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2021
Volume 34, Issue 37
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Council, EDC discuss incentives programs, need for clarity
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer During a joint meeting of the Liberty Hill City Council and the Economic Development Corporation on July 28, Council Member Chris Pezold said more transparency is needed into the EDC’s incentive programs including why some businesses are selected as recipients over others. Pezold said when the EDC board was formed in 2003 after a special election, it looked a lot different than it does today, which led him to state six “facts” before asking one pertinent question. First, Pezold said EDC Executive Director Matt Powell made a comment in a June EDC meeting that you had to know somebody on the EDC to get something approved; and second, Mike Beevers, the developer of Heritage Ridge where Starbucks is located, paid former Mayor
Rick Hall to be a consultant for that project. “I know this because Beevers came over to my house and told me,” Pezold added. “I’m not going to go with rumors, just the facts.” The third “fact” was that the EDC gave Bevers $160,000 for his development. Pezold’s “Fact No. 4” was that the EDC had a line item on its 2017-18 budget for a “downtown connection fees” program, which had $45,000 in it that year; and No. 5 was that at least one past member of the EDC board took advantage of that program, Pezold said. Finally, he said that James Prince, owner of Main Street Social, has attempted to reach out to the EDC for help with his living unit equivalents (LUEs) through an incentive program. He is currently being charged for 27 LUEs, which
See EDC, Page 9
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August 5, 2021 | 50 Cents
City’s 2020 audit remains incomplete due to missing documents
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer Hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses by the City of Liberty Hill in the 2020 fiscal year are unaccounted for, according to an auditor who has been unable to gather dozens of missing invoices, receipts, credit card statements and more. The City’s 2020 audit has yet to be completed due to the missing items. Under best practices, the audit should have been completed in March. Lupe Garcia, CPA and engagement officer for Whitley Penn Accounting, the firm working with the City on completing its 2020 audit, presented an update to Council at its regular meeting on July 28. City Administrator Lacie Hale said staff is looking for the missing documentation, because the delay of the audit’s completion could have serious repercussions. “This could potentially impact
our ability to get bonds,” she said. “We have a wastewater bond we need to go out for, and [not having a finished audit] could increase interest rates if we get that bond. Because our finances would be unaudited, we may also have to find an additional route to secure funds.” The engagement letter for the audit to begin was signed in May 2020, but it wasn’t started then because the 2019 audit was incomplete. The 2019 report was issued at the end of August 2020, which is when Garcia’s firm could start the new audit. Most of the internal field work was done remotely up until now, due to COVID-19, but Garcia and his team were able to be on site at City Hall for three days last week. With
auditors on site, Garcia said he hoped that would speed up finding the missing documents. Hale said the City’s finance
looking for, but estimated her department has gathered 80 percent of what’s missing, and she’s made it her top priority to locate the other missing 20
“There are only three possible explanations for this. It’s either poor management, bad accounting, or an actual crime.”
~ Mayor Liz Branigan
department has been working tirelessly to find the missing items. “The auditors left City Hall with a mountain of documents,” she said. “Now it’s just a matter of going through all of that and the list of what’s missing and seeing what they still need.” Lindsay Strothman, staff accountant for the City, said she can’t put a dollar amount on what the auditors are still
percent. Becky Wilkins, the City’s Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer since December 2018, was not present at the Council meeting last week and is reportedly on leave covered by FMLA for an unknown period of time. During the meeting, Council member Kathy Canady repeatedly stated that Wilkins’ absence was for
See AUDIT, Page 5
Locals react to surge of COVID cases
By CHRISTIAN BETANCOURT Staff Writer Local business owners and public officials in Liberty Hill are cautious about the rise of COVID-19 cases in Williamson County but believe citizens will make the right choices to stay safe. A COVID-19 update from the Williamson County and Cities Health District (WCCHD) put the county in the red phase due to a seven-day rolling average of 44.83 cases per 100,000 people and reported two new deaths since August 2 without any decline over the last 14 days. The WCCHD reported 43,755 confirmed cases and 495 deaths in the county since the pandemic started. Liberty Hill ISD Superintendent Steven Snell said in a statement posted on the school district website shortly after their last board meeting on July 19 that schooling would be done in person while following
The total number of COVID-19 cases reported since the pandemic and a chart showing the similarities between Travis and Williamson County. (WCCHD Graphic) the same protocols utilized by the district at the end of the school year in May.
“Staying in line with the Governor’s executive order GA36, LHISD will not require the
wearing of masks; however, anyone who chooses to wear a mask is welcome to do so,” he
said. “In our community, the last couple of weeks have seen a spike in COVID numbers,
and the county has returned to
See COVID, Page 5
Ice cream shop hopes to help bring tolerance as well as sweets
By CHRISTIAN BETANCOURT Staff Writer As the sound of construction permeated the Main Street Social in preparation for their grand opening Saturday, an ice cream business on the corner added the final touches to a company the owners hope will create a legacy for their younger child Tyler, an 11-year old with special needs. Lisa Candido met her husband in Canada while attending college. The two fell in love and were blessed with three boys. Tyler, the youngest of the three, was born in 2010 with Down syndrome. “We knew our journey raising him would be different,” said Lisa. “We immediately started ©2021 The Liberty Hill Independent
dreaming about how Tyler’s adult life would be. One of our biggest concerns was, ‘What will he do when he grows up?’ We wanted to create meaningful employment for him and other individuals with Down syndrome.” After living in Texas for a few years, the couple planned to create a business for their son later on, but life had other plans. “Through a job change and meeting the right people at the right time, it just seems like we were led to (open the shop now),” said Lisa. “It all happened very quickly. While we expect that Tyler will attend a college program, we’ve always dreamed of providing him and others with Down syndrome with an inclusive and supportive work environment.” The move into ice cream was an easy decision for Tyler’ father, James Candido, whose background was in
The Candido family is opening an ice cream shop in Liberty Hill’s Main Street Social. In addition to offering tasty treats, Udder
See ICE CREAM, Page 4 Love hopes to normalize how others see people with Down syndrome. (Courtesy Photo)