The following was submitted by Mrs. Micki Ball July 17th, 2014
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Platform:
I wish to be an advocate for the citizens ensuring that everyone is informed, no debt is incurred by the city, and additional taxes not be imposed initially, if ever. Without understanding the existing tax base and any potential revenue opportunities through business development and municipal franchise fees, it is unfair to burden the citizens with additional tax. Encouraging involvement from the community to address issues affecting the city and those in need is a goal we should all embrace and I am ready to work with existing programs to make Sandy Oaks a great place to live.
What specifically would you like to accomplish in the first year?
- Develop a property profile of the entire City of Sandy Oaks to determine the number of vacant and occupied lots so that the very first measure of a tax base can be calculated.
- Identify and secure Right-of-Way (ROW) contracts for municipal access fees.
- Ensure that every resident is accounted for by address and their preferred method of contact (US Mail, eMail, phone, text).
- Generate a newsletter of pertinent topics to distribute to the community.
- Increase voter registration so that the voices of the community are well represented.
What are the first three ordinances you would like to pass (besides those that first set up the municipality)?
- Animal control through a spay/neuter program and leash requirements. Our residents should feel safe when out in their yard, playing in the street or walking/running/biking without fear of being attacked and needing to carry sticks for their protection.
- Although there are clearly properties that have developed outside of the existing deed restrictions, the new city will need to address zoning definitions and restrictions for the future.
- Load zoning for roads is critical since maintenance of the roads will become the responsibility of the City. At some point in the near future, the county will relinquish the maintenance responsibility of the roads to the city.
What do you think is the single most important issue to deal with in the community?
COMMUNICATION! We have to create a means for residents and representatives to share information, whether that is through community sign boards, email/text blasts, newsletters, phone chain or a voice message system. It is important that all residents have the ability to know what is happening in their city and inform the city of issues needing to be addressed.
What are your ideas on how the city can develop a dedicated revenue stream to best benefit Sandy Oaks?
- Work with the property owner(s) of the commercially zoned property at Mathis/Priest Road to encourage business development.
- Secure right-of-way (ROW) contracts for municipal franchise fees.
- Capture the additional 2% sales tax which is an option available for Texas cities.
How, as an alderman in the future, will you reach everyone in the city of Sandy Oaks to hear their input?
Using data from Bexar Appraisal District and US Mail initially, send an introductory letter from the city to every residence. As stated above, asking residents how they prefer to send/receive communication is necessary.
What qualifies you to have the power to run a city of 3,800 people?
During 27 years of employment within the telecommunications industry, I was accountable for quota setting, revenue forecasting/assurance and operational management related to support of a sales organization consisting of 77 associates and $184M in revenue. My career also included experience with Marketing and Customer Service within the same industry.
More importantly, I care about this community. I want to make a difference.
Micki I enjoyed reading your profile. I feel very strongly that yourself. David Tremblay and I are the ones for the job. I am already impressed with out hardwork of reaching the community. This experience has been if anything g enlighning and I am excited for us and our neighbors to be working together as a community at whole. As I have said before win or lose I am in this for the good of the community and will continue to be involved for as long as I live here. See you at tomorrow night meeting
Cathleen Lamoureaux Recio
I have completed the first item from my first year goal:
Develop a property profile of the entire City of Sandy Oaks to determine the number of vacant and occupied lots so that the very first measure of a tax base can be calculated.
Some highlights:
There are 1,972 unique property IDs as identified by the BCAD rolls.
855 of those properties are owner-occupied
962 of those properties have an appraised value of less than $20,000
The average appraised value of all properties is $33,702
Additionally, there now exists a complete database of all addresses within the city that can be used for mailing to our residents.
That’s great work. This should have been done by the Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO) before pushing to incorporate.
Of the 1972 properties, how many are zoned commercial and how many are residential?
If the avg. property value is $33,702, does this mean BCAD has the entire city appraised at $66.4 million?
I cannot address the zoning question because I have yet to find anything that identifies what properties carry the designation, but it is on my list.
As for the 1972 properties, that includes all properties (residential and commercial). There are the known 4 commercial, but it appears as if there are at least 2 others not accounted for in the previous discussions as well well as a few d/b/a sites as well.
And yes, $66.4M is the number. Keep in mind that I may have included/excluded properties on the fringes because I am not entirely certain of the exact boundaries, but using the map, I was able to garner at least this much. And more. But I’m keeping the data close to my chest until the elections are over. I’m sure you understand.
I think the DBA places are going to cause a lot of trouble for the community. On one hand, there are too many violations to property deeds for the future city council to correct. On the other hand, some violations do effect the property of others. For example, using a residential property as a commercial property.
I’m very glad to know that you do your homework, though.
Logic, eventually, the city is going to have to address that issue. At one point, the “powerless” WPPOA threatened a resident (who has since moved out) with having “her” chickens poisoned if she didn’t get rid of them. Unfortunately, they were wild chickens, so the threat didn’t impress the resident. So, apparently, the WPPOA was only “powerless” when they were dealing with some body they didn’t like or wasn’t part of the “clique” (now the Fab Five).
If $66.4 mil is the figure, then the tax rate to get to Art deVara’s $300,000 is between $.45 and $.46 per hundred. A LOT like Elmendorf, the community that doesn’t exist as far as the Fab Five are concerned.