Troup council OKs proposed budget
BY SUZANNE LOUDAMY Staff writer

With a voice vote, the Troup City Council approved a proposed budget and tax rate schedule during Tuesday night's regular meeting. The proposed budget and tax rate will be a part of public hearings set for Thursday, Aug. 23 and Monday, Aug. 27.

These public hearings are required and the citizens of Troup are urged to attend. The proposed rate will reduce the amount of taxes on the average residence by $13.89 if adopted. See page 4A for more details of the proposed tax rate.

In other business the council approved an interlocal agreement with Smith County for the purposes of connecting to "Smith County Able term." This is judicial management software owned by the county that the Troup Police Department considers an invaluable aid in criminal investigation and information gathering.

Chief Pat Hendrix said he received a verbal commitment from Judge Joel Baker that Troup PD would receive this software at no charge due to the cooperation they show to Smith County Sheriff Department personnel in the Troup facilities.

On some not-so-pleasant terms with the Smith County Commissions Court was the news to the council that the City of Troup would now be responsible for paying a charge of $24,947.72 for dispatching services for 9-1-1. This stems from budget changes by the county in which this fee will now be the responsibility of the individual police and fire departments rather than the cost being cov- ered by the county. Chief Hendrix, City Administrator Russ Obar and Mayor John Whitsell were all on hand to discuss this with the county. It was said that the bill was twice this amount when the county wanted to charge cities by the number of calls received. This figure reflects a formula involving the population number of the city. More talks are to be held in the future before a final amount is settled on.

Council approved a preliminary plat offered by Jo Shaw for the proposed Joey Subdivision unit two. Mrs. Shaw also proposed the voluntary annexation of the parcel on the condition that the City of Troup provide municipal services to the property. This part of the consideration was taken under advisement and may come before the council at a later date after more information is gathered.

Todd Kelly obtained approval from the council on a variance he was seeking concerning property located at the corner of Block 46 Lot 1, the northeast corner of the intersection of West Hollis and South Short streets. Mr. Kelly intends to construct a tri-plex facing Short Street.

Approval was granted for the installation and maintenance of a street light on the corner of Kates and James streets. Obar said there is no cost for the installation and it should cost the city $100 to $200 per year to maintain.

Obar briefed the council with information gained from talks with TxDOT concerning lowering the speed limit coming into town from the north and relocating the NO ENGINE BRAKES sign closer to the city limits sign. According to Obar, TxDOT said they might do a speed study when time would allow and they would consider moving the sign out, again, when time would allow.

Several council members mentioned the work being done by TxDOT to the roads inside the city limits. They were not happy with the quality or the time it was taking for the process to be completed.

Chief Hendrix closed the meeting with a report from his department. The department has hired new officer Lonnie Lucas. He started with Troup PD on July 23. Officer Lucas replaces Officer Edward Brown who left Troup PD to return to the Smith County Sheriff's Department. Hendrix reported stats that included 24 arrests, 125 citations being issued and 98 warnings being given out, bringing a total number of arrests to 117 since Oct. 1, 2006.