Issue #13

April 9, 2025

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What are the Core Responsibilities of a City Council Member?

It’s election season in Smithville, and candidates have been taking to social media and in-person events to pitch to voters.

Ideas are being thrown out, promises are being made, and it all sounds great.

But it got us thinking (like that iconic scene in Office Space)…what exactly do council members do?

We took a deep dive into the Texas Municipal League handbook to find out if these promises can be kept by just one member (spoiler alert: they cannot), and to find out members actual roles and responsibilities.

We were a little surprised to see how much power the council legally has, something that wasn’t as evident in the city’s powerpoint about roles and responsibilities presented at last year’s budget workshops.

We took away a lot in this article, and we hope that as you head to the polls in 24 days, you keep this in mind as well.

What are the Core Responsibilities for a City Council Member?

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PID Draft Policy Online

Without any notification to the public, the city put their draft Public Improvement District (PID) Policy on their website on Monday.

PIDs are special tax districts where property owners agree to pay additional taxes (called assessments) to fund public improvements like roads, utilities, and parks within the district.

You can watch the developer for The Enclave at Riverbend make his pitch for why he wants one for his 114-home development at a special council meeting on Jan. 15. 👇

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The draft policy has not been discussed by council publicly, and there are too many unanswered questions to write about it at this point. But here are three things we noticed:

This “extraordinary benefit” test is unique, and not found in the PID policies Smithville Texas News reviewed in Williamson, Hays, and Caldwell counties.

Texas Local Government Code Chapter 372, section 372.025 provides a state maximum of 40 years.

There is no state law requiring municipalities to have a lien ratio, so this is a local safeguard to buffer against economic downturns or overleveraged projects.

The policy will be discussed and voted on at Monday’s council meeting. You can email the council and let them know your thoughts before they vote.

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Annexation of The Enclave

Even though shovels aren’t in the ground for The Enclave at Riverbend, we are nearly at the end of the legislative side of the process. Something will be built there, and the council has limited actions it can take to change that.

So how did we get here?

Last Wednesday outgoing council member Tom Etheredge posted about the annexation process for the Enclave, which took place June 13, 2022 by a vote of 2-2, with Mayor Foerster casting the deciding vote.

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There are some familiar faces in this video:
Mitch Jameson, who wasn’t on council at the time, gave an impassioned plea to delay the vote 30 days because the city dropped new information days before the vote.

Jimmy Jenkins, who also wasn’t on council at the time, also asked for the process to slow down, citing his concerns about stress the project would put on the water and wastewater systems.

Brian Wells, who’s now running against Jenkins, spoke against the 380 agreement (he’s since changed his mind), and wanted the city to review their ordinances.

There were also a lot of questions:

1. Why did the city wait until three days before the vote to disclose that the Enclave property annexation had already been approved with the annexation of Hurta River Estates years earlier?
2. Why did the city wait until the day of the vote to present a letter from an attorney claiming the city was legally obligated to provide utilities to a property outside the city limits due to a PUC agreement?

Council member Ethredge’s request for a 30-day delay to get more public input was denied. Instead, the property was annexed as SF-1 (due to city law), meaning single family homes may be built on the property, as long as they follow the ordinances.

Every resident should take time to watch this meeting.

We will be submitting FOIA requests for records, but if you have any information regarding this meeting or process, you can email us at newstips@SmithvilleTexasNews.com.

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Reader Questions Answered

A lot of readers emailed about the SISD budget story from last week asking why the food services department was over budget by $171K.

You ask, we find answers!

Here’s what Child Nutrition Director Candy Biehle told us in an email:

1. The School Board approved a deficit budget for Child Nutrition.
2. Not all grant money has been received.
3. Their budget will fluctuate due to unforeseen circumstances which could include food costs, equipment failure, and replacement or repair costs.
4. Funding is tied directly to meal counts. Because there are less days kids are in school this year, there are less days to sell meals. Child Nutrition staff work on staff development days, creating a deficit.

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Easter Egg Hunt Saturday

The Smithville Police Association Blue Bunny will have an Easter Egg Hunt this Saturday at 9a.m. at MLK Park.

They will have an area for the little ones with easier-to-find eggs, and plenty of hidden eggs for the big kids. Bring your family out for this fun annual event!

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From the Publisher

Miracle Foo Fighters PREVIEW   ​

When I saw this was going to be Issue #13, I’m not going to lie, I got a little nervous. Should I just skip it and go to 14?

My first thought came to Apollo 13, one of my favorite movies. They had an unlucky flight and didn’t land on the moon. But they also had immense divine luck and all aboard made it home safely when statistics said it would be impossible.

So I decided to just use “13” figuring that even if an “unlucky” event were to happen, I would turn it into a successful failure like Apollo 13.

Instantly regretted my decision!

It’s been a hell of a week Smithville. Everything that could go wrong did, and consequently, I don’t have as much original content for you this week.

It’s easy to forget, but journalists are people too. We have responsibilities, bills and families just like you. And it’s our obligation and responsibility to fill these pages, regardless of what’s happening when our press pass isn’t on.

Sometimes that’s harder to do, and this week managing both proved difficult.

As I was pouting on my back stoop on Monday, I thought back to last week’s story about Christian, our football player who refused to quit.

Man, that kid went through a lot. Sure, he had his “dark night of the soul” moments. But he didn’t give up. He kept fighting to find a way. Honestly, that’s what makes success–way more than talent.

I see in his story, as well as in Apollo 13, none of those heroes did it alone. The astronauts had hundreds on the ground in Mission Control. Christian had his family and his coaches rooting for his success.

When I get in a rough patch, I tend to isolate myself, unlike those astronauts or Christian. It’s a cute way to dodge shame and failure, but it rarely works out.

So I’ll try a new approach: asking for help.

I need some new freelance contracts to help keep me afloat until Smithville Texas News is able to support me financially.

Does your company need marketing copy written? Do you have a newsletter that isn’t performing? Do you need research done for a book?

I’m putting my hand out here, because I know when people come together, miracles happen.

When it became apparent Apollo 13 wasn’t going to land on the moon, Mission Control didn’t just sit back. They figured out how to make a square peg fit into a round hole. They designed a process to restart a spaceship on 12 amps.

Christian’s family and coaches didn’t just cheer from the sidelines. His family kept him fed and pushed him in the classroom. Coach Neumann got Christian a slot in a showcase so he could show college coaches his full potential and earn a spot on a team.

So maybe this Issue #13 isn’t a failure after all, but a chance to lean on you, my readers and my community, the way I hope Smithville Texas News can be there for you.

If you’ve got a lead or a project, I’d love to hear from you.

Looking forward to see what we can build together,

~K
Kristen Meriwether
Publisher, Smithville Texas News

Kristen@smithvilleTexasNews.com

Follow us on X @NewsSmithville​