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🏛️ City Council took action on these items on 10/21/2025: 📣 Proclamations • Council recognized the week of Oct 19th-25th as International Infection Prevention Week. Proclamation was received by Karie Singleton, RN, CIC, Sr. Infection Preventionist and staff from CHRISTUS Southeast Texas. • Council recognized the month of October 2025 as National Disability Awareness Month. Melanie Williams Executive Director and Mark Duran Deputy Director, Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas, and Dr. Harold Whitfield, Manager Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation. 💵 Organizational Excellence and Fiscal Responsibility ✔️ 10-Day Grace Period for Water Bills • Amended Chapter 22 of the City Code of Ordinances to create a 10-day grace period for late fees on City water bills. Council amended the item to take effect immediately (10/21/25). This recommendation is based on a data from a review of neighboring cities completed in response to a prior Council request. Council and Staff discussed concerns about changes month to month in billing due dates, late fees, findings of a recent customer service audit of the Water Department, and resources (people and technology) needed to make the water billing process effective and efficient. These will be discussed in an upcoming Council workshop. ✔️ Water/Sewer and Environmental Health Master Fee Schedule • Amended ordinance containing the Master Fee Schedule for Water/Sewer and Environmental Health rates. This amendment increases the Outside-City rate table to properly reflect the Outside-City rates for the new fiscal year. The update to these rates does not change the 0% water and 8% sewer rate increases that were approved by the City Council on September 16th, nor does it change the Senior Citizen approved water and sewer rate freeze. Environmental Health rates are also being updated to comply with SB 1008 regarding food service establishments and permitting (as presented by the Public Health Director in the 10/07 Council meeting). ✔️ Charity Care Write-offs for EMS • Approved the write-off of $801K for charity care accounts as part of the Ambulance Service Supplemental Payment Program (ASSPP) that the City has participated in since FY2016. This is comprised of 596 EMS runs from 7/1/24-6/30/25 for patients identified as charity care patients, that have balances over $1000 (which requires Council approval to write-off). Patients may be classified as charity if the patient is uninsured, collection efforts result in no payment over a 60 day period, and the payment predictor model used indicates medium or low likelihood of payment. ✔️ Beaumont Firemen’s Relief and Retirement Fund (BFRRF) 2025 Actuarial Audit • Council heard a presentation from Ryan Falls, Milliman, an actuarial consulting firm that works with pension funds across Texas and the US. Audit validated that the assumptions and calculations supporting the BFRRF are accurate and provide a sound basis for recent updates and enhancements made to the fund. Fund was found to be in compliance with Actuarial Standards of Practice - the best possible outcome for such an audit. ✔️ Cybersecurity Monitoring Renewal • Approved $184K annual renewal for cybersecurity solution used citywide on all computers and servers to detect and respond to cybersecurity threats. The service fully investigates, responds, and addresses any threat on protected devices within 60 minutes, 24/7. This reduces the City's need for immediate threat response capabilities. ✔️ Financial Software Renewal • Approved $123K annual maintenance renewal of software used for City Finance for Cash Receipts, Asset Management, Accounting, Loans, Accounts Receivable, Purchasing, and also used in Water Billing. ✔️ Bond Facilitation Committee Appointment • Appointed Cortney Heard to the Bond Facilitation Committee. ✔️ Amend City Council Meeting Calendar • Amended the City Council meeting calendar to cancel the evening meeting on December 30, 2025 as it falls during the holiday period. 🏘️ Neighborhood Development and Livability ✔️ Quiet Zone Median Reconstruction Project • Awarded a $422K contract to SETEX for the Quiet Zone Median Reconstruction Project. Project will reconstruct the concrete medians at eight railroad crossings within the City's West End Quiet Zone. Reconstructing these medians is necessary to maintain the City's quiet zone designation and ensure continued compliance with federal requirements. The project includes improvements at the railroad crossings located at Keith Road(North and South), Todd Street(North and South), Wooten Road, Major Drive(North and South), and Langham Road. These address all railroad crossings in the West End Quiet Zone. Work is expected to take 60 days, and is anticipated to start in December and be complete in mid to late February 2026.
