City council rescinds motion on tax district

The Clarendon City Council reversed course on a proposed County Assistance District during their regular meeting January 11, voting to rescind its December action on the subject.
Donley County officials have proposed creating four sales tax-funded County Assistance Districts to help fund the sheriff’s department. The plan would ask voters to approve creating one district in each of the cities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick and one in the unincorporated areas of the county.

The city approved a resolution to put the matter before the voters during a December 21 meeting. Two of the five council members were absent from that meeting, and one of the members who voted for the resolution asked that it be reconsidered at the January meeting. All five aldermen were present last week.

Clarendon currently has a two-cent sales tax, the maximum allowed for a Texas city. The county has asked the city to rescind or give up five-eighths of a cent (0.625 cents), which would then be re-directed to a County Assistance District covering Clarendon.

The new district, according to statements made by county officials at the December meeting, would be governed by two city representatives, two county commissioners, and the county judge.

County officials also previously said the district would be capped to only take $165,000 per year and anything above that would be returned to the city.

Discussion at last week’s city meeting centered on doubt about how the proposed district would be governed, how the revenue cap would work, the limitations that would be put on future city councils by the creation of the district and loss of the sales tax revenue, and the benefits of the city continuing to fund the sheriff’s department by contract as it has since 1981.

Two citizens spoke about the proposed district. Roger Estlack said revenue generated by sales taxes in the city limits ought to continue to be governed by the city council as the elected representatives of the citizens of Clarendon, and he encouraged the council to continue to work with the sheriff to fund law enforcement by multi-year contracts.

Former city administrator David Dockery asked the council to consider the limitations that would be placed on his successor, Brian Barboza, and the council going forward by giving up a portion of the sales tax.

Several council members said they did not feel like they had had time to consider all the aspects of the county assistance district at the December meeting, and members also noted that this was the first time they had considered the downsides to giving up a portion of the city’s sales tax to another body.

Mayor Jacob Fangman also addressed the need to keep the city’s options open in the future. He said right now it doesn’t make sense for the city to have its own police department, but he said circumstances may be different at some future date.

Mayor Fangman also discussed pursuing a multi-year contract for law enforcement but wants to consider ending the county’s support of the city-owned Burton Memorial Library and subtracting that amount from the law enforcement contract. The county, he said, could redirect those funds to the sheriff.

The council then unanimously approved a motion to rescind its December action on the proposed district in its entirety.