FATE —
The City of Fate is investigating the possibility of establishing its own police department.
Fate City Council and staff members talked about the police department possibility Monday night while they were discussing a new agreement that calls for the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Office to continue providing law enforcement services for the City of Fate.
The topic was discussed earlier during a city council budget workshop.
According to the agreement approved Monday night by the city council, the sheriff’s office will provide four manned patrol units. The city will pay $383,091 for the period beginning Oct. 1 and ending the following Sept. 30. The city will pay the county four installments of $95,772.75.
City Manager Philip Rodriguez kicked off the discussion, recalling a discussion that occurred during the budget workshop.
He said council members wanted him to keep the cost for the law enforcement agreement “roughly the same as this year.” Rodriguez added that he also recalled that council members wanted him to pursue other cost-savings opportunities if they became available.
In order to find cost-savings, Rodriguez said, the sheriff’s office recommended cutting the number of officers from five to four.
Rodriguez said he and Finance Director Richard Ball have been investigating costs and issues related to establishing a police department.
“Of course, Richard and I have looked at using some of the additional funding that we would normally set aside for this (the contract) to begin putting a law enforcement contingency together to move toward our own law enforcement agency,” Rodriguez said.
“That, I do believe, is a process that would take some time. I can’t say with any certainty how many months that would take, but I do feel confident that if we could get through this fiscal year with this contract, that would give us the time necessary to begin establishing that department in the City of Fate.”
When questioned about the possible police department, Mayor Bill Broderick said he has explained that the city council and staff are involved in a “fact finding” project.
Among other business, the city council and staff again discussed how to deal with an expected funding shortfall during the 2012-13 fiscal year in the utilities fund.
There are three reasons for an expected funding shortfall, according to discussion at a budget workshop on Aug. 6 and the regular meeting Monday night.
On the water side, the city will be paying for new water system infrastructure, including a pump station off Texas 66, and the North Texas Municipal Water District has proposed a 14-percent increase in water charges to the City of Fate.
On the sewer side, Woodcreek subdivision developers will no longer provide a cost-sharing portion of a funding shortfall for wastewater treatment. This will be the first year Woodcreek has not provided the funding.
According to figures presented Monday night, the funding shortfall could be about $300,000. A funding mix using fund balance and revenue from water and sewer rate increases have been proposed to cover the shortfall.
Ball reported that the city had a “really nice” increase in water revenue in July. The city had a six percent increase in water consumption and a 56 percent increase in revenue.
There were two reasons for the revenue increase, Ball said.
One involved some temporary meters for construction companies. They accounted for about $40,000 of additional revenue.
“Those are not revenues we anticipate recurring, but it was a nice bump,” Ball said.
The water rate hike passed earlier this year also contributed to the July revenue total.
Based on the July revenue increase, Rodriguez said, the shortfall could be “a lot less than we anticipated.”
Rodriguez said there still will be a mix using some fund balance and some rate increase, but the amount needed is not expected to be “as steep” as originally expected.
Rates proposed at the Aug. 6 budget workshop called for an increase of $3.13 per month for an average water customer who uses 10,800 gallons and $6.51 per month for an average sewer customer who uses 5,400 gallons per month.
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Fate to consider establishing its own police department
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