Cedar Hill Community Time Capsule
August 26, 2005
The new Government Center is set to open some time in 2008. More than any city building in a long time, the Government Center will represent a milestone in the history of Cedar Hill.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to memorialize this moment in our history with a Community Time Capsule?
I’m just thinking off the top of my head here, but imagine a time capsule underneath the main entrance to the Government Center. A plaque embedded in the walkway would proudly mark the location of the capsule, “Cedar Hill Community Time Capsule. Sealed on November 14, 2007 by the people of Cedar Hill, Texas — A Premier City.”
Sealing the time capsule could be a community event in conjunction with the ribbon cutting for the Center. It would be a time to look to the future of Cedar Hill while celebrating the past. That, incidentally, was one of the themes we chose as we worked to raise the funds to build the Government Center.
The Government Center would be a monument to the past and future of Cedar Hill. A living tribute to our posterity.
Tax Rate 101
August 24, 2005
I don’t know how many times people have questioned me about the tax rate. With all the growth in Cedar Hill, shouldn’t the City Council lower the tax rate? Aren’t we just money-grubbing politicians who want to tax and spend the citizens? Well, actually, no. In fact, I think you would be surprised by how conscientious the Council is with your money.
Your Tax Bill
You may be interested to know that the tax bill you receive represents taxes from several taxing entities — not just the City. These entities include the City of Cedar Hill, the Cedar Hill I.S.D., Dallas County, and special districts like Parkland Hospital. The City portion represents only a small portion of your total tax bill, usually around 15 percent. The rest is paid to the other entities.
The City Council only sets the City’s tax rate. We do not set the tax rate for the Cedar Hill I.S.D., Dallas County, or the hospital district. We have no authority whatsoever over those entities. In other words, we don’t set and can’t change your school taxes or your county taxes.
Realities of Retail
Cedar Hill has been blessed — there’s no doubt about that. All the retail grow helps the bottom line, to be sure. But revenue from retail represents only about 23% of our total revenue. That’s less than one-fourth of the money we need to run the City.
Retail revenue is also relatively unstable. It fluctuates with the economy. When times get tough, consumers buy less “stuff” and the sales tax revenue falls. Because of this, it is not prudent to depend on it as a consistent and stable stream of income.
My point is that all the retail growth going on in Cedar Hill is great and helps us financially, but it is not, and cannot, be a substitute for property tax revenue. We can’t drop our property tax rate hoping that an inherently unstable source of income will make up the difference.
Steady as She Goes…
If you watch or read the news at all, you no doubt have noticed that many cities are raising tax rates. The City of Dallas has just announced that they are raising their tax rate. Lancaster is raising their’s too. Here’s a list of some area cities that are planning a tax rate increase: Dallas, Lancaster, Bedford, Mesquite, Garland, Rockwall, and Frisco (yes, Frisco, and they have had as much or more retail development than has Cedar Hill). And the list goes on. Mansfield is going to lower their rate, but even so, it will still be higher than Cedar Hill’s.
Cedar Hill’s tax rate, by contrast, as remained the same for the last 4 years, and will remain steady this year too. In fact, the tax rate was lowered a bit in 1998 and again in 2001. That’s impressive considering it’s the lowest tax rate in the Best Southwest!
More impressive is that we are able to hire much needed police officers, firefighters, and a code enforcement officer, all without raising the tax rate. Were it not for all the growth, we would either be cutting services and personnel or raising the tax rate — or maybe even both!
What It All Means
The bottom line is that the City Council is trying to be good stewards of your tax dollars. That means we have to balance city needs with the prospect of a changing tax rate.
Make no mistake, the city has some financial challenges ahead. We have an aging water and sewer infrastructure, drainage problems, roads that desperately need fixing, and before long, we are going to need another fire station too. The needs are real.
But we will face these challenges together, at the right time, and in a responsible manner. So, are we money-grubbing politicians? No. We are your City Council — and we are working for you.
Congressman Marchant Reception
August 20, 2005
This is a photograph taken by Cary Efurd at a recent reception for U.S. Congressman Kenny Marchant on August 9 at the Oak Cliff Country Club. Also present from Cedar Hill was Mayor Rob Franke, and EDC Director, David Miracle.
City Council Appoints Neighborhood Advisory Board
August 8, 2005
An edited version of this article appears in the Fall 2005 quarterly, Cedar Hill Highlights.
When the City of Cedar Hill created the Neighborhood Services Program their purpose was to ensure the vitality of our neighborhoods and to see that residents were informed, educated and had a voice at the city level. With these goals in mind the City Council adopted a resolution creating the Neighborhood Advisory Board.
The nine-member board consists of citizens who have resided in Cedar Hill for a minimum of two years. Representation is based on the geographic distribution of population in the four quadrants resulting from the intersection of U.S. Highway 67 and Beltline Road, with two members representing each quadrant and one at-large position. The board meets the second Monday of each month in the conference room of City Hall, located at 502 Cedar Street in downtown.
The Neighborhood Advisory Board will deal with issues that impact the entire community, creating, developing and implementing programs that will encourage, support and strengthen our neighborhoods.
“The City Council recognizes that our neighborhoods are the heart of our city,” said Council Member Wade Emmert. “Surely, when our neighborhoods are involved, indifference is not an answer.”
The board will also assist in the creation of neighborhood leadership programs and provide oversight and input regarding city services as they relate to neighborhoods.
It is important to note that the board will not limit the right of any individual Cedar Hill resident from approaching the Mayor and City Council or city staff on any issue, nor will the board affect the status or autonomy of existing neighborhood and homeowners’ associations or Public Improvement Districts (PIDs). These will continue to serve as the voices of their residential areas.
Focus on our neighborhoods is essential to the continued success and quality of life in Cedar Hill.
“Neighborhoods are an integral part of community life,” noted Councilman Emmert, “and it is vitally important that we come together as a community to strengthen that which binds us all.”
Budget Highlights
August 4, 2005
The 2006 Budget has been finalized. We will officially vote on it in an upcoming meeting, but for all intents and purposes, it is final. This year we had a number of important issues to tackle. I discussed some of these issues in one of my prior posts. See Refocus. I think we were successful in addressing some of the most important needs. Here are some of the key points:
More Police. We added 5 more police officers. Adding more officers puts more officers on the streets more of the time and will support our public safety as the city grows over the next year.
More Firefighters. We added 4 more firefighters and will purchase a new fire engine. More firefighters and new equipment gives us the ability to respond with firefighters and paramedics from the same station at the same time.
More Code Enforcement. We added a new code enforcement officer and will purchase computer software that will help all our officers track violations. The number of violations our officers must track can be overwhelming at times. A new officer and software will give them much needed resources to implement the vision for our neighborhoods. More stringent code standards will be implemented in the next few months. See Code Enforcement Report, Residents Mull New Ordinances, and City Wants Input on New Codes.
Drainage and Transportation. We set aside $100,000 (in addition to last year’s $125,000) to help find solutions to the drainage issues facing some of our neighborhoods. We also continued our practice of allocating funds to help offset the costs of future road construction projects.
There are many other important aspects of this year’s budget, but those are the highlights. I hope you will support us as we work toward the vision for our city.
Welcome!
My name is Wade Emmert and I am a Council Member for the City of Cedar Hill. This web site is a way for me to share with you some of my thoughts about issues important to the City.
It is my sincerest goal to be a good steward of the citizens’ trust. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to serve you.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at Wade.Emmert@cedarhilltx.com or (214) 740-3164.