City budget gets 3-2 nod

Local News

September 16, 2009

Spending plan, including 2.5 cent tax increase, must clear final hurdle

Anonymous The Weatherford Democrat Wed Sep 16, 2009, 09:18 AM CDT

Phil Riddle

editor@weatherforddemocrat.com

The battle lines were drawn anew as the proposed budget for the City of Weatherford was approved on first reading by city council members Tuesday night by a scant 3-2 vote.

James Hamilton and Jerry Clinton, both elected to the council in May, stand steadfastly against the spending plan, while Waymon Hamilton, Craig Swancy and Mayor Dennis Hooks all voted for the document.

At issue is a 2.5 cent increase per $100 valuation, which will add up to a $25 boost in annual property taxes for the owner of a $100,000 home in town.

Clinton and Swancy, who have faced off in Council Chambers before, disagreed again Tuesday evening.

Clinton supports delaying the tax increase for a year while looking for other ways to meet the city’s financial obligations. Tops on his list of ways to offset a tax boost is selling city assets. He offered a dire future if the proposed $35 million budget is passed.

“We’ve not only killed the golden goose, we’ve buried it,” he said. “It’ll be a long time before real estate comes back to where it was before we started playing with it. We are playing with the death of Weatherford right here.”

Swancy agreed the current financial climate has made this decision more difficult than usual.

“No one wants to raise taxes, but we have an obligation to pay our debts,” he said. “I’d like to see a way for us to pay our debts without raising taxes.

City Manager Jerry Blaisdell said the issue would come before the council at the next meeting.

James Hamilton agreed with Clinton’s idea to sell off city-owned real estate.

“I think that is something we should be actively looking at,” he said. “I cannot support this (tax increase) and I think it is very important we do not rase taxes at this time. For a variety of reasons.”

Hamilton cited recently-release unemployment figures which showed Weatherford facing an 8-percent-plus jobless rate.

“We are in a world of hurt,” he said. “What that means is the people are in a world of hurt. That doesn’t mean we should hit them again. We should not.”

The final reading and adoption of the city budget is scheduled for Sept. 22.

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