BEAUMONT, Texas — On the same day city council voted to raise several taxes, City Manager Kenneth Williams held his first “meet and greet” with the public.
"I'm getting warm welcomes and greetings from the public, but I'm also hearing about things that are important to some whether it's their streets, or their area, or the parks or whatever,” Williams said. “I'm getting that feedback too."
At a Tuesday Beaumont City Council meeting, council members approved an 8% increase on water services and a $1.50 increase on garbage rates. Inflation, staff salaries, supply chain shortages and an increase in prices are the reasons Beaumont city officials said they had to raise rates.
Tuesday’s meeting was William’s first as city manager.
"My first day is when you're approving the budget,” Williams said. “What did I do wrong?”
City council members also voted to decrease property tax rates by 1 cent. However, most residents will see an average 8.9% increase in their property taxes because most appraisal values have increased.
Ward 1 Council Member Taylor Neild voted against two of the tax hikes. He wants the council to fight for lower taxes.
"I just want the council to be more involved in some of these budget cuts,” Neild said. “Finding out where we can recommend to help save money as well."
Beaumont community members are more concerned about what they are getting for their money.
"Another concern is brown water," Addie Allen, Beaumont resident, said. "We've had ditching done, and that's been a very good thing that the city has done, but after they did the ditching, we have standing water.”
For his first orders of business, Williams plans to focus on strategic planning for the city’s future and economic development.
"Economic development is key,” Williams said. "It's important to us to be competitive as a city if we're going to be able to retain existing businesses. But not just retain those, but also recruit new businesses."
The changes are for the fiscal year 2023, which means they would take effect in March 2023.
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