The actual numbers are still under consideration, but it’s a foregone conclusion the City of Gladewater’s fees will be increasing this Fall – city leaders aren’t happy about it either.
“Trust me, if there was any way not to, we wouldn’t,” Mayor Brandy Flanagan said. “We’ve tried as long as we could not to go up on them. “We’re just at that point that we have to get to industry standard on those things. The cost of everything has just went up.”
With so many fees being impacted, there’s no simple multiplier or percentage that applies across the board. Administrative charges (i.e. copies) will increase along with the solid waste schedule of fees. Building permits and inspection fees will increase along with lake charges, water rates and more.
Council members discussed the extensive rundown of fee increases during a special session last week. No action was taken Aug. 26 – the revised fee schedule will be up for a vote during the group’s next monthly meeting Sept. 18.
Click here to download the current proposed increases.
“We went through every rate that we have – water, sewer, water taps, sewer taps, everything,” Gladewater City Manager Charlie Smith said. “Even our fees for instruction and things like that, trying to get up to the area standards.”
Notably, the recommended increases were developed after examining similar charges at comparable communities in the area and aiming for middle-of-the-road.
“I think for what we’ve done here, with the research we’ve done, this is where we need to be right now.”
Cherry-picking from the proposed rate increase: copies at City Hall will double from 10 cents to 20, a certificate of occupancy for a commercial building increases from $75 to $125 per permit and $25 to $75 for residential. A boat ramp permit moves from $25 to $30 for residents inside the city limits and $50 to $60 for those outside. Most of the billing for Allied Waste carts and collections increases by about 36 percent.
Water costs rise from $25.25 to $30.25 for the first 2,000 gallons and from $4.50 per thousand gallons to $5.67 for everything between 2,001 and 5,000 gallons. Tap costs double across the board (i.e. $550 to $1,100 for a 3/4″ tap, dirt).
Texas Municipal League surveys municipalities statewide on water costs: “Of all cities across the state that responded to the survey, the average water rate for 5,000 gallons of water was $90.53,” Smith noted. “We’re way under that.”
It’s the first overhaul of the fee schedule in almost a decade, he added. The last came in 2017.
“I think your citizens should never be your first source, and they don’t need to be your only source of income in a city,” Flanagan said. Developing legislation would implement a three-year gap between such rate increases: “I think, honestly, that’s adequate. I don’t think it really needs to be done more than that. With inflation how it is, that’s usually about that cycle.”
She praised Gladewater Building Inspector Al Harrison and other employees for keeping the proposed rate increases low while also ensuring they’re adequate for coming years.
“We’re no longer just BandAid-ing things,” Flanagan said, but ensuring there’s enough revenue to keep funding the community’s needs.
The municipality is striving to repair aging infrastructure and replace it when necessary, Smith agreed.
“These fees are necessary to continue the infrastructure updates that the city has recognized,” he said. “It’s something that the council has said they want to keep an eye and make sure that we stay current on from this point forward.”