GCUWCD sets tax rate for 2020-2021, approves budget

At its regular monthly meeting, the Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District set its tax rate for the 2020-2021 fiscal year at 0.0050 per $100 of value. The owner of a property valuated at $100,000 will pay $5 in taxes.

In addition to approving the consent agenda, budget amendments for the 2019-2020 budget were proposed and approved. These amendments include the cost of GoToMeeting, which the board uses to host its meetings virtually, as well as the reallocation of funding from a consultancy, which the board did not utilize, to its lobbying fund.

With no public comment presented at the meeting, the board voted unanimously to institute its voter-approval tax rate of 0.0050. Regarding its 2020-2021 budget, the board also approved a budget which is projected to have a surplus of $820.

Other items discussed at the meeting include:

• Approval of bills to be paid by the district, as well as Mitigation Fund and Monitoring Well Project bills.
• Approval of Manager’s reports concerning items such as transporter usage and the drought index, which shows the county is experiencing abnormally dry conditions in the East, while there is a moderate drought in the Western half of the county.
• Approval of the Well Mitigation Manager’s Report, which indicated that as the county nears the end of its drought season, drought mitigation work is almost done.
• Approval of the Field Technician’s Report, which showed the City of Gonzales has caused a depression in the well, which is beginning to affect neighboring wells due to water usage.
• Budgets for the 2020-2021 fiscal year were approved for the Monitor Well Program, Western Mitigation and Eastern Mitigation Funds.
• Approval for adoption of the District’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Policy, which changes how the department records its contribution to local waste and recycling.
• The Board tabled discussions regarding advertising of water conservation methods via radio due to concerns regarding funding.
• The board did not take action regarding Agenda item numbers 13 and 14, enforcement action against Leon Davis Water Well Service Company and presentation of legislative/legal updates from legal counsel, as their legal consultant was not able to speak.