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CITY OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING M2007-R-19 CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS I. CALL TO ORDER With
a quorum present Mayor II. PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE Mayor
III. ROLL CALL In
attendance: Raul
G. Mike
Garza, Council
Member, District I Hector
Garcia, Council
Member, District II Johnny
Amaya, Council Member, District IV Johnny
Rendon, Council
Member, District V Gene
Belmares, Mayor
Pro Tem, District VI Juan
Chavez Council
Member, District VII Juan
Ramirez, Council
Member, District VIII Gustavo
Guevara, Jr., Horacio
De Leon, Assistant
City Manager Jesus
Olivares, Assistant
City Manager Raul
Casso, City
Attorney IV. MINUTES
Approval of the minutes of Motion
to approve. Moved: Cm. Amaya Second: Mayor Pro Tempore Belmares For: 8 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 V. COMMUNICATIONS
AND RECOGNITIONS
Recognitions a. Recognition of the Laredo Philharmonic
Orchestra for winning the 2007 American Society of Composers, Authors, and
Publishers (ASCAP) Award for Innovative Program in Brendon Townsend, conductor, said that
the Orchestra is putting National
Stage in the League of American Orchestras.
b. Recognition of September 2007 Employee of the Month. Mayor and City Council publicly
recognized phenomenal job in demonstrating customer
service.
Communiqués a. A special announcement by John Beckelhymer,
President of the Laredo Bucks regarding upcoming hockey season. John Beckelhymer, Manager of the He added that they have taken ten of
their home games and made them event nights.
The intermission will be filled with top
quality entertainment from around the country or participants from the audience will walk
away with $5,000 every other game. On
top of that, he said that perfect attendance
fans will qualify for a trip to four for Cabos San Lucas in a
private jet. b. Presentation by Webb County Appraisal
District on the re-evaluation criteria. Webb County Appraisal
District Presentation on One Year versus Three
Year Appraisal Plan o
Webb County Appraisal
District Background o
Law Requirements: o
Appraisal Plan requirements as per Section 6.05 (i) of
Texas Property Tax Code
(TPTC) o
Appraisal Plan must meet the requirements of Section
25.18 of TPTC o
o
District’s Appraisal
Plan (Background) o
One Year Plan versus
Three Year Plan o
Conclusion Webb
County Appraisal District Background Appraisal Districts were created by the
66yh Legislative Session in 1979 Legislative Session in 1979 o
Political Subdivision
of the State o
Governed by six
directors representing the taxing entities the District serves o
Responsible to locate,
list and appraise property within the county o
Responsible to provide
a single appraisal for each property o
Valuation should
represent 100% of market value Additional responsibilities include, but
are not limited to: o
Recording property
configuration changes o
Ownership changes o
Administer state and
local exemptions o
Maintain ownership maps o
Provide appraisal roll
information to the taxing entities and the Property Tax Division of the
Comptroller’s office. Appraisal
Plan Requirements as per Section 6.05 (i) 79th Legislature established
Section 6.05 (i) of TPTC, which requires Appraisal District to develop biennially a written plan for
periodic reappraisal of all property within Webb County. Appraisal
Plan Requirements as per Section 6.05 (i) 1.
Written appraisal plan must meet the requirement of Section 25.18 of
TPTC 2.
Hold a public hearing on the appraisal plan 3.
Approve the plan by resolution 4.
Submit copies of the approved plan to each taxing entity, and the
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Appraisal
Plan Requirements as per Section 25.18 At least once every three years: 1.
Identify property to be appraised through physical inspections 2.
identify relevant characteristics of each appraisal record
(account) 3.
Define market area in the District 4.
Identify property characteristics that affect property value in each
market area Appraisal
Plan Requirements as per Section 25.18 At least once every three years: 5.
Develop appraisal models 6.
Apply the conclusion reflected on the model Appraisal
Plan Requirements as per Section 25.18 7.
