The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, May 02, 2000, Image 9

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    Tuesday, May 2,2000
THE BATTALION
Page 9
ity residents
ue over surplus
LUBBOCK (AP) — Five residents
the West Texas city of Andrews said
eir hometown has abused its authori-
by establishing a $20 million surplus.
That much in reserve money actu-
|ly amounts to a “slush fund,” ac-
rdingto lawsuit they filed against the
y last week.
The plaintiffs contend that the sur
plus allows Andrews to spend money
[ithout voter approval. They say resi-
nts were overtaxed to build the fund,
id they want it returned.
‘The city has the right to tax and have
a reasonable surplus,” plaintiff Wayne
indley said Monday. “Twenty-million
liars on a
.2 million
budget does
)t seem to be
reasonable
irplus. They
lould reduce
flaxes until the
lirplus is re
duced to a
■ore reason-
lie amount.”
SALLIE TURNER Thu B\i t £ £j t y fa.
outine Sunday in Ruddetlmey Kevin
:horeographed by Molly J^kson said
•)
i
Bryan
id s sleeping patterns. |he lawsuit is frivolous. The surplus
is a result of years of pinching pen-
Ities, he said. .
R 'This is the first time in the history
„ ^ . otfhe world that a political subdivision
’ has been sued because it manages its
Twoney so well that it has reserves,” he
4|;said. “This town is debt-free. It’s just
- . .well managed.”
QJ1 It might be good management of fi-
n.inces, but the surplus has stripped
Inters in Andrews of their voice, Find-
py said. The city, which is 35 miles
northwest of Midland, no longer needs
bond issues that require voter ap
proval, he said.
I “When the city has accumulated
$20 million, that is a lot of power for
the City Council, and they no longer
have to go to the voters for approval,” .
Findley said. “We were taxed in ad
vance, and it bypasses the rights of the
voters.”
Jackson said most towns would like
to be in Andrews’ position.
He said the reserve has allowed the
city to roll back its tax rate each of the
last eight years and has kept the city from
having to take out bonds for improve
ments, while at the same time working to
attract new industry to town.
“To call it a slush fund really implies
some wrongdoing that is not there,” he
said. “This is not just money that sits
there for no apparent purpose. This mon-
ey is funded
and set aside
for a reason.”
Property
owners in An
drews, which
has about
10,000 resi
dents, pay an
ad valorem
tax rate of
$2.43 per
$ 100 of prop
erty value.
Forty cents of
“The amount of reduc
tion does not equal or
even come close to the
amount of surplus
each year”
— Wayne Findley
plaintiff
Gifts
r* n
S'S*
ay 5th
upon.
that amount is the city’s share. Residents
also pay a 7.25- percent sales tax. One
percent of the sales tax goes to the city.
Findley said the city’s rolling back
of taxes over the last eight years is not
enough.
“They have reduced it a penny a
year, which equates to $15,000,” he
said. “They are reducing taxes by
$15,000 while taking a surplus of $1.1
million. The amount of reduction does
not equal or even come close to the
amount of surplus each year.”
In the lawsuit, Findley and the four
other plaintiffs claim the city could op
erate for 10 years without collecting
any taxes by utilizing the reserve.
776-0870 4
W
: Counseling
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