Morgan Wheatly

By Aman Batheja, Texas Tribune

The oil drilling boom’s impact on Texas coffers continues to outpace officials’ expectations, according to a report released by the Texas comptroller’s office on Thursday.

Comptroller Susan Combs reported that Texas ended the 2012-13 biennium with a $2.6 billion surplus, more than double the $964 million surplus her office projected over the summer. The report also predicts that Texas taxes paid by energy development firms will be at least $2 billion more than earlier projections, resulting in $8 billion in the state’s piggy bank by 2015.

The revisions means that the Rainy Day Fund could be more flush than expected for the 2015 legislative session, even after lawmakers backed measures asking voters to approve tapping the fund’s revenue stream for water and road projects.

Last month, Texas voters approved transferring $2 billion from the Rainy Day Fund to a state water infrastructure bank. Earlier this year, state lawmakers also passed a measure that would require dedicating half of the future tax revenue currently earmarked for the Rainy Day Fund to the state highway fund.

If voters approve a related constitutional amendment in November, the highway fund will receive an extra $1.38 billion in 2015, and the Rainy Day Fund will receive the same amount, according to Combs’ latest estimates.

Under that scenario, the Rainy Day Fund will have a balance of $8.1 billion by the fall of 2015.

Dale Craymer, president of the business-backed Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, said Combs’ projections are still “very conservative” considering the economic activity coming from the oil and gas industry in South and West Texas in recent months.

“Expectations are that we’ll probably be able to do better than these numbers,” Craymer said.

While oil and gas activity has had a significant impact on state revenue, the broader state economy is also doing very well, Combs reported.

“Texas has recovered 100 percent of the jobs lost during the recession and added 597,000 beyond the previous peak in August 2008,” Combs wrote. “The economic forecast underlying this revenue estimate projects Texas will continue adding jobs in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, although not at the pace of 2011, 2012, or 2013.”

AUSTIN – The holidays are a joyous time when loved ones come together to share traditions and to celebrate. But for many families, the holidays can also be a time of stress and frustration, sometimes unintentionally resulting in an increased risk of child abuse and neglect.

“Research tells us that economic and personal stresses are leading contributors to child abuse and neglect,” said Wendell Teltow, Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Texas. “For too many parents, the holidays increase stress levels because of extra demands on their time, money and energy. To minimize the risk of abuse, it’s best to reduce unnecessary stress.”

Prevent Child Abuse Texas offers the following tips to help families enjoy the holidays while keeping tension to a minimum:

1. Establish a budget for holiday spending. Be realistic about what you can afford to spend on gifts, entertainment, decorations for the home, special foods, travel, etc.

2. Hold a family meeting to discuss holiday plans. Ask for ideas from the children for family activities that would appeal to them.

3. Post a calendar of family activities in a place where all family members will see it. Ask each person to remind you of school events, church activities, parties, etc.

4. Remind children that a gift’s importance is not determined by the amount of money spent on it. Handmade gifts and freshly baked cookies are welcome and appreciated by friends and relatives.

5. Have your children make a list of elderly or shut-in neighbors in your area. Plan to share a meal, some of your time, or run errands for these neighbors.

6. Find time to relax and reflect on the simple joys of the holidays. When you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed, take a break to get a better perspective on what needs to be done and what can be done.

7. If you find that it is becoming difficult to avoid being verbally or physically harsh with your children, STOP. Don’t take out your anger on your kids. Instead, try the following: Take a deep breath and count to 20. Phone a friend. Take a walk outside, or use another form of exercise. Laugh. Even a comedy show on television will help relieve stress. Spend one hour doing something you really enjoy.

Prevent Child Abuse Texas is the leading organization working to prevent the abuse and neglect of our state’s children.

Clarendon’s sales tax collections for the calendar year were more than $75,000 higher than 2012, according to information released by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs last week.

City Hall received a December allocation of $32,168.26, which was up 16.97 percent or $4,667.68 compared to last December.

This month’s allocation brings the year-to-date sales tax collections to $411,672.43, which is a 22.54 percent increase over the $335,947.37 the city received in calendar year 2012.

Hedley’s sales tax revenue was also up for the month and the year. The December allocation of $1,296.54 was a 459.48 percent increase over the $231.74 for the same time last year. The city’s total for the year was $7,601.79, an increase of 47.22 percent.

Collections were also up in Howardwick but not nearly as dramatically. The December rebate for the lakeside city was up 3.72 percent to $1,410.50 and the total for 2013 was $17,380.16, an increase of 2.66 percent.

“State sales tax revenue continues to grow at a moderate pace as expected,” Combs said.

“Sales tax collections have increased for 44 consecutive months. Revenue from sectors such as wholesale trade, services industries and restaurants contributed to the most recent increase.”

The sales tax figures in the December allocation represent October sales reported by monthly tax filers.

 Christmas came early for employees of the City of Clarendon last week when the Board of Aldermen approved raises for all personnel.

The board debated the raises at its regular December 10 meeting and were informed that the city had historically given three percent across the board raises on an annual basis but no raises were given in fiscal years 2012 or 2013. Employees also did not get a raise in 2008.

A recommendation for a five percent raise started the discussion, but it became quickly apparent that aldermen wanted to do more for their employees.

“I think it would be fair to pay a wage worth what they work,” said Alderman Will Thompson.

“Compared to what other cities are paying, our guys are working a month for free,” Alderman Larry Jeffers said.

Discussion settled on a raise of seven percent, and the debate then turned to how best to distribute that increase. Alderman Doug Kidd encouraged dividing the money evenly among all employees instead of making raises based on percentage of salary.

“If you’re really wanting to help morale and help the guy at the bottom, this is better for lower paid employees,” Kidd said.

The board approved a motion to give a seven percent across the board raise. Kidd cast the lone dissenting vote, noting that he was not against the raise but just preferred a different method of distributing it.

The raises will cost the city about $27,000 and will come from the money previously budgeted for the city administrator’s salary.

Aldermen also approved a motion to allow the mayor $40 per month for mileage expenses.

The board considered the election of directors to the Donley Appraisal District and voted to give all the city’s votes to Wilma Lindley for that position.

A budget amendment was approved to move $1,000 from the elevator line item to the street department for equipment expenses.