[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6199172,"mediaKeyId","3839824-09d891c0aa84386d344ff8bf741628b1","parentId",3839824,"title","Kerrville council weighs scaling Chapter 380 incentives to help small businesses","audioSeconds",2506,"startMs",47080,"endMs",2554024,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3839824-09d891c0aa84386d344ff8bf741628b1&start=47&end=2554","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3839824-09d891c0aa84386d344ff8bf741628b1/thumbnail_47080.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6199172/Kerrville/Kerr-County/Texas/Kerrville-council-weighs-scaling-Chapter-380-incentives-to-help-small-businesses","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6199172-e01bf78008846b03e357cdf53d78948b/orig.mp4?Expires=1771153618&Signature=TRuLjDwLXrFgPIXQHxYSUGmXzE4KGiT0Z4HeHhj5zjN0LkuZLpdXwZkfZ0~N-sU9Rnf6lLvuYXarnBo2BH5PCk89IX6FxVh6VHwc82pLxNB6sTpd7yQt5MJLpCXZ9y1pt7mcE3m9OtfOjj3WZBkypYY0jmSZt3qVdXIMw8xbVUKZVJwh7adtc-NdsRyzygWTkoI2MkWcWbR9oOR6eMJvF-JqAXT3co7zDyozpVby5DT4ioYjQmGPnKOrnZR6dQdeIN2HdIUi9lAbiy~vz71NCmDr6qekUZMsd5u4je7xtTVdzsx3-tTVeQ0MzORhql6pRe5pfktquc3zc~J5xwjhNg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Kerrville","date","2025-06-11T15:24:08Z","article","Kerrville staff on Tuesday told the City Council workshop they want to revise the city's Chapter 380 economic development program so it can offer smaller, tiered incentives aimed at retaining and expanding local small businesses.

Kelly Hagemeyer, a city staff member, told the council that Chapter 380 agreements \"authorize municipalities to offer loans and grants of city funds or services at little or no cost to promote state and local economic development and to stimulate business and commercial activities,\" and that Kerrville's current program was adopted in 2014 and is due for review.

The issue matters because the current program’s eligibility thresholds and minimums were set for larger projects and may exclude smaller, locally owned businesses. Changing the program could let Kerrville offer scaled incentives — for example, tax breaks tied to equipment purchases or modest hiring — that staff say could be tailored to the city’s priorities without obligating the city to provide incentives in all cases.

Hagemeyer summarized the existing program requirements in Resolution 18-24 (2014) and said the current minimum increased taxable value requirement is $200,000. She outlined potential adjustments the council could consider, including lowering or tiering the minimum taxable-value increase, defining what counts as a public benefit or \"enjoyment of city services,\" specifying targeted industries, and allowing pre-permitted projects to qualify under some circumstances.

Several council members asked for clearer legal guidance and for staff to provide a written brief explaining the statutory boundaries of Chapter 380. One council member asked whether the $200,000 threshold is required by state law or a local policy; staff and other participants said the council sets the local threshold but that Chapter 380 of the Texas Local Government Code provides the enabling authority and that the county equivalent is Chapter 381. Dalton (staff member) clarified that the Comptroller of Texas requires reports of Chapter 380 agreements within 14 days of execution.

Todd Bock, representing the Kerr Economic Development Corporation (Kerr EDC), supported revisiting the program and stressed that smaller businesses frequently ask for modest help — for example, $15,000 for equipment or funds to build an e-commerce capability — and currently have limited local options. \"The very question you'll find when you sit down with a prospect or a local business is, 'What do you have for me?'\" Bock said.

Council members discussed trade-offs: some favored lowering threshold amounts to help local startups and contractors, while others warned about overextending city resources and emphasized the need for measurable public benefit and payback or performance benchmarks. One council member suggested staff provide concrete proposal options with guardrails so the council could evaluate cost, administrative burden and how many small awards the city could reasonably manage.

Staff said the goal of the current workshop was educational — to ensure council members understand how Chapter 380 tools work and to solicit direction on what parameters to test. Hagemeyer said staff recommends creating a scalable Chapter 380 program that would allow the city to consider smaller projects alongside larger developments.

The council did not take formal action. Staff said it would return with the existing program document and with draft revisions and legal guidance for council review.

