Recent News | City of Blanco

Mayor Update: CLFRF, Water, Utilities, and Budget

10/4/2021

By: Mayor Rachel Lumpee

CLFRF

The City’s request for assistance for award of the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CLFRF) has been approved. Our City Administrator worked hard on this grant for us and it paid off! The City was awarded $256,582.35 and will be receiving roughly $250,000 more later. The Council has not decided on how the funds will be spent yet. The Federal Register Guidelines state the following regarding usage: “Sections 602(c) and 603 (c)(1)(C) of the Act provide recipients with broad latitude to use the fiscal recovery funds for the provisions of government services. Government services can include, but are not limited to, maintenance or pay-go funded building of infrastructure, including roads; modernization of cybersecurity, including hardware, software, and protection of critical infrastructure; health services; environmental remediation; school or educational services; environmental remediation; school or educational services; and the provision of police, fire, and other public safety services.”

Water

I know 2021 has been one heck of a year so far especially regarding the City’s water supply. The City’s water treatment plant went offline in Jan. 2021 and depending 100 percent on Canyon Lake Water Supply Company (CLWSC) has been a challenge. Like many projects, there have been a few unforeseen situations that have caused delays such as COVID-19, Winter Storm Uri, purchasing a new clarifier, etc. Once our water plant is operational again, we do not expect major incidents to occur. The plant is scheduled to be completed in July 2022 and then CLWSC will be used as a backup source only. The City Council is also looking into investing in longer term solutions like additional storage tanks. I am so appreciative of our citizens corporation; I know the situation was less than ideal, but we all pulled together once again to make the best out of the unfortunate situation. I’m so proud and honored to serve our wonderful community.

Utilities Reminders

The City of Blanco has a contract with Progressive Waste Collection to help with the trash services. Citizens are provided one tote at their residency. This trash tote should stay at that location meaning if you move down the street to a new address, there will be a tote there for you. Remember that utility bills are always due on the tenth of the month. If you forget to pay, there will be a late fine. Water cut-offs occur on the twenty-first of the month, so make sure to pay your bill prior to that date. Bills can be paid online at https://www.paymentservicenetwork.com/Login.aspx?acc=RT24592 or in-person at City Hall, 300 Pecan St. (open Mon.-Fri. 8-5). Beginning on Oct. 1, 2021, Payment Service Network (PSN) will begin implementing a transaction fee price increase; in the past, PSN has absorbed all price increases, however, to continue to improve their service, offer new features, keep pace with evolving industry regulations and escalating security threats, a price increase is necessary.

Budget

On Sept. 21, 2021, the Blanco City Council unanimously approved the budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-2022. In previous years, the City had not been following the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) practices to do budgets and accounting which made the budget process a challenge this year. Our City Finance Director worked very hard wading through invoices, records, and other documents to give us the best numbers. Below are a few highlights from the passed budget; the full budget can be found on the City’s website. The City’s FY will begin on October 1, 2021 and ends on Sept. 30, 2022. We are so thankful for all the hard work the City Staff did to help us pass a balanced budget.

Adopted Tax Rate: 0.3503 (This tax rate was also adopted during FY 2020-21)

Maintenance & Operating (M&O) tax rate: 0.1430

Interest & Sinking (I&S) tax rate 0.2073

Projected revenues:

General Fund: $2,732,345

Enterprise Fund: $2,484,728