After proposed budget cuts were revealed last Friday, the public packed Council Chambers to protest at Budget Workshop #2 on Wednesday.
Nonprofits spoke out against a proposal that would force them to pay rent and utilities at city-owned facilities and some questioned the new proposed leaf-and-limb pickup fee.
The council listened and by the end of the six and a half hour meeting, a $3 million dollar tax note (debt) was on the table, along with 3% raises for city employees, and up to $250,000 to invest in a full-time economic development professional.
We’ve got your video recap to walk you through the budgetary whiplash here. There’s an interesting tidbit at the end about how our tax rate is broken down between operating costs and funding debt that everyone should watch. Here’s a preview:
As students head back to the classroom in a few weeks, they will no longer be able to use their cell phones as they please on campus, thanks to a new state law passed this session.
School districts were given a choice: ban phones from campus or allow students to store them.
Find out what the Smithville ISD School Board voted to do, and learn what questions the district must answer to finalize the policy in our news article from Monday’s meeting.
In the 30 years Candy Biehle, director of food services for SISD, has worked in child nutrition, she’s never seen the challenges facing her department: 7% increase in food costs, 12% increase in labor costs, $10,000 increase in utility bills.
Caleb and Emmet Magden donating $300 to Candy Biehle for the Hungry Tiger Fund (photo courtesy SISD Facebook page)
Read how she fought for two years to keep free breakfasts at Smithville schools, but was unable to overcome the inflationary pressure and federal and state funding that just didn’t keep up.
While doing away with the free breakfasts is a negative outcome, Ms. Biehle displayed exemplary budgetary leadership, making tough decisions–not because she wanted to, but because it is the job.
There was quite a bit of confusion regarding memberships so we wanted to provide some clarification:
These are NOT regular newspaper subscriptions! Memberships are for supporters who can afford to infuse extra capital into the business each month for the next 6-12 months and help us scale up.
Thank you to the six people who have chosen to become a member so far. We are looking for 40 members to be sustainable.
Due to a system upgrade, automatic credit card drafts for utility payments will not be processed from July 1 through September 5. During this period, customers currently enrolled in auto-draft will need to pay their bill manually by credit card in July and August.
In September, customers wishing to continue with automatic credit card drafts will need to re-enroll in the Auto Draft program. If you have any questions, please contact the City of Smithville Utility Department at 512-237-3282 ext. 1.
Mosquito Spraying Begins
At Wednesday’s budget hearing the council unanimously voted to fund $4,300 per month for immediate mosquito spraying, which had been cut from this year’s budget.
Spraying begins tonight (Friday July 25) at 9pm and will be conducted every Tuesday and Friday through the mosquito season.
Fridays – 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM
Numbered roads (NE 5th, NW 5th, SE 4th, SW 4th, etc.) on the North and South side of town; All alleys on the North side of town; Riverbend Park and MLK Park
Tuesdays – 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM
Named roads (Ramona, Hill St., Jones St., Garwood St., etc.) on the North and South side of town; All alleys on the South side of town; The Hill and FM 2571 Pecan Shores
Residents wishing to opt out can call City Hall at 512-237-3282 to be added to the "Do Not Spray" list.
Recycling Center Permits Half-Off
If you’ve been waiting to purchase a permit for the recycling center, now is the time! The City Council voted to reduce the price by 50% for the rest of the year.
Thank you for your patience with me in getting out this week’s newsletter. Losing cell phone and internet service yesterday (Thursday) was a little much, but I want to thank the Smithville Public Library and The Front Room for providing me a place to connect and get the video uploaded.
If you tried to call me or emailed me yesterday, I never got your call (phone was a paperweight), and your email is still there–I just haven’t been able to catch up.
I hope the intro to the budget video make you laugh as much I did making it. I’ll be honest, I haven’t had much fun lately, so it was nice to laugh a little.
Here’s some pictures of Manny and a beautiful sunrise from Sunday.
Have a great weekend Smithville,
~K Kristen Meriwether Publisher, Smithville Texas News
Issue #27 September 5, 2025 City Manager Retiring In a surprise move on Thursday, City Manager Robert Tamble notified the city council he is retiring. Tamble has served in the role since June 1, 2014, taking over for Tex Middlebrook. Learn what Tamble’s expected last day is, read what he told council in his letter, and read what council members had to say about his retirement in our latest article. City Manager Submits Notice to Retire Tax Rate Drop At the Aug. 20 budget workshop the council...
Issue #26 August 29, 2025 Football is Back! Today the Smithville Tigers football team will host Rockdale for their season opener at Tiger Stadium at 7:30 p.m. You can grab your tickets here, and don’t forget about the district’s new clear bag policy for all events this year. Before you go, please check out our first feature story of the season. We sat down with Head Coach Layne Neumann on Monday and got the inside scoop on the offseason changes he made, new traditions he started, and why he...
Issue #25 August 22, 2025 What's the Tax Rate? It’s budget season in Smithville and property owners across the county are wondering: Are my property taxes going up? While we don’t have all the decisions from the five (!!!!!) taxing entities that make up your property tax bill, the City of Smithville’s rate was settled on Wednesday. This decision was made over nearly 20 hours at three budget hearings. We broke down exactly how we got to the rate, and their decision on taking on new debt in our...
