It's budget time, as the Big Spring City Council is expected to consider first reading of its 2008-2009 budget and hold a public hearing on the matter Tuesday evening, spurring it closer to completing its fiscal plan for the coming year.

Lucky for city tax payers, the budget is based on a tax rate slightly lower than estimates developed in July.

Peggy Walker, director of finance for the city of Big Spring, said certified values returned by the Howard County Appraisal District totaled $524 million, a jump from the estimated value of $515 million the city based its proposed budget on.

“We've completed our evaluation of the tax rate,” Walker told the council. “The values have gone up considerably over the prior year, and additionally over what we included in our budget estimates. We had originally based the budget on an estimate of $515 million and the taxable values were certified at slightly over $524 million.

“What we're suggesting to the council is we adopt a rate that is slightly below (last year's rate of $1.0227). It would be $1.0132 per $100 valuation, which is a decrease in the tax rate of almost one penny.”

Walker said the savings over last year's tax rate will be less than $10 for the majority of city taxpayers.

“The average residential home is valued at slightly more than $40,000,” said Walker. “That would be a decrease to the taxpayer of $3.43. One a home valued at $100,000, it would mean a decrease of $8.57. It's still sufficient to fund the budget we brought to the council, and we'll be bringing it back to the council for first reading during the next meeting.”

Mayor Russ McEwen took a motion and a second from the council during its Aug. 12 meeting to approve the new $1.0132 rate, saying the vote was simply an indication the council was ready to move forward with the measure. The council voted in favor of the motion unanimously.

A public hearing on the tax rate is also slated for the meeting, with a second public hearing on the matter set for Sept. 9. First reading of the order adopting the tax rate is also slated for the September meeting, according to Walker.

The future of portable containers  — also known as freight containers or sea containers — in the city will also be up for consideration Tuesday night, as the council is expected to look at final reading of a 180-day moratorium on applications and permitting for the metal containers.

First reading of the measure was narrowly approved two weeks ago on a 4-3 vote, with Mayor Russ McEwen and council members Manuel Ramirez Jr. and Troy Tompkins voting against the moratorium.

The  moratorium, which would disallow any permits be issued for use of the containers, sometimes used by construction crews for storage, as well as by local residents in the place of sheds or other storage structures, until city officials can craft an ordinance that would address the matter — including any problems caused by residential use.

“A couple of years ago this issue came up,” said Assistant City Manager Todd Darden during a previous meeting. “We refer to them as sea containers. They are the portable containers you see going up and down the railroad spurs as well as on the highways. After researching it, we began looking at some of the ordinances in our areas and what other communities were doing to address those.

“About four months ago we took a proposal tailored after what Midland has, and made some changes to it for what we thought would fit the Big Spring community and took it to Planning and Zoning. The Planning and Zoning Commission asked the staff to go back and look at it because the one we proposed did not allow them in residential zones except for construction purposes, which would be a temporary type permit.”

According to Darden, the number of sea containers being utilized within the city limits continues to grow, making the moratorium a necessity while city officials decide how to handle the situation.

“In the meantime, they keep growing in our community,” said Darden. “What we're asking the council to do tonight is to place a temporary moratorium on them until the staff can get the research done and get it to Planning and Zoning for a recommendation to the council to consider.”

At least two local residents spoke against the moratorium during the meeting.

Also during Tuesday's meeting, the council is expected to consider final reading of an ordinance adopting a new rate review mechanism between Atmos Energy's West Texas Division and the steering committee investigating the validity of rate increase claims, as well as final reading of a resolution that will allow for the implementation of an Adopt-A-Spot program within the city limits.

The meeting is expected to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers, located at 307 E. Fourth Street.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it