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Borger city manager reports stronger EMS revenue, steady utilities and ongoing infrastructure work
Summary
City Manager reviewed January finances, higher-than-expected EMS collections, a new municipal-court youth diversion line item, water and sales-tax trends, and progress on multiple capital projects including pool, ADA work and wastewater upgrades.
The Borger city manager told the council on Jan. 21 that emergency medical services collections and several utility and capital projects are tracking ahead of budget and that staff continue to respond to recent winter weather.
The report said EMS collections are on track to total $1,577,000 this fiscal year—about $361,000 more than the amount budgeted—and that January receipts included $124,000 in one month. The manager also described a newly accounted municipal-court “local youth diversion” line item. “We have been collecting that. It had been being allocated into just the fine line item. We are supposed to account for that separately,” the city manager said, adding the city expects roughly $30,000 a year from the program.
The city manager framed other revenue items as generally positive: water and sewer operating revenue is above budget, sales tax is slightly above the five-year average after an October dip, and hotel-occupancy and tourism receipts are steady with the five-year average. He noted that larger seasonal and industrial receipts occur in later months and urged caution in reading single-month figures.
On capital projects, the manager said work is continuing on the municipal swimming pool pump house and that crews signed a contract for a screw pump at the wastewater treatment plant at the prior meeting. Staff expect bids for Water Well 13 to arrive this week and plan to bring that to the next council agenda. An ADA inspection on 10th Street found only minor items; handrails and signage remain to be finished and the city expects to complete punch-list items before seeking substantial-completion certification.
On emergency and public-safety infrastructure, the manager said the city’s command vehicle—configured as a combined command and rehab unit—remains on track for August delivery and that staff are preparing a nearby barn with sewer dump and utility hookups for that unit. He said several standby generators have shown wear and the city is exploring a multi-year plan to replace some natural-gas units with diesel generation to improve resiliency in major outages.
The manager also described work with the Texas Forest Service to develop an airbase at the Borger airport to support large airtankers and single-engine air tankers. He said the county and local industries may help fund site improvements, and the city will install water lines and a hydrant to support two proposed 20,000-gallon ground tanks. “We’ve agreed to put in the water lines… I think at our cost… we were looking at maybe $15,000 in water line,” the manager said.
Other items in the monthly report included progress on public-works equipment deliveries, a winter-driven pothole backlog, a near-complete reimbursement from Pantex for a radar project, ongoing IT work on two-factor authentication and digital-records modernization, storm-spotter training on Feb. 25, and community events and workforce outreach projects with the school district.
The council took no separate vote on the city manager’s report; it proceeded to the consent agenda and regular business.