Looking ahead, Hagemeyer said the city will also present a separate workshop in two weeks on Chapter 312 incentives. Council members asked staff to identify specific proposal options and the legal framework before a final policy revision is drafted.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City Council Workshop - June 10, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Kerrville staff on Tuesday told the City Council workshop they want to revise the city's Chapter 380 economic development program so it can offer smaller, tiered incentives aimed at retaining and expanding local small businesses.","taxTitle","Kerrville, Kerr County, Texas","taxId",54244,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6199167,"Staff says Kerrville’s reclaimed-water system runs at a loss; proposes rate changes to reduce burden on water fund",1609,2555760,4165000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3839824-09d891c0aa84386d344ff8bf741628b1&start=2555&end=4165","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3839824-09d891c0aa84386d344ff8bf741628b1/thumbnail_2555760.jpg","/articles/6199167/Kerrville/Kerr-County/Texas/Staff-says-Kerrvilles-reclaimed-water-system-runs-at-a-loss-proposes-rate-changes-to-reduce-burden-on-water-fund","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6199167-afb5c7a344d3d1e6cb2879f730f69d09/orig.mp4?Expires=1771153618&Signature=mSt6KsujhprvDrChd9FHIT4UxZgfQ74Jp0jnPDWjp9goG52x8NEwnb3hSFpjbBtI9F0LBQM4AtVBdSP-aErG54SQOSPsPlmyEN4IyUhL7O7hSSjPZfH~zYHVudOfZMuG0P03Fdsvp~M4xj-hdTbSF3nZ2q2TTDn8vFJgbQg1TtYGiCw-Qv7UhkbdAEpcEpyEbvnubwRqMNBxiVGwNXo~vgCDCWcFuIsj~aZio2RO6ai5tJlyOWkiaiIIL1PBYcYFUovFnQFAzcjl3VPLomX5JHrdeFx1NopQCYStGbxDhpw5eiFUX~4Cuo0Q8rtqhLb9TokmKttunqQPczBjMSyA1A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City staff on June 10 told the Kerrville City Council workshop that the city’s reclaimed (reused) water system is paying much more to operate and service debt than it collects in customer fees, and presented rate models the city could use to reduce pressure on the Water and Sewer Fund.

Rodriguez, a city staff member, said the reclaimed-water retention pond and associated distribution system — completed in 2020 — was a $21.7 million project funded with a 2016 bond series (about $8.035 million allocated by the city), a $7.5 million loan from KPUB and a $3 million contribution from the EIC. \"We had some undesignated funds...and then we had some old unused bond dollars that we went ahead and used up for the water system to complete that $21,700,000 project,\" Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez told council the system has a storage capacity of about 90,000,000 gallons and that annual operating costs for chemicals, electricity, routine maintenance and small repairs are about $74,000. Combined with remaining debt service — about $634,000 per year on the bond series plus about $1,100,000 per year on the KPUB loan — the system’s annual cash requirement is roughly $1.8 million.

By comparison, Rodriguez said reclaimed-water customers used about 259,900,000 gallons in the last 12 months (roughly 21.6 million gallons per month) and generated about $178,000 in revenue under current rates. The city has nine larger customers under the reclaimed system; most contracts were written with 15–20 year terms and five-year auto renewals, and two contracts currently include locked rates with a maximum 2% annual increase.

\"The return on investment is not going to be a financial one for these types of systems,\" Rodriguez said, adding that the primary financial benefit is conserving potable drinking water. Still, Rodriguez said, the city must address the system's operating deficit.

Staff presented benchmarking of other cities’ reclaimed-water rates and two broad rate approaches: a tiered volumetric schedule that mirrors the city’s potable irrigation structure and a flat monthly base-charge approach. Benchmarks showed other cities’ average reclaimed-water base charge around $248 per month and median $145; per-1,000-gallon tiered volumetric rates in the benchmark set averaged about $2.67 (median $2.33).

Using local consumption and a projected 10% haircut to account for uncertainty, staff modeled scenarios that would raise reclaimed-water revenue closer to industry norms. Examples discussed included doubling the current volumetric rate (from $0.75 to $1.50 per 1,000 gallons) in an initial year and phasing additional increases over a multi-year transition, and a flat-monthly charge option that would recover a larger share of fixed operating costs.

Council members asked several operational questions: which contracts remain active (Rodriguez said some school-district connections predate the pond and need updated agreements), whether customers should face \"take-or-pay\" requirements so reserved but unused allocations do not block new users, and what potable-irrigation savings customers realize. Staff said the irrigation potable tiers range roughly from $4.60 per 1,000 gallons upward depending on volume, and that reclaimed rates remain substantially lower than current potable irrigation tier prices.

Rodriguez said staff will present refined rate proposals at the upcoming fiscal year 2026 Water Fund budget workshop and asked council to provide policy direction on issues such as treatment of contracted customers, base-charge design and whether to adopt a phased increase. No formal rate change was adopted at the workshop.","City staff reported the reclaimed-water system’s annual operating and debt costs (~$1.8 million) far exceed current reclaimed-water revenue (~$178,000); staff presented rate models including higher volumetric and flat rates and recommended council consider changes at next budget workshop","actionData","errors"]

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Kerrville council weighs scaling Chapter 380 incentives to help small businesses

Staff says Kerrville’s reclaimed-water system runs at a loss; proposes rate changes to reduce burden on water fund