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2020
Volume 33, Issue 38
www.LHIndependent.com
News@LHIndependent.com
August 13, 2020 | 50 Cents
Proposed City budget grows by 34%
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor Following the shift toward expanding the City staff during the last budget cycle, the Liberty Hill City Council discussed a new proposed budget that includes more of the same. This year’s proposed budget, outlined for the Council Monday by Finance Director Becky Wilkins, includes nine new positions above what was approved last September. That adopted budget added 18 positions to a staff that totaled 37 last summer. If approved Aug. 24, the City will have 63 total positions, and a general fund budget of $5.68 million -- an increase of 34 percent over the current budget of $4.24 million. While the increase in expenses is dramatic, it does not include a tax rate increase. The proposed tax rate of $0.454559 per $100 valuation is a rate reduction. “This is around a four-cent drop from the current rate this year,” noted Mayor Rick Hall. While the City touted the rate reduction, under new rules set by the Legislature, it is not a decision truly in the hands of the Council. Due to changes mandated by Senate Bill 2, passed during the last legislative session, allowable revenue increases for Texas cities has been cut
by more than 50 percent. The new proposed rate is the highest rate allowed without voter approval. “Senate Bill 2 also caps the amount of revenue that you can increase with new property taxes at 3.5 percent,” said City Attorney Tad Cleaves. “The old rollback rate was capped at 8 percent, so your revenue could increase year to year without having voter approval of a new tax rate.” It is projected that even with the lower rate, the expanded tax rolls and increased property values will generate about $1.4 million in local property taxes next year, compared to just over $1.1 million in the current year. Wilkins said the current rate – if it were adopted – would have generated $2.2 million in the upcoming year. The current Liberty Hill property tax rate is $0.490187 per $100 valuation. Under the current rate, a home valued at $250,000 would pay $1,225 in property taxes. Under the proposed rate, a home valued at $250,000 would pay about $1,137. There is a temporary loophole for that rate cap, though, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that would have allowed the Council to set a higher rate. According to Cleaves, due to
See BUDGET, Page 4
With time on her hands, Jen Cochran Anderson is delving Greeting cards of various types and topic have helped Ginger back into oil painting whole-heartedly after 15 years. Ketchum pass the time during quarantine. (Courtesy Photo) (Courtesy Photo)
PANDEMIC PASTIMES
Many turn to art to keep busy, stay creative
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer Keeping busy during quarantine can be a challenge, but residents of Liberty Hill are finding creative ways to get through the COVID-19 pandemic, and pick up or sharpen some skills along the way. Art is the escape method for several, including Ashley Torres DeGraan. She uses this time to create abstract art with her family. “During quarantine, my family helped me put a couple of puzzles together and
WilCo Commissioners approve proposed maximum tax rate
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer GEORGETOWN -- The Williamson County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday on a proposed maximum tax rate not to exceed $0.458719 per $100 valuation. This rate matched the current tax rate that comprises the General Fund, Road and Bridge Fund, and Debt Service Fund tax rates. “We, by law, have to post and advertise a maximum tax rate, and we always say that this is not necessarily the rate that will ©2020 The Liberty Hill Independent
be adopted. It’s just the highest that you might expect,” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Cynthia Long. The court also voted on and unanimously accepted recommended budgets for the General Fund at $218,940,100, the Road and Bridge Fund at $44,576,568, and the Debt Service Fund at $126,845,915. The overall recommended 2021 budget sits at $390,362,583 -- almost $3.5 million less than the current adopted budget. “The budget that was put together and proposed money wise is very close to last year’s budget on the maintenance and operations side of things,” said Long. “Obvi-
ously, with the debt service, you can’t tweak that. It is what it is based on voter-approved debt.” The General and the Road and Bridge funds are about 1 percent less than the previous year, and the Debt Service Fund includes $25 million for debt defeasance. The similarities seen in the proposed budget compared to the current budget are in response to many of the uncertainties brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. “If our budget office has done their job correctly, then nobody on the commissioners court is surprised, and I wasn’t surprised,” said Long.
