Based on that premise, and given the circumstances which dictate much of what can be done and when, the following is the course I propose that we follow in the formulation of our new city government.  It is importantant to understand this basic FACT:

SUMMARY of GOALS for 2006 - 2007

Upon taking office, we should pass an ordinance calling for an election, by the voters, for the adoption of a 1% Sales & Use Tax.  This tax can be used for General Fund purposes of the city, but, the anticipated revenue cannot be pledged to secure bonds or other indebtedness of the city.  The election would be on the date of the next available Uniform Election date under Texas Statues which is May 6, 2006.  If successful, the first collections of sales taxes by businesses within the Village of Horseshoe Bay cannot begin until October 1, 2006.   The taxes collected are paid by the businesses to the State Comptroller's office.   The Comptroller retains a fee of 2% of the total collected as a processing fee.   The remainder is paid to the Village by the Comptroller twice each year.  As such, we would not begin to realize the revenue stream from sales tax collections until at least the first or second quarter of 2007.

We should pass another ordinance calling for the election, by the voters, to adopt a 1/2% Additional Sales Tax, which cannot be done until the next successive Uniform Election date which is on November 7, 2006.  This tax must be used to reduce the property taxes imposed by the city.  If successful, the collection of that additional 1/2% would begin April 1, 2007 and we would begin to realize the revenue stream from that additional percentage in the third quarter of 2007.

Finally, through the formation of an Economic Development Corporation, or an Economic Development District (EDD), we can adopt an additional 1/2% bringing the total city sales tax rate to the maximum 2%.  This portion of the sales tax can be used for any qualified economic development purpose.  While much was said about an EDD during the discussions related to incorporation, and I did not agree with an EDD as an alternative to incorporation, it is in fact a vehicle that we can use very successfully as a city, particularly since it will be formulated and controlled by the city government.

Reference: Texas Administrative Code (Title 34, Part I, Chapter 3, Subchapter P, Rule §3.372)

Due to the decision made by the Incorporation Committee of the POA, the area known as The Trails of Lake LBJ, which is within the boundaries of the Lake LBJ Municipal Utility District, was excluded from the boundaries of the area being incorporated as the Village of Horseshoe Bay.  As a result, the city cannot absorb the operations of the Lake LBJ MUD unless that territory is either annexed into the city limits, or excluded from the MUD.

While excluding the territory from the MUD simply requires an action by the Board of Directors of the MUD, this action cannot be undertaken without the very real concern that the property owners within The Trails challenging that action, as they are entitled by law to do in district court.  Any such challenge would, at the very least, constitute a significant delay in the city being able to absorb the MUD.

It is therefore, imperative that we work with Mike Walsh, the developer, and the property owners in The Trails of Lake LBJ to achieve a voluntary annexation of that section of Horseshoe Bay into the Village.  Having discussed this with Mike Walsh, I am confident we can accomplish this goal if we are sensitive to their needs in other respects.

It has always been the goal of incorporation to have the Lake LBJ MUD as the foundation of our new city government.  Its facilities, equipment, staff and operations are already providing most of the essential services of our community that would otherwise be the purview of a city.  The revenues of the MUD from ad valorem taxes and utility service sales is essential to provide the basic operating requirements of our city.

If we are unable for any reason, such as any challenges as mentioned in Item #2 above, to absorb the Lake LBJ MUD, the new city government will have NO revenues for at least a year or more.  As mentioned in item #1 above, we will not have any revenue from a sales tax until the second quarter of 2007.  If the city council was to adopt its own ad valorem property tax, to support operations until such time as the sales tax revenue began to flow, even that tax revenue would not be available until 2007.

Absorption of the Municipal Utility District must be achieved as expeditiously as possible.  The city council, in the course of conducting its business, must have some resources to pay, at a minimum, for maintaining the records of the city's operations, including the conducting of open meetings, elections, legal consultations, etc.  While some donations, in-kind contributions and contractual services may be available, the most prudent approach is for us to limit the activities of our city government until this goal can be met.

Under a Type A General Municipality, the Mayor of the city is the municipal judge.  It is, therefore, possible for us to operate a municipal court without the necessity of hiring a judge.   We may also contract with the Justice of the Peace to perform that function on behalf of the city, paid for using a percentage of the citation collections.

Given our short-term lack of resources, I would not prescribe rushing into this process of codification or enforcement.  We can do this gradually based on a prioritized schedule.

The primary reason the majority of people voted for incorporation was, "To give property owners more of a voice in the future development of Horseshoe Bay".  The development of a Comprehensive Plan is the best way to insure that the citizens of Horseshoe Bay can have the greatest amount of input into what the future holds for this community.  Through a series of public workshops we should endeavor to define specific "Goals" of the community together with our "Objectives" related to those goals.  We would then determine specific "Action Items" that would enable us to undertake the necessary steps toward implementation.

We must also take into consideration various demographic factors such as population growth trends, regional impacts, employment, retail & commercial development, housing levels and make projections related to utility requirements, transportation requirements, emergency services, and overall management.  Based on the public input defining our Goals and Objectives, correlated with the necessities of managing our projected growth we can prepare a preliminary plan.  This should then be reconsidered through yet another series of public meetings to ascertain the consensus of the citizens as to what future course we should follow.

It will also be necessary to consider the following two complex issues:

Horseshoe Bay already has a very well defined set of zoning, platting and building regulations contained within our Declaration of Reservations.  We have evolved over the past 34 years, prospered and emerged as one of the premier resort communities in the nation, based on those regulations, including the rights that we have afforded to the developers under that contract.  We all entered into that contract by virtue of the purchase of our property and we should continue to live by those covenants to each other.

