Trinity council deals with huge rate increase

The Trinity City Council, led by Mayor Billy Goodin, presents representatives of the Haley Burk Memorial Foundation declaring Dec. 23 as Haley Burk Day, and asked everyone to “Be like Haley and perform a random act of kindness.” Photo by Tony Farkas

By Tony Farkas
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TRINITY — The Trinity City Council discussed ways to deal with a large increase levied on their water costs passed down from the Trinity River Authority.

At its monthly meeting on Thursday, the council was informed by Mayor Billy Goodin that there was a $23,000 monthly increase in the cost of water the city takes from the TRA.

He told the council that they found out about the increase after receiving a bill, and that when he questioned the large increase, he was told that costs for maintenance and chemical treatment of the water have tripled.

TRA water is the main source of water for Trinity residents.

Council member Bubba Smith said the city needs to find some way to recoup the cost, including selling to neighboring communities at reduced rates, but member Scott Womack cautioned the need to sell out of desperation.

Smith said that at this time, since the city recently raised its rates, they can’t make the residents of Trinity pay. However, City Manager Tim King said that since they raised the rates only recently, it is unsure what impact that will have on revenue, and it could be that the city will break even.

Even so, Council member Clegg DeWalt said the city still will have to look at a rate increase, since the recent audit for the city showed the water and wastewater departments had a $340,000 loss in the last fiscal year.

Mayor Pro Tem Phillip Morrison said the increase more than likely will go down once the required maintenance is completed.

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While the city took no action, Goodin said that after discussions with TRA, the council will be part of TRA’s budgeting process.

In a separate matter, the city accepted the audit from Davis, Heinemann and Co. PC, which covered the 2021-22 fiscal year.

Pam Higgins told the council that while the water and wastewater departments operated at a negative, the solid waste department operated in the black. She did say that the city took the right steps by raising water rates last year.

Goodin said that based on the results of the audit, the city will catch up on submitting its financials, as it is two years behind, and that the council will begin considering budget amendments quarterly, which has not been done in the past.

In other business, the council:

•discussed moving to lease agreements for Bobcat equipment, instead of purchasing machines outright;

•cast 100 votes for County Judge Danny Martin, and 50 votes apiece for James Due and Ivey Evans, for positions on the Trinity County Appraisal District board of directors;

•approved Jan. 17 to Feb. 16, 2024, as filing dates for the upcoming city election;

•approved new rental agreements for the Community Center; and

•approved an agreement with Precinct 3 of Trinity County for maintenance work.