Plainview council approves first reading of master fee schedule with new animal and utility fees

The Plainview City Council on Sept. 9 approved on first reading Ordinance No. 25-3780, which updates the city's master fee schedule and adds or revises several fees for animal control, facility rentals and utility service enforcement.

City staff presented several specific changes during the meeting. The ordinance adds a $10 microchip fee, a $50 fee labeled for a “destruction of dangerous dog,” a $200 overnight-shipping fee for rabies testing, and clarifies shipping costs to reflect overnight handling to a testing lab in Austin. For facility rentals, staff proposed increasing the cleaning deposit by $100 while keeping rental rates unchanged, and a lost-key fee of $350 to cover rekeying costs.

Public Works Director Mr. Weems presented proposed utility-related fees, including a new $25 meter-tampering fee for customers who knowingly unplug meters and a mechanism to recover costs when city-owned equipment is damaged. Weems said tampering and deliberate damage occur with measurable frequency: “We have a few customers that will regularly unplug their meters. It's anywhere from 4 to 10 a month… We do have about a dozen right now that need to be repaired from wires being cut, purposely cut,” he said. The council asked whether the $25 tampering fee would be billed immediately; staff said the $25 fee will be assessed on the customer’s next water bill, while larger equipment-replacement charges will be invoiced separately if necessary.

Council members questioned how the “dangerous dog” charge would be applied. Staff clarified that designation is made by animal control: “It would be deemed dangerous dog by animal control, and surrendered by the owner of the animal,” a staff member said during discussion. The $200 overnight shipping fee reflects staff effort to ensure timely lab testing for potential rabies exposure; staff reported shipments occur roughly two to three times per month.

The ordinance was moved by Council member Rascon and seconded by Council member House and approved on first reading by a unanimous voice/hand vote. The council did not specify a date for a second reading during the meeting.

The master fee schedule update bundles many smaller municipal fees into a single annual ordinance; staff said the update clarifies billing practices (for example, tire billing and dumpster sizes) and aligns fees with current service costs.