Change was the theme of the day at Friday’s Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon featuring Mayor Stephen Haynes. Haynes talked about the many changes that the City of Brownwood has experienced in the last year as he gave his “State of the City” address to chamber members.
The first and obvious change the mayor spoke about were the political changes the city encountered in 2010 including the election of new city council members and a new mayor. These new officials had to step into the roles played by the previous mayor and councilmen who together had over 90 years of service to Brownwood Haynes said. All members of the current city council are in their first term of office, so the city has seen “some pretty substantial change”.
“It’s really extraordinary that we had that level of experience all stepping down at one time,” stated Haynes. “It’s a great credit that they were able to serve that long.”
In December, the council named city facilities in their honor: The Bert V. Massey II Sports Complex, the Darrell E. Haynes Conference Room (at City Hall), and the Dave Fair Emergency Operating Center.
The next major change Haynes reflected on was Brownwood appointing its first ever police chief. Chief Mike Corley was hired and a new Assistant Chief, James Fuller was named in 2010. Leadership in all areas of the city was replaced Haynes said and they are all performing well.
“In my perspective he is doing a great job,” stated Haynes of Corley. “No matter which side you are on the political aspect of whether you thought it was good to have an elected chief or a hired chief, from my prospective the result of it has been great and Chief Corley has done just a superior job.”
Haynes then turned to the new parks project which was completed in 2010 and included a new sports complex, aquatic center, and senior center. Haynes said that although there was some controversy whether the city could afford to build such an attraction, most have agreed the city needed a better complex. The new Aquatic Center was seen from the perspective of “if you build it they will come” which became a reality. The center had an increase of 800% over the visitors the old Camp Bowie pool experienced in 2009. Over 15,000 visitors came to the Aquatic Center as compared to around 2200 that came to Camp Bowie, and the new Aquatic Center was open just a little over one month.
Also a part of the Parks Project was the new Senior Citizens Center, which has also seen an increase in users with the improvement of facilities. An 80% increase over 2009 numbers was seen in 2010 at the Senior Center Haynes said.
Haynes also praised Brownwood’s first ever participation in National Night Out in October 2010. He told how National Night Out helped create awareness about establishing a unity in the community, to watch out for each other, and how citizens can help keep our community safe. Brownwood was awarded Rookie of the Year for their first National Night Out event.
“It takes people saying you aren’t going to do that in my neighborhood and I’m not going to put up with it,” stated Haynes. “That is what National Night Out is all about, it helps foster that sense of us helping and protecting each other.
Haynes also applauded the newly adopted P.A. S.S. Program, a joint effort between the Brownwood Independent School District and the City of Brownwood to clean up some areas around schools. This program was created by Emily Crawford of BISD and Kevin Pate, with the City of Brownwood.
The mayor then discussed the city budget which has been cut by $753,000 along with the refinancing of bond money allowing the city to free up $600,000 of reserves to be utilized during the year to balance the budget.
“It’s lean and mean,” stated Haynes. “There’s not much more that can be cut. We are absolutely hopeful for economic recovery.”
Because there are no more bonds to refinance, Haynes noted that the city needs to see revenues increase by $600,000 to be able to present even the same budget for next year. The good news Haynes presented was that sales tax revenues were up 5% in2010 with 4 straight months of gains in this revenue. January sales tax allocations were up about 12%.
From a tax/debt burden comparison, Brownwood is about average to comparable cities such as Cleburne, Early, Weatherford, San Angelo, Abilene, Belton, Stephenville, Big Spring, Mineral Wells, Sweetwater and Andrews. Although tax rates are high, tax values are low as compared to other cities, which makes Brownwood average in this comparison. The debt burden as compared to other cities is also average.
Looking to the future, Haynes spoke of actions the city must take in 2011.
Keeping consumers shopping locally and recruiting new businesses to help increase sales tax revenue is a goal for 2011 Haynes said. The newly formed Retail Advisory Committee is working to recruit retailers which will ultimately bring in more tax revenue for the city.
The city is also developing its 20-year comprehensive plan with the help of Texas A&M University.
Haynes concluded his presentation stating that for this year, lobbying to keep state jobs in Brownwood despite the state budget deficits will be vital.
“We are very, very fortunate to have those, there are not many communities our size that have the number of state offices we have,” stated Haynes. “But, in a budget cycle like this, we are going to find it hard to keep because everybody is going to see cuts.”
See the video clip below of Mayor Stephen Haynes presentation outlining what he sees coming in 2011.
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