Heard at City Hall last month

At last month?s regular city council meeting a number of residents spoke before the council and expressed what they felt were major concerns with operations at City Hall and ask for answers. A response should be forthcoming this evening at the regular January meeting. {{more:Read more …}}

The city council will meet in regular session tonight Monday, January 23, in the council chambers beginning at 7 p.m.

Jan Joplin, Kennedale resident, spoke first and highlighted the group?s general concerns.

 

?As citizens we?re not all involved in city affairs but all deserving mutual respect. I assumed naively that our city government was making wise decisions for the majority of the citizens (not a select few). And that checks and balances were in place to ensure responsibility, credibility and transparency. This would make sure a handful of people couldn?t take control and hide behind fast talk, hidden agendas and smoke & mirrors. After some research there?s concern over if we truly have checks and balances in place.?

 

Joplin and several spoke before the council questioning the expenditures of the city in recent years, the direction the council was headed and what they felt that there was intentional miscommunication or misleading statements involved in the recent water rate increase. Joining Joplin to speak were Kennedale residents Tom Newsom, Gayle Uranga, Cliff Uranga, Jadey James, Larry Atkins and Rockie Gilley.

 

The group felt that the relief that was provided by the revised rates in the fall was too little. They had a number of concerns including: options that Kennedale resident, Cathy Brown, had presented to the citizen?s committee that was reviewing the water rate plan last year for possible alternatives were not considered and presented to the Council; questioned the monies spent on the closing the sex oriented businesses where QT and McDonalds now stand; questioned the expenses related to the closing of the race tracks and the salvage yards; questioned the expenses related to the waste water line along Village Creek that cost over $700,000; expressed concerns about the lack of transparency involved in these issue; questioned the accounting methods that the City uses that seemed to make it impossible to track expenditures; questioned the relationship between the City and the Kennedale Economic Development Corporation and the lack of transparency with the Commission and its operations.

 

Hollis Matthews, Kennedale resident, also expressed concerned about the water issue especially with the billing procedures used by the city?s water payments along with the water meters being used saying that some need replacing. He suggested that that there was a software problem in the system. After talking to a number of individuals, there was an issue with NSF checks being bounced back through the water department even when there was money in the accounts.

 

Mayor Brian Johnson did tell the group that as a Council they could not respond at that time. On this month?s agenda is an item under the City Manager?s Report that states ?A response to Jan Joplin Letter?