Review appraisal results to determine value Section 5.10 Ratio Studies – The
Comptroller shall conduct an annual review to determine degree of uniformity and the
median level of appraisal within each
category of property Section 5.102 Review of Appraisal Standards – The
comptroller reviews to ensure compliance of appraisal standards, procedures, methodology and
generally accepted appraisal standards and practices. District’s
Appraisal Plan o
On September 112, 2006,
the District presented the 2007 and 2008 biennium reappraisal plan o
Public Hearing was held o
Action was taken by the
Board to approve by resolution the District’s plan o
Copies were provided to
the entities and State Comptrollers office Appraisal
Plan Reappraisal Decision All real property values shall be
established annually All real properties shall be reappraised
at least once every three years All personal property, mineral, utility,
and industrial shall be reappraised annually The
District’s appraisal plan conformed to all requirements set by law. Should the district implement a
one-year or a three- year appraisal plan? 3 Year versus 1 year Plan Value adjustments would reflect a three
year market increase. (The last three
year aggregate residential percentage
increase was 21%) State audits the District annually and
the audit results identify the District’s deficiencies for the year audited. Implementing a three year plan would result
in: The State ratio audits would not be
favorable for two out of three years The State Comptroller would take control
of WCAD operations for non compliance State will adjust value to reflect
market value
Non compliance with Section 23.01 (a) All properties must be appraised
and its market value as of January 1, of each
tax year. Property Values Affected: Mineral Property Personal Property Residential Property Commercial Property Industrial Property Utility Property 3
Year versus 1 Year Plan CAD’s currently practicing a one year
appraisal plan versus three year plan: El Paso CAD – One Year Appraisal Plan Upshur CAD: One Year Other
Factors 2003 – 140,513 2004 – 146,431 2005 – 152,889 2006 – 156,383 2007 – 163,065 WCAD
Parcel Analysis 2003 – 11,101 2004 – 5,918 2005 – 6,458 2006 – 3,494 2007 – 6,682 Taxable
Value Comparison 2000 – 5,737 2001 – 6,487 2002 – 7,301 2003 – 7,630 2004 – 8,718 2005 – 9,659 2006 – 11,947 2007 – 12,287 Overall
Tax Levy Comparison 2000 – 135.53 2001 – 152.78 2002 – 176.12 2003 – 192.64 2004 – 217.51 2005 – 249.26 2006 – 286.07 Ownership Transfer Analysis 2003 – 9,641 2004 – 10,434 2005 – 11,173 2006 – 10,593 2007 – 4,187 Conclusion In a non active market a three year
appraisal plan might be acceptable.
However, in active real estate market, this approach
might prove detrimental to the District’s operation. Based on the data provided, the district
must continue to appraise property on a yearly basis so it can maintain appraisal value
at market and comply with the requirements of the Property Tax Code. On Appraisal Plan. There is a 2007-2008 Reappraisal Plan on
file at the Mayor
Salinas left at Citizen comments Citizens
are required to fill out a witness card and identify themselves at the microphone. Comments
should be relevant to City business and delivered in a professional
manner. No derogatory remarks will be permitted. There is a time limit of three minutes per
speaker. John
Kennedy, General Manager of Dimmit Cm.
Garza congratulated all the departments that worked hard installing the new equipments in the City Council
Chambers. He advised that the information of the Cm.
Garcia thanked City Manager and their staff for being at the LAS Kick Off Luncheon. He
noted that his brother has been afflicted with LAS for three years and it is
very difficult for the
family to see him struggling with the disease that has confined him to a
wheelchair. He thanked Council Member Chavez for suggesting the
installation of a new voting machine
for City Council. Cm.
Landeck expressed his satisfaction with a new direction that Council has
taken regarding the streets that
are having problems when it rains. He said that he feels that the Council is taking the initiative to move
towards permanent solutions instead of the band-aid solution. He encouraged
Council to consider buying the property within the Guatamozin area because the residents are living in a
creek and will be subjected to severe flooding. He continued
to say that he has received a phone call from a paraplegic who lives in the Guatamozin
area. The resident had lost his
belongings in a recent flood and has received a lot of assistance from the community including a van from
an anonymous donor. Cm. Landeck thanked the community for all
of their support to the families that reside in the Guatamozin area. Cm.
Amaya thanked the Parks and Recreation Director, Miguel Pescador, and his
staff for repairing the
Cecilia May Moreno park in an expeditious manner. He announced that he would be scheduling the remaining
of two parks in District IV in the future. Cm.
Rendon mentioned that he is very happy that the south end of the Mayor
Pro Tempore Belmares thanked the Laredo Police Department for arresting the
mail box culprits in Cm.
Chavez welcomed the Mayor of Laredo back to work after a recent hospital
stay. He said that he had approached Council asking the Mayor to
write a letter pertaining to some of the
activities that the railroad is conducing which is endangering the lives of
the residents of of
getting the rail road out of Mayor
Salinas asked for a moment of silence for Pancho Gutierrez, waiter at Danny’s
Restaurant. He congratulated VI. APPOINTMENTS TO
COMMISSIONS, BOARDS AND COMMITTEES a. Appointments to the Ethics Ad Hoc Committee
of: Tomas Izaguirre by Mayor Arnulfo Gonzalez by Council Member Johnny
Amaya.
Motion to approve. Moved:
Cm. Garza Second:
Cm. Amaya For:
7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 b. Appointment by Council Member Johnny Amaya,
of Millie Gaytan, to the Commission for Women. Motion to approve. Moved:
Cm. Garza Second:
Cm. Amaya For:
7 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 VII. GENERAL COUNCIL
DISCUSSIONS AND PRESENTATIONS A. Request by Council Member Mike Garza 1.
Discussion with possible action to authorize the City Manager into
creating an Employee Liaison Committee. Cm. Garza explained that he placed this
on the agenda to create a committee to provide new ideas or suggestions from
employees. He recommended the City Manager to
appoint employees from each department.
Cm. Garza requested having a “boots on
the ground” committee that could share the problems that they may be
encountering in the workforce. |