled the Nov. 8 races for the at-large Position 1 and single-member District C on Sept. 6 as the incumbents Matt Smith and Terry Cummings, respectively, were set to run unopposed. TOTALLY WRONG. ... WE ARE FOCUSING ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY ON VIOLENT CRIME BECAUSE OUR CRIME RATE INDEX IS SKYROCKETING.” SAN MARCOS CHIEF OF POLICE STAN STANDRIDGE
BY ZARA FLORES
KYLE City Council voted Sept. 6 to conduct tra c studies at the intersections of Bunton Creek Road and Dacy Lane as well as Lehman Road and Bunton Creek following discussions over safety and tra c concerns. The council also directed city sta to present options for purchasing up to four temporary tra c lights that can be used at the intersections and throughout the city. Council Member Daniela Parsley brought the item up as residents face long wait times to navigate tra c in the area, she said. Council Member Michael Tobias chimed in and said there has been some relief when Kyle Police Department o cers physically direct tra c in the area; though, those resources could be better used elsewhere, he added. Tobias also added it is a safety hazard as emergency vehicles struggle to get through the tra c. City sta are expected to bring back options for council regarding temporary tra c lights. Acting City Manager Jerry Hendrix said it costs around $11,000 per month to rent or around $150,000 to purchase.
SOURCE: HAYS COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
Data portal set to increase accessibility in Hays County
BY ZARA FLORES
or citizens can go to download or view data as it relates to them in an authoritative way.” The bene ts of having this data readily available to the general pub- lic, without the need for open records requests, are greater transparency, accessibility and e ciency, according to the presentation. “As we start to expand on our online presence, ... this is going to be a great platform for us to present it in a very transparent way,” Schilly said. “We can facilitate questions and get answers to citizens that they’re looking for.”
San Marcos passes city budget, keeps tax rate same “We’ve been working hard with our stakeholders and county sta to create this central location of all GIS data that the county has said is authoritative data,” GIS Specialist Kellsey Schilly said. “This is a place where external stakeholders HAYS COUNTY The Hays County commissioners received a presen- tation regarding the county’s new geographic information system, or GIS, portal at a meeting Sept. 13. The portal was created by the GIS division under the Hays County Development Services Department.
SAME RATE, HIGHER REVENUE
Taxes from the city’s tax rate will add about $700,000 to the budget for additional public safety positions.
Fiscal year 2022-23 tax rate:
TACKLING TRAFFIC
$0.6030
BY ERIC WEILBACHER
SAN MARCOS City Council held a second public hearing Sept. 20 adopting the city’s scal year 2022-23 budget and tax rate. The budget passed 4-3, with council members Max eld Baker, Alyssa Garza and Saul Gonzales voting against, and represents a 14.5% increase over the FY 2021-22 budget—about $37.7 million—totaling $298,144,470. The budget proposal was weighed against maintaining the tax rate of $0.6030 per $100 valuation or reduc- ing the tax rate. Due to increases in property value, keeping the same tax rate means a 10.5% increase in taxes over the “no-new-revenue” rate of $0.5459. At the rst budget hearing on Sept. 6, council kept the FY 2020- 21 rate of $0.5930 as a oor.
added in proposed revenue to the city’s budget $703,877
Kyle City Council approved trac studies in speci c areas to nd solutions to congestion.
This additional revenue pays for:
2 new police department sta 4 new re department sta
35
SOURCE: CITY OF SAN MARCOS COMMUNITY IMPACT
City sta outlined roughly $700,000 slated for public safety to hire additional o cers in the city’s re and police departments as the di erence between the tax rates. Chief of Police Stan Standridge highlighted several areas where the police department no longer responds, such as child custody calls due to lack of sta . The $0.6030 tax rate passed 5-2.
BUNTON CREEK RD.
N
SOURCE: CITY OF KYLE COMMUNITY IMPACT
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SAN MARCOS BUDA KYLE EDITION • OCTOBER 2022
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