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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 07/19/1978 (3)PRESENT: Mayor Gabe Lozano, Sr. Mayor Pro Tem Bob Gulley Council Members: David Diaz Ruth Gill Joe Holt Tony Juarez, Jr. Edward L. Sample MINUTES CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS RECESSED REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JULY 19, 1978 RECONVENED JULY 26, 1978 2:00 P. M. City Manager R. Marvin Townsend City Attorney J. Bruce Aycock City Secretary Bill G. Read Mayor Gabe Lozano,Sr. reconvened the Regular Council Meeting of July 19, 1978, which had been recessed at 6:32 P.M. on that same date. Motion by Holt that the reconvened Regular Council Meeting be recessed at 2:40 p.m. until after the Regular Council Meeting of July 26, 1978; seconded by Gill; and passed unanimously. Mayor Lozano explained to the audience that the public hearing on the proposed budget for the 1978-79 fiscal year has been closed, but members of the audience will be given an opportunity to speak on the matter after the conclusion of the Regular Council Meeting of July 26, 1978. Mayor Lozano reconvened the Regular Council Meeting of July 19, 1978 at 6:10 p.m., July 26, 1978. Motion by Gill that the original budget as recommended by the City Manager be accepted; seconded by Juarez. Council Member Holt inquired about the tax rate if the original budget recommendation is approved. Mayor Pro Tem Gulley stated that he hoped that the above motion is merely a formality because he assumed none of the Council Members are serious about not decreasing taxes at all. He stated that the Council had previously taken action to reduce the tax rate and expressed the opinion that if the Council rescinds that action, the citizens will lose confidence in the members of the Council. Mr. Gulley pointed out that the Council is not limited to the recommended budget cuts as presented by City Manager Townsend, but should be concerned with the total amount of the budget. He contended that the budget decreases recommended by the Minutes Regular Council Meeting July 19, 1978 (Reconvened July 26, 1978) Page 2 City Manager were designed to attract special interest groups to vocally oppose it. Mayor Pro Tem Gulley indicated that he would recommend approval of the revised budget to be amended at a later date. He also emphasized that the Council's recom- mendation to effectuate a tax decrease was not a reaction to the passage of Proposi- tion 13 in California because the records reflect that he initiated a last year. Mr. Gulley reminded the Council of the burden placed upon since the valuations continue to increase each year, and that if some given the taxpayers, there will be action by some groups to amend the effectuate a tax decrease. Council Member Holt expressed the opinion that if the Council budget of approximately 81.2 million dollars, they would, in fact, be there is no excess in the budget. Mr. Holt continued by stating that tax decrease the taxpayers, relief is not Charter to accepts the implying that he felt that the City government is spending too much money in too many areas, and the should provide some tax relief for the citizens. Council Member Council Member should be explored and Council Sample called for the question on'•the motion. Diaz stated that he felt that other sources of revenue that he would like to offer an amendment to the resolution the Council passed on July 5, 1978. He stated that in view of the number of people who had appeared in opposition to the proposed budget decreases, he felt that some tax relief should be enacted but not as much as originally proposed, which was from 60% to 50% of property valuation. He suggested that the Council decrease the tax rate somewhere between those figures and instruct the staff to prepare a budget accordingly. Mayor Lozano suggested that the budget could be adjusted in other areas than those suggested by the staff. Mayor Pro Tem Gulley suggested that for clarity 100% valuation be used rather than 50% or 60%. Further discussion followed on the different tax rates and the amount of funds that would be realized for the budget. Mayor Pro Tem Gulley called for the question on Council Member Gill's motion to adopt the original budget. The motion failed to pass by the following Minutes Regular Council Meeting July 19, 1978 (Reconvened July 26, 1978) Page 3 vote: Gill and Juarez voting "Aye"; Lozano, Gulley, Diaz, Holt and Sample voting "Nay." Council Member Holt stated that he felt that a 10% tax reduction rather than 16% will provide some tax relief and will not destroy the proposed budget. He suggested that some of the items suggested for elimination from the budget be funded, such as the swimming pools remaining open all year, continuation of the bus routes, and others. He suggested that the Council consider setting the rate at 784 on 100% valuation'and eliminating the priority cuts in the amended budget; remove all expanded programs in the budget; and prepare the budget so that there will be no impact on the CETA employees. He contended that if the Council definitely setsthe tax rate, each department could review their budget requests and recommend where the budget decreases should occur. Council Member Diaz stated that he felt that 80C on 100% valuation would be a more realistic figure so as to retain some of the items that the public seemed to want. Mayor Pro Tem Gulley stated that he felt that the staff could recommend budget decreases in areas other than the ones suggested in the amended budget. He agreed that the tax rate should be set to give the staff a firm figure to work with and recommend different budget cuts. City Manager Townsend contended that the list submitted to decrease the budget in the amount of 3.4 million dollars was the best budget decrease possible in the judgment of the entire staff and the list was not devised to attract groups who would protest. Further discussion followed on the amount of the tax rate. Motion by Diaz that the tax rate be set at 84 per $100 of 100% valuation; seconded by Sample; and passed by the following vote: Lozano, Diaz, Gill, Holt, Juarez and Sample voting "Aye"; Gulley abstaining. City Manager Townsend stated that there seem to be a number of programs that the Council had expressed concern about and suggested that all of the items on the priority list be considered separately so that the staff will have some guidance as to which items should be eliminated from the budget. The Council Minutes Regular Council Meeting July 19, 1978 (Reconvened July 26, 1978) Page 4 indicated their agreement to this suggestion. City Manager Townsend reminded the Council that this meeting should be recessed until a definite time and date until the budget is adopted. Motion by Holt that the Regular Council Meeting of July 19, 1978 be recessed until 2:00 p.m. July 27, 1978; seconded by Sample; and passed unani- mously at 7:00 p.m. July 26, 1978.