County looking at freeze in increases

Local News

Discussion

June 26, 2009

Leslie Gibson The Zope Gazette Fri Jun 26, 2009, 04:52 PM CDT

Flat — that is the word to describe the upcoming 2009-10 budget for Rockwall County.

“I am working closely with the auditor to come up with a first draft,” said County Judge Chris Florance in a Tuesday workshop.

“I am proposing a flat budget.”

He plans to freeze all salaries in the STEP plan and freeze the cost of living increase.

“My objective when I came into office was to bring salaries up to the culture of our demographic to satisfy the demands of many department heads,” he said.

That demographic is between 50,000 and 100,000 county population, he noted.

“The county (offices) have been incredibly receptive to this,” he said.

Thousands of dollars are being saved by department heads, he said.

Concerning the budget, Justice of the Peace David Karr alerted the Herald-Banner to his proposal for budget cuts.

“In order to help during this time of hard times for all, I will be willing for the 2009-10 budget year to give up last year’s raise if you and the commissioners are willing to give up your last year’s raises,” he wrote to Florance.

With that, he noted that, “Cutting any line item would be difficult since I requested County Auditor to raise my postage account.”

Karr noted that Florance later sent an e-mail to everyone on May 26, in which Florance wrote, “I am presently trying to keep our current pay level as a priority.”

After the Tuesday workshop, John Blackwood, county auditor noted that the first draft is due July 1. The certified tax roll is expected July 25.

Text Only

Local News

Water restrictions likely to worsen
This past year was the driest 12-month period in Texas history. Although recent rains and cooler temperatures have offered some temporary relief, water supplies have been down and have not yet been replenished. The drought is predicted to continue through mid-summer. These projections make it critical that the region prepare for water shortages.

February 4, 2012
Mayor gives residents the ‘big vision’ during ‘State of Fate’ meeting
Mayor Bill Broderick’s message to about 70 residents during his annual “State of Fate” town hall meeting this week involved details of a “big vision” and his belief that within three years, they won’t know their town as they know it today.
Midway through his presentation, Broderick provided a summary of planned projects and developments.

February 3, 2012
Deputy saves women in daring rescue
The two young women who are alive today because of the heroic action of Rockwall County Sheriff’s Deputy Keven Rowan were on hand to make a presentation of their own Wednesday during a breakfast meeting of the North Texas Crime Commission.

February 2, 2012
Ratcliffe will not look to continue being mayor of Heath
Heath Mayor John Ratcliffe announced that he will not seek re-election after his fourth term ends in May.

February 1, 2012
Elm Street becomes war zone for movie filming
There were some light moments in the war zone on Royse City’s Elm Street Saturday morning.

January 30, 2012 1 Photo
Court looks at justice integration
The commissioners, after taking a week off from their typical workshop session, came back in force discussing items such as the integration of county justice system software and whether to spend more money on construction at the new courthouse.

January 29, 2012
Hall remarks on president’s address
Congressman Ralph Hall responded this week to the president’s State of the Union address with scorn.
“Tonight, President Obama laid out his blueprint for rebuilding the economy - but unfortunately the current state of our nation is in large part due to his failed economic and over-reaching regulatory policies. The unemployment rate has remained at or above 8 percent for 35 months and our deficits have more than doubled,” he said. “The president’s record speaks for itself, and it has been a failure.”

January 28, 2012
Iconic burgers
There are many things that define Rockwall. The Harbor, the Square and the lake are all icons of this county. On par with the big three is, a burger joint. This may seem shocking to some, but Boots Burgers has been around since 1968 and for 40-plus years people from all over Texas have trekked to the house style restaurant for a classic taste.

January 27, 2012 2 Photos
City of Heath Sanitary Sewer Line Overflow
Heavy rains forced two sanitary sewer overflows in Heath discharging into Lake Ray Hubbard on Jan. 25.
The overflows were caused by rainwater entering sanitary sewer pipes through cracks in the city’s lines or through cracks in private plumbing lines. The sewer mains are not designed to carry rainwater that overloads the pipe’s capacity to carry wastewater to the treatment plant.

January 26, 2012
Manager arrested for recording changing employee
On Jan. 21, 2012 at approximately 1:44 p.m., The Rockwall Police Department received a call about a possible criminal offense of Improper Visual Recording at PaPa Murphy’s located in the 2400 Block of Ridge Road.

January 25, 2012
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Discussion

County looking at freeze in increases

Will you vote in the County elections?

Site Map

Contact Us