Troop Mayor Jeff Hale recognized Conner Boyd for his Eagle Scout project at the July 18 city council meeting. Boyd received a certificate of appreciation for providing two free community book boxes, sometimes referred to as “little libraries.”
Boyd’s bookcases are located on downtown sidewalks near Steele’s Feed & Seed and Daily Grace Effect. The intention of the book boxes is to promote literacy through the free exchange of books. The public is encouraged to take one book but leave another.
The council reviewed the proposed city budget for fiscal year 2022-2023, which includes a tax rate lower than the tax rate for no new revenue. The No New Revenue rate is a tax rate that collects the same amount of property tax revenue as the previous year from the same properties in both the previous year and the current year. If adopted, this would be the third consecutive year that the City of Troup has enacted a tax rate below the rate for no new revenue.
Neither the proposed city budget nor the proposed tax rate have yet been passed because a public hearing on these issues must first be held.
Other items approved by the council were:
• Minutes of the June meeting;
• The monthly financial report;
• A city employee pension ordinance that increases the city’s equalization contribution from a ratio of 1.5 to 1 to 2 to 1;
• Sue Hunter, Cindy Steele, Sonja Roundtree and Joe McElroy were reappointed to the Cameron-J. Chief Library Jarvis Troup;
• A request by Sabine Oil and Gas to deviate from the well site preparations to permit construction of the access road and well site pad prior to receipt of a drilling permit;
• 2022-2023 Smith County Communications District 911 Operating Budget; and
• A price increase by Republic Services, Inc. for a solid waste collection contract.
Two items on the agenda were not dealt with by the Council. The final replanning for the Brandon Street property, legal description M-26 ID ABST A 1099 W. George Tract 18A, was not submitted by the property owner and no action was taken by the Troup Community Development project to fund a permanent toilet facility at the Joe Layne Family Splash Pad during the TCDC meeting.
The next scheduled Troup City Council meeting was held from August 15 to Monday, August 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Cameron-J. Jarvis Troup Community Library, 102 S. Georgia.
