Daily Tribune (Mount Pleasant, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 137, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 12, 2015 Page: 1 of 10
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Daily Tribune
Mount Pleasant, Texas Www.Dailytribune.net
TRMC Board proposes tax rate increase
County considers budget
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First Glance
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Local News
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Salvation Army buys school supplies
LOCAL STUDENTS BENEFIT
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Titus County
GOP Reagan
Day Dinner set
The Mount Pleasant
NAACP will host two
meetings on Friday, Aug.
28. Executives will have
a meeting at 5 p.m. and a
general meeting at 6 p.m.
Meetings will be held at
the Luminant building,
207 N. Madison Ave.
By MARCIA DAVIS
Managing editor
By MARCIA DAVIS
Managing editor
Tuesday, Aug. 11,
the Titus County jail
reported housing 90
inmates: 16 females and
On Tuesday, the Salvation
Army along with football
players from Mount Pleasant
High School delivered school
supplies to local schools.
P.E. Wallace Middle
School, Mount Pleasant
Junior High School and
MPHS received school
supplies purchased by the
two for driving while
intoxicated, one for
assault, two for drug-
related charges, one for
driving while license
invalid, one for revocation
of probation, and two for
failure to appear.
The Titus County
Republican Party will
hold its biennial Reagan
Day Dinner Saturday,
Aug. 22 at the Mount
Pleasant Civic Center.
U.S. Rep. Louie
Gohmert and David
Barton of Wall Builders,
will be the keynote
including the feedback
from the organization’s
recent Community Health
Needs Assessment. Two
focus areas for near-
term investment include
refreshing imaging
modalities and construction
of a new cardiac
catheterization laboratory
(cath lab) in support of heart
and vascular services.
Prior to the end of
calendar year 2015, TRMC
anticipates commencing
both of these investments
to better serve our
communities, according to
Allen.
Additionally, the new
Community Care Center
opens this weekend, offering
care seven days a week.
Email: mdavis@tribnow.com
Thank our veterans and
military every day!
© 2015 Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune
Jail
Roundup
property valuation.
As noted by TRMC CEO
John Allen, “Although
TRMC’s tax receipts make
up less than 5 percent of
our total net revenues,
they represent the critical
difference in our ability to
fund capital investment.
The tax rate proposed by
the hospital district remains
significantly lower than
Obituaries
• Ottis Lee Gilmore
• Lewis Deshaun Hamilton
• Arthur Lee Mitchell
. Bill D. Williams
See Obituaries page 3A
speakers. A general
reception, silent auction
and Wall Builders
bookstore will be open
at 5:30 p.m. with the
dinner and program
to begin at 6:30PM.
Call 903-572-0653 for
reservations.
Sports
Chapel Hill
beats Pittsburg
*
Titus Regional Medical
Centers Board of Managers,
Monday, approved
proposing an increase in the
hospital districts tax rate to
.1719.
This change would
increase property taxes
by $12.90 per $100,000
more substantial unknowns;
one of the things we will
enjoy this year is a reduction
in the amount of money
we have to set aside in the
interest and sinking fund,”
he said.
He said this year the
county could back off the
contribution to the interest
and sinking fund by about
$600,000.
“So if we were to lose any
through the litigation, and
Luminant was successful in
obtaining the $50 million
valuation, that would mean
$1.2 to $1.3 million of lost
revenue for the county. With
the completion of the loop,
we can cover about half of
that loss with a reduction
of money we have to set
aside for the I & S fund.
That leaves about $600,000
we have to cut to strive for a
zero tax increase; otherwise,
I would like to certainly
keep this tax increase below
3 cents, below 2.5 cents,” Lee
said.
Commissioner Al Riddle
said the $600,000 that did
not have to be paid into
the I & S should be used to
pay the bond indebtedness
down.
Lee said he was checking
to see if the bonds could be
paid off early.
In the discussion
about employee benefits,
Commissioner Phillip
Hinton said he believed
employees need a raise.
Commissioner Mike
Fields said he thinks
elected officials and county
employees should receive
a raise and that he could
not support a budget that
did not include raises for
employees and elected
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MARITZA RODRIGUEZ/Daily Tribune
Mount Pleasant High School football players Caleb Johnson and Nate Doss helped unload binders and
paper reams off of Salvation Army coordinator Gordon Nelms’ truck.
