We have come a long way in four years.
We have reduced taxes, improved quality of life, and followed the Comprehensive Plan.
Four years ago, the city trusted me to lead as City Council Member in Place 4. Looking back, I am grateful for your support. So many have called me during this election season and voiced their support.
In 2022, Jersey Village is a more attractive and financially stable city than it was in 2018. We have had our challenges but we have overcome them as a community. The hardest of which was and still is the Covid-19 Pandemic. We all know someone who was seriously harmed or even died from this worldwide crisis. We banded together as a community to preserve our mental health and meet the needs of our neighbors. The mom’s group worked with Jersey Village Fire Department to bring us the Easter Bunny atop of a fire truck. The Jersey Village Senior Outreach provided drive-through events. Citizens and Council had to learn a whole new way of working together through virtual meetings.
Success Stories
Looking back, we find a series of positive outcomes over the past four years.
01
Increased Property Tax Exemptions
Normally you don’t want to hear ‘increase’ and ‘tax’ in the same sentence. In this case, it was a win, win, win for the residents. We doubled the Over 65 tax exemption from $50,000 to $100,000. The Disabled tax exemption was increased ten-fold from $20,000 to $200,000. The homestead exemption was increased from 8% to 14%. Our early projections for the 2022-2023 budget indicate we could increase the homestead to the full 20%. I’m not just saying I want to lower taxes, I have done it and have a plan to get to the full 20% exemption and raise the Over 65 exemption.
02
Sidewalk and Street Improvements
Have you noticed all the sidewalk work being done in Jersey Village? The citizens here love to walk. We have such a pretty neighborhood blessed by many mature trees. These trees have also caused havoc on our sidewalks impacting the walkability of Jersey Village. A quick look at the Parks Master Plan survey (pg 49) shows how residents value our sidewalks. Last year, I requested the Council place more money in public works to repair sidewalks. You can learn more on the city website under Streets and Sidewalks. My goal is to repair all the damaged sidewalks and then start filling in the missing sidewalks. There are several undeveloped lots or areas where sidewalks were needed but not installed. This makes walking a safer activity, keeping at-risk populations from walking in the street.
03
Pay off debt and pay as you go funding
Wise financial counselors will tell you to pay off debt and avoid using debt. Bonds should be used for unplanned expenses that cannot be paid with funds on hand. Since I was elected in 2018, city debt has dropped from $20,700,000 to $9,000,000. We have issued ZERO debt. During this time, we have expanded the Capital Improvement Plan to ten years. This allows us to predict upcoming costs such as streets, generators, facility improvements, and new construction. This is not to remove resident input. Residents are encouraged to contact and work with councilmembers to get projects added or deleted. By being good stewards of taxpayer funds, we are reducing the cost of projects by removing needless interest.
04
Golf Course Clubhouse
We started a design for the golf course clubhouse that ended up getting very expensive. The project was placed on hold until Fall of last year. One councilmember requested we look at a bond election to fund the clubhouse. During the December 2021 Regular Meeting, I requested council schedule a work session for this specific issue. We had that meeting on January 7th, 2022. During that meeting, the bond purposal was recinded and we worked with Golf Manager Matt Jones to create a new design that fit within the city budget. Since then, we have hired a design firm to create plans and put the project out for bid. The Jersey Meadows Golf Course is a great asset to the community and used by many non-golfers. Several organizations used the building for meetings. This is an investment in the community as much as it is the golf course. In the last four years, Matt Jones has raised golf course revenue by $549,000 per year.