V. Hugh Lewis II/Jefferson Jimplecute
Jefferson residents turned out in mass Monday and Tuesday nights and didn’t mince words over Mayor Patricia Finstrom’s proposed budget cuts.
Over an hour of public comment, mostly focused on the reduction of Friends of Jefferson Animals allocation from $16,000 to $500, let the Mayor and Council know, in no uncertain terms, that the proposed cuts were “unacceptable” and needed to be restored – or the City needed to have a plan to deal with the stray animals.
“Animal control is a need not a want,” said Kimberly Parsons. “We don’t want a storage building that costs more than most of our homes.”
“[Monday] night’s comments fell on deaf ears,” said Kay Cannon. “You [Finstrom] are an elected official. You are placed in office by Jefferson citizens who expect you to listen to concerns with an open mind. I agree we have a feral cat and dog problem and not feeding them is not a solution. Animal control is an ongoing problem. This is not a FoJA problem. It’s a city of Jefferson problem. Without them, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Speakers also challenged Finstrom to conduct the meetings in a more professional and courteous way.
“I was appalled at how you belittled Bubba Haggard last night in public. There are things you do in private and that was one of them,” Cannon said.
Monday night Finstrom loudly accused Haggard of violating the Open Meeting Act by calling on Council members on FaceBook to approve an application to the Texas Water Development Board for a “Water Loss” grant/loan program.
Council appeared to have listened to the public as once they started the workshop, funding for FoJA and Jefferson Salutes America were restored to previous years levels, as well as other line items which were cut.
Former Mayor Rob Baker also spoke and reminded Council that the City operates under a “Weak Mayor” form of government, and if they don’t like the budget proposal, they can not approve it and “shut the City down.”
The two proposed budgets have not had the revenue projections for property tax roll updated, and are still based on the 2024-25 budget, so more funds may be available.
Council will continue budget discussions next Monday and Tuesday.
Also on Monday night, Council appointed Daniel Harrigan to fill the vacant Ward 2 Alderman seat. Harrigan was immediately sworn in following the appointment, despite the swearing in not being on the agenda.
There was a discussion on Monday on submitting a Water Loss Mitigation Project “Intent to Apply” to the TWDB which included Finstrom’s accusations against Haggard. As it was a discussion item, Council did not get to vote, but Finstrom announced the City would be applying for the funds.
Monday Council approved:
• agreement with Schaumburg & Polk as engineers for the Lead Service Line Replacement Inventory Project
• accepted the Tax Assessor’s certified appraisal roll and collection rate
• set the Budget and Tax Rate Public Hearing dates for September 11 and 12.