Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 25, 1991 Page: 6 of 14
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Page 6
Port Aransas South Jetty
Thursday, July 25, 1991
§
I
Big and beautiful
Abigtumout filled Marcel's Restaurant Monday, July 22, for Smithyille Mayor Vernon Richards. "KPAB is now firmly
> the annual Keep Port Aransas Beautiful, Inc. Appreciation established. We did it and I'm glad! It really has credibility
Luncheon. Guest speakers were Dorothy Richards, chair- here in Port Aransas," KPAB out-going chairman Chris
man of Keep Smitnville Beautiful, Inc., and her husband, Sandstrom said. (Staff photo by Murray Judson)
Town Hall meetings are Saturday
Early voting is under way for
amendments affecting schools
By Mary Judson
Early voting is under way for con-
stitutional amendments that will de-
termine whether county education
districts (CEDs) can grant certain
property tax exemptions already in
present law.
The early voting continues at city
hall during regular business hours
through Tuesday, Aug. 6. Election day
is Saturday, Aug. 10.
Confusion surrounds the election,
and in an effort to clear some of it up,
Dist. 36 State Rep. Todd Hunter has
scheduled two Town Hall meetings
for Saturday, July 27.
The first will be in Corpus Christi
from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Blucher Center
on the Corpus Christi State University
campus.
The second meeting will be in
Rockport at the First National Bank
Town Hall at 2:30 pm.
[The county education districts were
created by the 72nd Texas Legislature
when Senate Bill 351 was passed last
May, changing the way public schools
are financed. The county education
districts (CEDs) are made up erf the
school districts within a single county
or a group of counties for the purpose
of levying the minimum school tax
and redistributing the revenue among
the school districts in the CED. Each
CED is governed by a board of trus-
tees appointed by the school boards in
the CED. Individual school districts
retain operational authority over their
schools and the authority to levy prop-
erty taxes above the minimum required
by the state for distribution among the
schools in the CEDs.]
Two state constitutional amend-
ments on the ballot ask voters to make
decisions regarding homestead exemp-
tions and the issuance of general obli-
gation bonds to provide education
loans to students.
Nueces County voters will also vote
on the Nueces County Education Dis-
trict Propositions 1,2 and 3.
The Texas Constitution, as it cur-
rently reads, permits governing bod-
ies, including school districts, to grant
certain residence homestead exemp-
tions. Twenty percent, or at least
$5,000, of a residence homestead of
an adult may be exempted from prop-
erty taxes. Disabled citizens or those
over 65 are allowed a minimum ex-
emption of $3,000 of the market value
of die residence homestead.
The constitution also permits the
same governing bodies to tax non-
income producing tangible personal
property that would otherwise be
exempted.
State constitution Proposition
No.l on the ballot >~ads:
“The constitutional amendment to
allow the voters of a county education
district to adopt certain homestead
exemptions from the district’s ad val-
orem taxation for residence home-
steads and to provide for the taxation
of certain tangible personal property.”
The basis for Proposition 1 includes
three parts according to Dist. 36 State
Rep. Todd Hunter (D-Corpus Christi).
“The first part would allow the voters
of a CED to extend an ad valorem tax
exemption to the residence homestead
of a married or unmarried adult, in-
cluding one living alone, to 20 percent
of the market value of the residence,
the amount of which may not be less
than $5,000. The second section would
allow voters of a CED to approve a
homestead exemption for senior citi-
zens (age 65 and older) and the dis-
abled. They will be granted an exemp-
tion of not less than $3,000 of the
market value of their residence. The
final section allows the CEDs to ex-
empt personal property from ad val-
orem taxation,” Hunter’s office re-
ported.
Nueces County voters will answer
Proposition No.l as a whole and in
three parts in the forms of County
Education District Propositions 1, 2
and 3.
CED Proposition No. 1 reads as
follows: “The taxation of all tangible
personal property, other than manu-
factured homes, in Nueces County
Education District that is not held or
used for the production of income.
CED Proposition No. 2 reads: “The
exemption of 20 percent of the market
val ue of the residence homestead from
ad valorem taxation in Nueces County
Education District”
CED Proposition No. 3 reads: “The
exemption of $10,000 of the market
value of the residence homestead of an
individual who is disabled and of
$10,000 of the market value of the
residence homestead of an individual
who is 65 or older from ad valorem
taxation in Nueces County Education
District.”
Port Aransas school trustee Mark
Grosse, who is the district’s represen-
tative on the CED, said the more ex-
emptions approved, the higher the local
tax rate will have to be to make up for
the lost revenue.
“It would be to our benefit as a
district for (exemptions) to fail, al-
though it may be to someone’s per-
sonal benefitforthemtopass....People
assume that exemptions mean the tax
is less, but in our case that may not be
so,” Grosse said.
