1987 04 09 CC Minutes MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN
April 9, 1987
The City Council of the City of Baytown , Texas, met in
regular session on Thursday, April 9, 1987, at 6:30 p.m. in the
Council Chamber of the Baytown City Hall with the following
attendance:
Fred T. Philips Councilman
Jimmy Johnson Councilman
Perry M. Simmons Councilman
Ron Embry Councilman
Roy Fuller Councilman
Rolland J. Pruett Councilman
Emmett O. Hutto Mayor
Fritz Lanham City Manager
Bobby Rountree Assistant City Manager
Randy Strong City Attorney
Eileen P. Hall City Clerk
The meeting was called to order with a quorum present. The
invocation was offered by Councilman Fuller , after which the
following business was conducted:
Consider Minutes of Regular Meeting Held March 26, 1987
Councilman Pruett moved for approval of the minutes of the
regular meeting held on March 26, 1987. Councilman Philips
seconded the motion. The vote follows:
Ayes: Council members Philips, Johnson, Simmons
Embry, Fuller and Pruett
Mayor Hutto
Nays: None
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Minutes of the Regular Meeting -- April 9, 1987
(154^ Citizen Communications:
a. Rocky Rodriquez will present a petition requesting that
the appeal on the Single Member District Lawsuit be dropped.
Mr. Rodriquez presented council with a petition containing
( 679 signatures requesting that council drop the appeal on the
single member district lawsuit. Mr. Rodriquez stated that the
signers of the petition represent all areas of the community. He
also noted that there are other petitions still in circulation
which he was not able to collect for this meeting.
Mayor Hutto stated that the petition would be referred to
the administration.
In response to questions from Mr. Rodriquez and Mr. Garcia,
concerning the fact that council had not taken a formal vote on
the matter of the appeal of the single member district lawsuit,
Randy Strong, City Attorney, explained that while in executive
session council had discussed various aspects of the litigation,
and based on what he had heard in executive session , when the
open meeting reconvened, he announced the plan to appeal the
single member district lawsuit. At that point Mayor Hutto
inquired if any councilmember had any objections or comments to
make. No objections nor comments were made; therefore, the
attorney proceeded to file notice of appeal .
Mr. Strong advised that he had been contacted by a member of
the District Attorney 's Office and he had explained what had
happened to that representative. The D.A. 's office had no
problem with that procedure.
Mario Delgado Recognized
Mr. Delgado stated that he would like to address the
statement that the current election system has served the city
well for forty years. He pointed to the Baytown/La Porte Tunnel
which has served the city well , but is being replaced by a bigger
and better facility. Perhaps, the election system is similar to
the tunnel and a change is in order. He pointed to the fact that
only 10-11% of those qualified to vote elect city council , which
is not an indication of true representation. He asked council to
drop the appeal and establish single member districts.
Judy Hardy Recognized
Ms. Hardy stated that it is time for a change in Baytown.
She said that while in Austin this past week, she had spoken with
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Minutes of the Regular Meeting - April 9, 19B7
ten representatives who all concurred that the appeal of the
single member district lawsuit is futile.
Roxanne Gillum Recognized
emN Ms. Gillum pointed to the fact that cities in the surround-
ing area have gone to single member district systems, and it is
inevitable that Baytown too, will be forced to change. She felt
that the money being expended to effect the appeal could be
better spent elsewhere.
Edward Russell Recognized
Mr. Russell , speaking on behalf of the Baytown Firefighters,
asked council to drop the appeal and to use the money in the Fire
Department instead.
Receive Annual Audit Report
James Gerace reviewed the annual audit ending September 30,
1986, with council . On the balance sheet, the cash position for
1986 reflects $5,000,000. The total assets for 1986 were
$167,000,000 compared to $118,000,000 in 1985 for a $49,000,000
increase. Of that $49,000,000, $34,000,000 resulted from
previously unbooked general fixed assets. The city 's liabilities
for 1986 were $61 ,000,000 versus $55,000,000 in 1985 or a
$6,000,000 increase. The total fund equity in 1986 was
$106,000,000 compared to $63,000,000 in 1985 for a $43,000,000
increase.
On the combined income statement the total revenues for 1986
were $26,000,000, reflecting no change from 1985. Under other
financing sources, there were $5,000,000 in 1986 compared to
$6,000,000 in 1985. Total expenditures equaled $29,000,000 for
1986 which represents no change from 1985. Revenues over
expenditures were $2,000,000. Mr. Gerace ended his presentation
by informing council that the former qualification on the audit
had been removed due to the efforts of Kathy Archambault, Chief
Accountant, and his firm. He further stated that a continued
effort would be pursued to obtain a certificate of excellence in
financial reporting for the city.
Council commended Mr. Gerace on the format of the report.
The city manager complimented the Finance Department and the
auditors on the removal of the qualification on the audit.