There has been a growing trend with politicians in the community that are trying to guilt trip people into doing more work in the community. Volunteering is great, but using peer pressure to force people into volunteering is a nasty thing to do. Part of the guilt trip comes from certain Council members whenever they […]
The City Council held a Budget Hearing on September 2, 2015. The location of the meeting was planned as the meeting hall at the Braunig Lake RV Resort, however it was changed without warning to a cafeteria approximately 100 yards away. Related: City Council Holds Illegal Meeting; Violates State Law The meeting was open for […]
For the first time since September of 2014, the City Council is going to look at a budget for the city. The only reason they’re doing so is because they are legally required to and because they plan on creating a new property tax that is going to nearly double what Sandy Oaks residents are […]
The Sandy Oaks City Council has announced a budget hearing for September 2, 2015. The hearing will start at 6:30 pm and will be held at the Braunig Lake RV Resort Meeting Hall, 13550 Donop Road, Elmendorf, Tx, 78112. Texas law requires cities to produce an itemized budget to “cover the proposed expenditures of the […]
Alderman Micki Ball stated on July 9, 2015 that city wide trash collection should be paid for with property taxes. She said trash collection would be one of the “services provided through property tax.” The idea didn’t sit well with Aldermen and audience members alike. One woman in the audience loudly responded “I don’t think […]
Mayor Jim Clement told a citizen of Sandy Oaks on July 1, 2015 that it wasn’t necessary for the City Council to have a Budget Hearing. The reason Clement gave for not needing a Budget Hearing was that the city’s revenue would be less than $500,000 Texas Tax Hearing Law With regards to a […]
For the City Council meeting on June 11, 2015, the Council had on the agenda to discuss documents needed by the Bexar County Tax Assessor Collector’s office and the Bexar County Appraisal District. Documents needed by the Tax Assessor Collector included who the City of Sandy Oaks had as a Tax Attorney. The City, however, […]
On May 14, 2015, the Sandy Oaks City Council created property tax exemptions for senior citizens and those disabled. The Council had previously discussed these tax exemptions on March 21, 2015. At that meeting the City Attorney, Art Martinez de Vara, suggested to the Council that they hold a workshop with a representative from Bexar […]
Mayor Jim Clement has scheduled a Tax Hearing for May 11, 2015. He announced the Tax Hearing on May 8th by posting the meeting agenda at the WPPOA park gate. Included on the agenda is the presence of Bexar County Tax Assessor Collector Albert Uresti as well as a Carlos Gutierrez. The agenda states they […]
On February 26, 2014 the City Council met to fix the tax debacle they created when they created an illegal amount of sales taxes. The issue was that the city could only create up to 1.5% in sales taxes and instead created 1.75%. The only reason it was 1.75% and not 2% is because someone […]
We live in a democratic republic, a special form of government that allows citizens to democratically elect representatives to represent. When these representatives make decisions in government, they do so not just for themselves, but for the people who placed them into office. Secretly changing a decision that a democratically elected group changes i the […]
The following was written and submitted by Don Hormachea. On August 16th, 2014, the City of Sandy Oaks held it’s first City Council meeting. Among various things discussed and decided, Arturo Martinez DeVara, Mayor of Von Ormy, was appointed as City Attorney for 60 days, to allow for advertising the position and accepting applications. Also […]
The Sandy Oaks City Council held a special meeting on February 26, 2015 to discuss the illegal amount of sales taxes they created last fall. In their first official meeting, the Council created an election for 3 new sales taxes that, if approved, would equal more than the amount allowed by Texas law. The voters […]
People should at least consider the keeping of the $180 POA maintenance fee/assessment fee. I know this is an unpopular point of view, but please consider some reasons why: The Fee Now Goes to The WPPOA The primary argument people use against the Fee is that it has never gone into the community and has […]
At the City Council meeting on February 12, 2015, Mayor Jim Clement wanted to discuss and consider placing the removal of the VIA sales tax up for election on the May 2015 ballot. The City Council had placed the 1/2% VIA sales tax on the November 2014 ballot last year and voters decided to keep […]
By Texas state law, the maximum sales tax that can be imposed is 8.25%. Of that, the state collects 6.25% which means that local municipalities and transit authorities can only impose an extra 2% of sales tax. The Sandy Oaks City Council, however, went beyond the legal limit. The Council Wanted The Maximum Above is […]
The audio below is the 4rth part of a 4 part conversation with Sandy Oaks Mayor Jim Clement outside of Freedom Elementary on November 4, 2014. The school served as the only polling location for citizens of the City of Sandy Oaks for the November election. Clement met voters to convince them to vote in […]
Sandy Oaks Mayor Jim Clement stood outside Freedom Elementary School on election day November 4, 2014. The school served as the only polling location for citizens of the newly formed City of Sandy Oaks. The only items on the ballot specifically pertaining to the city were 4 propositions that dealt with sales taxes. The first […]
On November 4, 2014, Mayor Jim Clement stood outside Freedom Elementary School, greeting voters who were about to vote on 4 new propositions. The following is an audio recording in which Mayor Clement can be heard attempting to dodge questions about a budget he presented to the city council in September 2014. Mayor Clement was […]
Proposition 1 1% sales tax for general purposes 165 votes for (56%) 132 votes against (44%) Proposition 2 1/2% additional sales tax for general purposes 151 votes for (51%) 145 votes against (49%) Proposition 3 1/2% sales tax for road maintenance 194 votes for (65%) 104 votes against (35%) Proposition 4 Vote to keep VIA […]
The Sandy Oaks City Council has placed 4 items on the ballot in this Fall’s election. New Sales Taxes The first 3 are proposed sales taxes. When the City Council voted to have the election for sales taxes all Aldermen except for Micki Ball were in favor of the new tax. If approved, the sales […]
On September 18, the City Council met for a Budget Hearing to discuss the first proposed budget for the City of Sandy Oaks. The Committee to Incorporate Sandy Oaks (CISO), the group responsible for the incorporation of the city, never presented a possible budget to the public leading up to the vote for incorporation, so […]
Last night the Sandy Oaks City Council met for a budget hearing to discuss revenue and expenses. The meeting was less formal than a usual City Council meeting and allowed questions and comments from the audience. Mayor Jim Clement, whose job it is to create a budget, presented a budget that included over $300,000 in […]
At its very first meeting, the Sandy Oaks City Council voted in favor of creating 3 propositions for a public vote on new sales taxes. Micki Ball was the only Alderman who voted against all of the proposed propositions. The first proposition is a 1/2% sales tax for street maintenance. The second proposition is for […]
In the meeting held at the Waterwood Clubhouse on July 8th, many items were discussed. One of the most important was that of revenue. Now that Waterwood and surrounding areas have incorporated into the City of Sandy Oaks, there needs to be revenue to pay for what the city needs. The entire point of having […]