The state Constitution Proposition
No.2 would authorize the legislature
to allow the Higher Education Coordi-
nating Board to issue up to $300 mil-
lion in general obligation bonds to
finance educational loans to college
and university students.
State constitution Proposition
No 2 reads:
“The constitutional amendment
providing for the issuance of general
obligation bonds to provide education
loans to students.”
The maximum interest rate for the
loans would be set by law, and an
interest and sinking fund would be
established to pay the principal of and
interest on the bonds as they mature.
Hunter says that supporters of Propo-
sition No.2 believe it is necessary so
the board can meet the fall 1991
demand for student loans to finan-
cially needy students. The board says
that if Proposition No.2 is not ap-
proved, some 15,000 college students
will not receive Hinson-Hazelwood
loans and may not have enough money
to enroll in the fall semester. Changes
in federal financial aid programs have
caused the demand for these loans to
increase from $12 million in 1986 to
$80 million in 1990, Hunter noted
Proposition No.2, if approved,
would authorized a total of $300 mil-
lion in bonds and “should fund the
Hinson-Hazelwood loan program for
at least three years,” Hunter said
Opponents to Proposition No.2
contend that the state is already over-
extended in its bonded indebtedness.
For more information, contact
Hunter’s Corpus Christi office at 512-
8524244; his Austin office at 512-
463-0672; or the Nueces County Voter
Registration office at 512-888-0404.
■s-tk.g.g*- *to
Public hearing is Monday
Street improvements listed
By Mary Judson
Port Aransas city officials want input
regarding its street improvement pro-
gram for fiscal year 1990-91, so a
public hearing has been scheduled for
Monday, July 29.
The hearing will be at 7 p.m. at city
hall.
At a meeting Wednesday, July 17,
city officials approved the street im-
provement program as recommended
by city engineer Jim Urban of Urban
Engineering. The streets on the list
were recommended by the city coun-
cil in collaboration with city staff.
Urban said he reviewed each street
on the list and recom mended that curbs
and gutters be included on several
streets. He said the curbs and gutters
are “good for five reasons”. The rea-
sons he gave were: major reduction in
maintenance of drainage ditches, re-
duced problems with vector control,
less administrative problems with
driveway permits, increased tax value
and finally, fewer objections from
property owners during construction
and maintenance.
Council members, in accepting
Urban’s recommendation, also asked
that the list of streets in the program be
published and a public hearing be held.
Cost of the total program is esti-
mated at about $461,000, using esti-
mates of $75 per linear foot for curb
and gutter and $67 per linear foot for
open ditch streets.
Following is the list of streets, or
sections of streets, recommended for
improvement before the end of this
fiscal year. Streets that are preceded
by an asterisk (*) have not been rec-
ommended for curb and gutter.
"Gulf (400 ft.)
"Trojan (Avenue B north)
Brundrett (west of Oleander)
Roberts (west of Oleander)
Oaks (west of Oleander)
White (Station to Mercer)
Oaks (Station to Mercer)
Roberts (Laurel to Mercer)
Avenue J (Sea Secret to Station)
La Juana
Sand Burr
Avenue I (FM 361 to 9th)
9th (Avenue J to Avenue G)
Anchor
RuthieLane
"Avenue E. (Gulf to ditch)
Avenue H (6th to Gulf)
Bietendorf honored
by House resolution
Dale Bietendorf of Port Aransas
was honored by resolutions in Austin
this week by Dist. 36 Rep. Todd A
Hunter.
“I respect and admire Dale for his
long-time commitment to improving
the lives of the entire community,"
Hunter said. “I’ve worked closely
with him and realize the immense
dedication and energy it takes to build
what he has over the years.”
Bietendorf, who recently received
the 1991 O. P. Schnabel Award by
Keep Texas Beautiful, is the former
mayor of the City of Port Aransas.
Through his leadership several clean
up and beautification projects were
undertaken and completed. The suc-
cess of such ventures encouraged the
creation of Keep Port Aransas Beau-
tiful, Inc., to preserve and enhance the
natural splendor of Mustang Island
and Port Aransas.
In addition, Bietendorf, who is a
charter member of the local Rotary
Club, currently serves as president of
the Port Aransas Independent School
District board of trustees. Honored as
Port Aransas’first Citizen of the Year,
Bietendorf has worked to protect and
preserve the environment which
makes Port Aransas such an attraction
to visitors and its residents.
EJ. Garber Co.
108 S. Alister P. O.Box 836, Port Aransas
1-800-880-1018 _(512) 749-5912
Discount Stock Brokerage
With A Difference
US Govt. Agency Bonds 9.33%
Federal Income Tax Free Municipal Bonds 6.21%
Investment Grade Corporate Bonds 9.29%
$10,000 Minimum Investment
*Rates expressed as yield to maturity as of 07-19-91.
Subject to availability Member NASD/SIPC
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Judson, Mary. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 25, 1991, newspaper, July 25, 1991; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth647202/m1/6/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.