As a city, we do not have the authority to override any of the covenants contained within the Declaration of Reservations.  We can adopt ordinances that are more stringent than a requirement in the deed restrictions, but, not less stringent.  The same is true of any rights that the "Declarant" or "Amenities Owner" has granted to themselves respectively in the Declarations.  We cannot adopt an ordinance which attempts to overturn or reduce any of their rights.

While the city has an obligation to take over the approval of plats or replats and the issuance of building permits from Llano County, under state law the city cannot perform those functions without first adopting a "Subdivision Ordinance". 

The process of adopting a subdivision ordinance will require considerable legal consultation to insure that such ordinances do not conflict with any of the provisions of the Declaration of Reservations, or create a potential for a civil rights lawsuit as suggested above.  It is also necessary for our ordinances to conform to the county's subdivision ordinances due to the relationship to properties in our extraterritorial jurisdiction.

Considering the lack of resources available to the new city government, until such time as the MUD is absorbed, or until a tax can be established, it is unreasonable to assume that this can be done, nor should it be done, immediately.   Llano County Commissioners Court has a duty to continue to perform these functions until such time as the city has adopted its ordinance and can legally qualify to assume those responsibilities.

The activity of acting as the platting authority has a three-fold purpose.  It insures that affected land owners receive Public Notice of any such platting or replatting.  Any such plats or plans must be reviewed to insure compliance with the regulations.  And, to provide updated address information to the 911 authority and file the approved plats with the Llano County Clerk such that they become a part of the Real Property Records, which also serves to update the Appraisal District on any changes of boundaries or uses of property within the county, which is the basis for assessing property for ad valorem tax purposes throughout the county.

READ MORE ON THE MY POSITION REGARDING ZONING, PLATTING & BUILDING RESTRICTIONS

Much discussion has surrounded the consideration for the transfer of our roads from the HSB POA to the MUD and/or to the City.  While I do believe, from my various conversations in this regard, that Wayne Hurd and Doug Jaffe would agree to transfer the roads to the city, there will continue to be a question about the other roads within the gated sections of Applehead Island, Matern Island, The Peninsula, Bay Country and The Trails.

By law, if the gate prevents access by the public, then those streets cannot be deeded to the city (public).  As private roads, the city cannot perform the maintenance on those roads.  It is possible for the gates to remain in place, and for the roads to become city roads, provided the gates do not prevent public access.  In the case of one of the aforementioned sections, there is a public access code displayed on the entry keypad.  This would qualify that section to dedicate their road if they choose. That is solely a decision for each respective section's property owners.

There is a concern, expressed by many of the people within those gated sections, who are paying assessments to their own respective POA's for the future maintenance of their private road(s).  They don't believe they should be paying for the city's maintenance of the HSB POA's roads. Currently the HSB POA roads are only being supported by assessments on the properties serviced by those roads.  Granted, many of these roads provide common access to the amenities and therefore should be maintained by ALL property owners, including the people in those sections and the Amenities Owner.  Residential streets that are not of a common access variety, do present a valid objection for property owners whose streets remain privately maintained and deserves our serious consideration to insure fairness for all of our citizens.

Some people are in favor of upgrading all the roads to the standard that was used on Hi Circle North.  Others would argue that while there are certain roads in serious need of upgrading, most of our roads have been maintained adequately and do not necessarily need any renovations at present.  It has been recognized that if the roads are transferred to the city we would have the ability, through a bond election, to finance a major renovation project, an option that is not available to our POA's.

Obviously, there are many considerations regarding the disposition of the roads.  This should be thoroughly explored during Comprehensive Planning and further explored by a committee, with as much public input as possible.

In conjunction with the development of a Comprehensive Plan, as a means to provide another mechanism to insure the greatest degree of citizen input possible, I would call for the formation of a variety of Committees and Commissions to enable more citizen involvement in the management of the affairs of the Village. 

While the ultimate decision making authority is vested in the members of our city council, it would be a considerable task for six (6) individuals to become experts in every detail of the operations of a municipality.  The challenges that we face, as outlined above, related to absorption of the MUD, adoption of a subdivision ordinance, codifying the regulations, consideration of the roads and the many other duties and responsibilities not discussed, such as providing excellent communications and customer service to our citizens, seeking out and applying for grants, and so on and so on . . . is going to require the assistance of the as many citizens as we can hope to bring into the process.

The city council has the authority to create ad hoc committees to address specific, limited time frame topics, as well as standing committees to perpetually work on specific areas of the city's operations.  Committees do not have any authority to make binding decisions for the city, but, they can be instrumental in providing sound recommendations and are a great source of expert advice for our city council.  It will be my recommendation that we begin by forming the following committees:

Obviously, this list is not conclusive.  It is merely an outline of some of the areas that will be necessary to spend a great deal of consideration and where the opportunities will exist for our city council to take advantage of the wealth of knowledge and experience that we have in our base of talented people within Horseshoe Bay.

I am confident we can achieve all of the above goals within the first full term of the city government.

Other options that may be considered in the first term, but certainly in the years following are:

If you would like to read the Declaration of Reservations, thanks to Judi Lane at the POA office, the original restrictions, applicable to Horseshoe Bay, Horseshoe Bay West and Horseshoe Bay South, together with the various supplements and ammendments thereto, have been compiled into a single document, making it much easier to understand the current covenants running with our land.

MICROSOFT WORD FORMAT
ADOBE PDF FORMAT