East Texas

By COSHANDRA DILLARD
Staff Writer

MINEOLA -- Mineola City Council members will experience some changes to their panel after Mayor N.R. "Pete" Smith submitted a letter of resignation, which was read by city administrator David Stevenson, during a regular meeting Monday night. Smith's term ended at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Stevenson said.

Council member Bo Whitus currently serves as president pro tem, although Stevenson said they are uncertain who will fill the mayoral position.

"The city council, under state law, has the authority to either appoint a person to that position or hold a special election," Stevenson said. "We do not have enough time to call a special election. This will create a vacancy on the city council. We also have the authority to appoint someone on the city council."

Council members will meet for a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Mineola Municipal Complex to fill the two vacant seats.

Stevenson said the resignation did not come as a surprise to council members, stating that Smith had notified the council of his plans to move to Georgetown, Texas, in early spring. Smith had moved to his new home after the council completed a series of budget workshops and did not attend the regular meeting Monday night.

"He had promised to stay until the budget process was finished," Stevenson said. "His house sold pretty quickly and he moved into his new home over the weekend."

Smith served as a city council member before he was elected mayor in 2005. He was re-elected in 2007.

The appointed mayor will serve in that position until the May 2009 election.

Attempts to reach Smith for comment were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the council adopted the 2008-09 tax rate and budget. The effective tax rate is 55 cents per $100 property valuation. That includes 47 cents for maintenance and operations and 7 cents for debt service. The general fund budget is $3.98 million -- nearly $73,000, or 1.8 percent less than last year's budget of $4 million.

City council members anticipate an increase in revenue from the water utility fund due an 8 percent increase in water rates and other fees. Last year, total revenue from the utility fund was $1,686,202. The city has projected it will be $2,140,894 this year.

Stevenson said the extra funds will allow the city to install a new water tower, an 18-inch water line and obtain an electronic monitoring system to allow the wells to operate more efficiently. He said the cost of water production at the city had not gone up since 2004.