Gainesville councill mulls new water rules; GISD looks at budget, hiring
May 21—Both Gainesville City Council and the Gainesville Independent School District Board of Trustees have full agendas on their meetings this afternoon.
The GISD meeting is at 5 p.m. at the Administration Building, 800 S. Morris St., and the council meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at the municipal building at 200 S. Rusk St.
Both meetings will begin with the oath of office of elected officials. Newly elected council member Randy Jones will be taking his oath for the first time. Council members Jeff Johnson and Mary Jo Dollar and Municipal Court Judge Chris Cypert will also be sworn in.
Jones' swearing-in comes after some questions about the validity of a mail-in ballot, a special meeting of the Gainesville City Council was held to canvas the results of the May 4 on Tuesday.
Less than an hour before the special session, the Texas Secretary of State sent the official written statement saying that the final ballot was not valid, making Jones the victor.
"I'm just anxious to get to work," said Jones. "I retired at the end of last year, and now this is my new full-time job."
Water and taxes are on the agenda for the city council.
A Water Conservation and Water Resource and Emergency Management Plan is being considered. This would allow penalties and the disconnection of water service for not complying with water emergency plans. A public hearing will be held before the council votes on a decision.
Two tax reinvestment zones are proposed. These would encourage development in these areas by providing tax exemptions.
The council will also hear reports on the funding of the Cooke County Arts Council, and how the city managed to earn all six transparency stars by the Texas Comptroller's office.
GISD
The GISD school board is looking at things to wrap up the end of the school year. Graduation was last night, and May 30 is the last day for students this year.
As part of the end-of-year wrap-up, the board will look at how this year has gone and receive an update on the curriculum, as well as planning for the future by looking at next year's staff and budget.
