Hudson Oaks Boomin' 4th a success

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July 31, 2012

Hudson Oaks Boomin' 4th a success

Brian Smith Weatherford Democrat The Weatherford Democrat Tue Jul 31, 2012, 07:55 AM CDT

WEATHERFORD —

HUDSON OAKS — Council members received a wrapup of the Boomin’ 4th event during Thursday night’s regular council meeting.

City Administrator Sheri Campbell-Husband said based on the amount of parking spaces filled about 6,500 people attended the event, a larger attendance than expected. The city spent $5,914.59, mostly in employee overtime hours, which Campbell-Husband said “was money well spent.” The fireworks portion was underwritten by Atlas Enterprises, which within 24 hours agreed to underwrite the fireworks for the 2013 event.

She said people came from as far away as Irving for the event, which included bands, vendors and a massive fireworks celebration. The responses have been nothing but positive.

She thanked the East Parker County Chamber of Commerce board of directors for their volunteer work, city staff and others for making the event an unmitigated success.

Lisa Flowers with the EPCC said everyone, from her board members to city staff, police and fire officials showed a great deal of professionalism in working together seamlessly. “They all deserve some serious kudos for a job well done, and the cooperation between organizations was great,” Flowers said.

Police Chief Brandon Mayberry said there were no issues and not even an incident reported. He told the council the event was cleared out within 20 to 25 minutes after its conclusion. “Officers have had some practice doing this, which helped, but not with something of this scale,” Mayberry said.

In other news, Assistant City Administrator Pat Lawler said Campbell-Husband had submitted the final 2012-13 fiscal year budget to City Secretary Sheila Elmore Thursday for posting on the city’s website and Facebook page. It will remain there for 30 days for citizen perusal. Citizens are welcome to ask questions about the budget during the 30-day period or at the public hearing, scheduled for Aug. 23.

In the past, council action on the budget had been delayed until the September meeting because of the sales tax numbers being “less stable.” Lawler said the sales tax numbers for 2012-13 should be more stable than in the past. Having the hearing in August allows the council and city staff some breathing room in case something comes out of the public hearing. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

Financial analyst Wade Calhoun said the city’s internal audit was done last week with everything coming out well. In the monthly financial report, general fund revenues and expenditures are where they should be for nine months into the fiscal year. Revenues are at 72 percent with expenditures at 73 percent of budget.

Franchise fees have seen a major increase over what was budgeted. The city budgeted $130,000 for the entire year, and through June 30, already had $141,339. Both license and permit and court fines were down significantly, however. License and permit revenue was at 55 percent of budget, while court fine revenue was at 49 percent of budget, Calhoun said.