Residents pack Gun Barrel City Hall for presentation on proposed property tax




A full house greeted Gun Barrel City officials this week for the first of a series of scheduled town hall meetings on the proposed property tax.

Mayor Jim Braswell said city officials will be on hand every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. until the election Nov. 4 when voters will decide whether to raise the tax from zero to $0.2599 per $100 valuation.

Braswell told the crowd of residents and weekenders on Sept. 11 that the city could not provide the type of road improvements and police and fire protection needed on sales tax revenue alone anymore.

"It's a three-letter word I hate to hear," Braswell said of the proposed tax. "On the other hand, what I want to see done for this city that you tell me you want can't be done on sales tax revenue."

The mayor noted there are 35 empty store fronts in Gun Barrel City, and those business failures represent declining sales tax revenue.

The audience voiced significant criticism to the proposal, complaining that city officials were asking for too much for a beginning tax rate.

Under the proposal, a home with a appraised value of $100,000 after homestead and other exemptions for seniors and disabilities would be taxed $259.90 annually.

After the meeting, Braswell acknowledged it would be a "hard fight" to get voters to approve the new tax, but he expressed optimism residents will want to see improvements to the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 




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Fishing Report from TPWD (Jan. 8)

GOOD. stained; 55 degrees; 2.77 feet below pool. The hybrid and white bass deadsticking bite is now in full swing! Use 1/2 ounce to 1-1/2 ounce jigs with 4-5 inch plastic flukes depending on what the winds are and drift long lengths of the lake in the deepest water 35-50 feet. Drift at speeds of .2-.6 mph using your drift mode on your trolling motor, or drift socks, or drift with the wind. Thumping on the bottom of your boat will attract fish and group them up underneath. Utilizing a splasher also works well with thumping. Fish are suspended between 22-28 feet when deadstricking. Look for birds and loons early mornings on shallow flats as the fish will come up to follow the bait and feed early especially on cloudy cold days. Crappie bite has been tough with reports of fish being scattered. Target crappie with small jigs and minnows in 7-15 feet under bridge pylons, hidden brush piles throughout the lake or under docks. Crappie fisherman have been moving spot to spot finding limits. Lots of crappies in the 7-9 inch range. Limits of crappie will happen but you may catch a lot of small ones getting to your limit. Report by Brent Herbeck, Herbeck’s Lonestar Fishing Guide Service. Water temperatures are dropping again and should be in the low 50s soon. The recent rains have brought the water up and the water is stained. The catfish have moved into running water in front of the motor creeks but can also still be caught out deep with the same techniques. The shallow bite continues to be good for catfish along wind blown banks and points near the mouths of major creeks where the actual creek runs into the lake. Fish in 2-6 feet with fresh shad anchored on bottom. The deep bite is also good dragging bigger cut shad or rough fish in 15-30 feet drifting main lake flats. Report by Jason Barber, Kings Creek Adventures.

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