Council discusses 2017-2018 city budget

It was during a special called city council meeting/budget meeting last Tuesday evening that the Marlin City Council discussed the upcoming budget in lengthy detail.

They discussed, with the City Manager, Alan Grindstaff, several different key points of interest going into the new fiscal budget year.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the meeting was when Andrew Poe of the Marlin Water Treatment Facility discussed his proposed budget amount with the council.

The proposed amount equaled to be $175,000.00 and would help to not only buy needed equipment for the plant, but would also cover any unforeseen issues that may arise from the decade old plant.

Initially the council was confused as to why Poe would need such a large amount in his new budget.

Because, according to what they had heard the plant was fully operational and working perfectly fine.

Poe explained to the council that the plant is currently operational and putting out perfectly clear and drinkable water.

At that point councilmember Henderson asked about the discoloration of people’s water as it runs out of their faucets at home.

Poe explained to Henderson that the reason for discoloration would most likely be due to the pipes in the cities foundation.

“The water from the plant is as clear as the water in that bottle in front of you, I can’t make it any clearer than that” Poe said to Henderson.

Councilmember Susan Byrd also asked Poe if the $175,000.00 budget would in fact be enough to cover any further issues that may come up with the plant or the equipment.

“Yes that is why I made it $175,000.00 so that it would cover any issues that could come up” Poe replied to Byrd.

It was further explained that the plant is over a decade old and that all of the equipment does have a limited life expectancy shorter than they would like.

They also need several new pieces of equipment that are needed to keep the plant up and running.

Poe also has a much larger goal of transitioning the plant to the type of plant that it was originally intended to be.

To do this they are looking at a possible transition period of about four to five years in which they will be purchasing new equipment during that period of time.

After they have achieved the desired transition, budgets will begin to decrease, as it would just be a matter of properly maintaining the equipment from that point forward.

The council also discussed the proposed water rate increase by Mr. Grindstaff.

Of which after discussing for a few minutes the council almost unanimously agreed that they did not like the proposed increase of 20%.

Mayor Pro-Tem Porter stated that they may have to increase the rate slightly but 20% was just way too much and he did not agree with that proposal at all.

Grindstaff and the council will continue to look at and discuss other options.

The Marlin Democrat

251 Live Oak St
Marlin, TX 76661
Phone: (254) 883-2554
Fax:(254) 883-6553