See COUNTY, Page 6
so I could create my artwork from it,” said DeGraan. “It’s helped keep things calm and peaceful at times when things are so crazy around us. It’s time-consuming and rewarding at the same time.” DeGraan’s family has taken advantage of quarantine and used their activities to come together more as a family. “The family loves it just as much as I did,” she said. “It’s brought us time together when we need it the most. Creating memories while doing something so simple as a family.”
Jen Cochran Anderson is reconnecting with her artistic roots through oil painting. Anderson is an art historian professionally, so art is never far from the mind. “It’s also nice to get back into a practice that is really fundamental to who I am,” she said. “I haven’t painted much in the last 15 years — I spent that time in graduate school, earning my Ph.D. in art history, then teaching, working on my scholarship, and raising my son. Taking time for myself to paint lets me get back to the
fundamentals of myself.” Being able to get back to her roots is helping Anderson get through the stress of quarantine. “It’s been vital to me to have a creative outlet that lets me express the anxiety and the isolation of quarantining for so many months,” said Anderson. “I love oil painting, in particular. There’s so much scope for both naturalism and expressionism. It’s also a practice that I feel like I have
See PASTIMES, Page 6
BCSO contradicts Hall claim
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Managing Editor In July, after the details of former Police Chief Maverick Campbell’s grievance with the City of Liberty Hill were detailed in The Independent, Mayor Rick Hall threatened to take legal action against the paper, claiming one alleged incident was not being investigated at all. But the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office confirmed July 31 in response to an Open Records Request that the incident reported by Campbell to law enforcement is indeed being investigated. In a report filed with the Burnet County Sheriff’s Department March 11 – and later detailed as well in his official grievance filed with the City
– Campbell detailed an allegation from the City Council retreat at Canyon of the Eagles in January where he said Hall threatened his two sons, using a racially derogatory term in reference to them and telling them he would hang them both by their necks from a tree. At the time Hall leveled the threat of a lawsuit against the paper, he claimed that Burnet County law enforcement told him it would not be investigated. “They said they’re not going to investigate it because it’s not accurate,” Hall said, saying that’s what he was told when he spoke to them, though he referenced the Burnet Police Department. “I was called and told there was a police investigation about this and
because it was at Canyon of the Eagles it was turned over to the LCRA. LCRA said ‘I’m not doing nothing about this.’ There’s no proof this happened. Burnet County police department said they’re not going to investigate it because there’s no proof that it happened.” But in a statement received from the BCSO on July 31, Captain Tim Dillard of the Criminal Investigations Division, said it will be investigated. “The investigation into these class C misdemeanor allegations had been suspended for a time while awaiting further information from Mr. Campbell. (Last week) he agreed to
See INVESTIGATION, Page 6
ANTHONY FLORES PHOTO
The Wind Therapy Freedom Riders, members of Project Overwatch, the Liberty Hill Police Department, City officials and the Liberty Hill community came together to show their support for law enforcement at a gathering Aug. 8.
Event promotes community support for Liberty Hill Police Department
By ANTHONY FLORES Staff Writer With law enforcement under heavy scrutiny and criticism across the country, signs of support can be hard to come by. The Wind Therapy Freedom Riders (WTFR) rode into Liberty Hill Saturday after-
noon to rally the community around the Liberty Hill Police Department. The Liberty Hill community didn’t miss the opportunity, showing up to the event held in the field across from the police station. The WTFR and Project Over-
watch worked together to organize the event. Project Overwatch is an organization of active or retired servicemen helping law enforcement through community events and charitable organizations. Project Overwatch has helped organize events in other parts
of the country, and President Jamal Labbe believes there is a growing movement of support for law enforcement. “We hosted one of these in Atlanta about a month and a half ago, and we had about 400 to 500 people come out,” he said. “It was a great event, and we
got some wives and mothers to speak. I think we’re seeing a trend around the country and seeing an uptick in the support for law enforcement.” Labbe says these kinds of events are important because, up until recently, the majority of support for law enforce-
ment officers came from within the community. “When this first started, going back to Ferguson, the only ones supporting law enforcement were law enforcement. So, it was a self-licking ice
See EVENT, Page 6