"N
-
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Ai
By MARITZA RODRIGUEZ
Tribune staff writer
NAACP
meets Aug. 18
in Mount Pleasant and
bought hundreds of school
supplies ranging from pencil
sharpeners to binders.
This is the second year the
Salvation Army has helped
students in the community
to be well prepared for
school. Bristow says it
is important to help the
children in the community
to be successful.
See Supplies, Pg. 3A
MARCIA DAVIS/Daily Tribune
Going up: lights on the old MPHS field
Lights are going up at the Edwards Street sports field behind the former
Mount Pleasant High School on Riddle Street. The city is directing $141,800
to install the stadium-like lighting: six poles and 54 lights. The funds were
budgeted for the 2014-2015 budget year and the lights would have been
installed sooner but the spring rains delayed the project, according to
Director of Community Services Jacob Hatfield. Hatfield said completion
date is scheduled for this Friday.
See Page 10A 74 males. Jail reports
cited nine arrests:
■
1
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meeting, Monday, Sept. 28,
beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the
board room at Titus Medical
Plaza, 2015 Mulberry St.
Included in Allen’s report
to the board Monday was
Titus Regional Medical
Center’s proposed multi-
year plan draft. The
multi-year plan considered
multiple sources of
input and data analysis,
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other hospital districts in the
region.”
TRMC has set public
hearings on the proposed
tax rate for noon, Monday,
Aug. 31 and noon, Monday,
Sept. 9 in the hospital
administration conference
room, second floor, of Titus
Regional Medical Center.
The board will vote on
the tax rate at their next
charitable organization.
Local coordinator
for Salvation Army
Gordon Nelms said the
organization is committed
to pay for the school
supplies, using the funds
raised here by the Salvation
Army for local needs.
“We have a great
community and a lot
of volunteers to make
it happen,” Nelms said.
“We’re better off than the
communities around because
of that volunteer group that
we developed over the years.”
Gordon and Wallace
Middle School CIS
Coordinator Rebecca
Bristow purchased the
supplies from Wal-Mart
Titus County
Commissioners followed
their regular meeting
Monday with a budget
workshop.
Titus County Judge Brian
Lee told the commissioners
the county needs to turn in a
budget by the end of August.
“It does not have to be
complete, but we do need to
propose a tax rate by the end
of this month.”
Lee asked commissioners
for their feedback on
employee benefits,
departmental changes,
several construction
projects, purchase of a
haul truck, fire protection,
charitable donations and the
Regional Public Defenders
program.
Lee said with Luminant
standing by a Monticello
plant valuation of $50
million, against the Titus
County Appraisal District
Board’s valuation for the
plant of $341 million, it
is important the county
consider the budget for the
upcoming year carefully.
“I anticipate a lawsuit
(filed by Luminant against
the TCAD) between
now and the end of the
month. The $50 million is
a substantial decrease from
$341 million. We have dealt
with this in the past, but
this is the most substantial
decrease proposed by
Luminant,” Lee told the
commissioners.
“One of the things that is
happening this year is that
we are coming out of the
loop project: we have all
those costs identified, no
officials.
Riddle said elected
officials are “overpaid,” that
the elected officials’ auto
allowance he quoted as
totaling $133,000 is “a farce”
and should be discontinued
and replaced by mileage
reimbursement at the
federal government’s rate of
reimbursement of 56.5 cents
per mile.
Riddle said he and
Commissioner Jimmy
Parker had cut off their auto
allowance and he believed
the other commissioners
should do the same.
Parker said, “I wouldn’t
mind seeing employees get a
raise. I won’t take one. I can’t
justify taking one.”
Parker recommended that
county employees should
receive a fixed amount raise
across the board instead of
percentage raises.
For employee retirement,
Lee proposed the
commissioners consider
reducing the county’s 250
percent match to a 200
percent match, which
he said was normal for
Texas counties, to save
approximately $100,000.
Lee said without a
reduction, the county would
be looking at approximately
a $15,000 increase in
contributions due to the
employee demographics.
“The amount of time
and tenure is longer for
employees than it has been
in the past,” he said.
“Luminant doesn’t pay
near the burden they used
to pay and they are asking
to pay even less. We are
shoving all the burden on
our taxpayers. I don’t think
See County, Pg. 3A
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Davis, Marcia. Daily Tribune (Mount Pleasant, Tex.), Vol. 141, No. 137, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 12, 2015, newspaper, August 12, 2015; Mount Pleasant, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1428720/m1/1/?q=kitchen: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Mount Pleasant Public Library.