RECAP from Magnolia's September City Council Meeting

Magnolia's council moved through fifteen agenda items in about an hour and fifteen minutes on Sept. 8. Most of them passed with little discussion or debate.

Two council members were absent. Brandon Jacobs, Position 4, did not attend the meeting. Raymond K. Gaskin III, Position 5, was in the hospital. Mayor Christopher Blair opened by telling the room that Gaskin "was taken to the hospital a couple hours before the meeting" and asked those present to keep him in their prayers.

That left Councilmen Beyer, Small and Perino alongside Mayor Blair for the evening.

QUICK HIGHLIGHTS

• --Council appointed six residents to a new Capital Improvements Advisory Committee on a 2–1 vote, after Buck Perino said he had not seen the applications and tried to table the item.

• --State law requires at least half of that committee to be representatives of the real estate, development or building industries.

• --Council amended the current-year budget. The city's worksheet shows general fund expenses rising $1,181,500 against a $37,500 revenue increase, and lists revenues under expenditures at $1,110,284.

• --The public hearing on the tax rate and budget is Tuesday, Sept. 15.

• --Adoption of the tax rate is set for Wednesday, Sept. 16.

• --Magnolia is in Stage 1 water conservation, and the public works director told council the city will likely move to Stage 2 soon.

Council Appointed Six People to a New Impact Fee Committee

On the agenda were appointments to the Capital Improvements Advisory Committee. Council had adopted that committee's rules of procedure a few minutes earlier under item 6, after City Attorney Leonard Schneider walked through what state law requires of its membership.

When discussion began, Perino was quick to note he wasn't prepared to vote. "I haven't seen any of these applications, so this is going to be hard to vote on these," he said.

He moved to table. "I'm going to motion to table this. I can further look into this," he said.

City Attorney Schneider, who had presented the item from the podium, urged council to finish that night. "I would recommend that y'all try to get this done in this meeting," he said, noting the city had special meetings coming on the 15th and 16th. "If you get them done tonight, that'd be great."

Before the vote, Schneider gave council a specific instruction: "If you want to do a blanket appointment of all six members, please make sure you got three, at least three that are in the real estate, development, or building industries, and at least one in [the] ETJ."

Beyer moved to appoint all six applicants. The motion carried with Perino being the sole no.

What the Committee Does, and Why Its Membership Is Set by State Law with Specific Requirements

Magnolia already charges impact fees; these are one-time charges on new development meant to cover the water and sewer capacity that new construction consumes. Resolution R-2026-018, the measure council adopted during the meeting, states that the city imposes those fees for water and wastewater facilities and now intends to update them.

Chapter 395 of the Texas Local Government Code requires that a Capital Improvements Advisory Committee be formed first. The committee reviews the land use assumptions and the capital improvements plan, files written comments before the required public hearing, and files reports on whether the fees are being imposed fairly.

Put simply, the committee advises on the fees and the city council decides on them.

The law is specific about who sits on the advisory committee. Section 395.058(b) says the committee must have at least five members and that "not less than 50 percent of the membership of the advisory committee must be representatives of the real estate, development, or building industries who are not employees or officials of a political subdivision or governmental entity." For the city of Magnolia, which appointed six, that means at least three of those individuals must be within the industry.

Two of the Six Appointees Answered "Yes" to the City's Question About Those Industries

Every applicant fills out the same city form. It asks, in one line: "Are you involved in real estate, development, or building industries?"

All six applications were in the agenda packet that council received. Two are marked yes. Four are marked no.

Whether that leaves the committee short of the statute is likely to come up at a future meeting.

The fee update itself runs into next year. City Administrator Bob Harvey's report puts the earliest council action ordering a public hearing in October, the earliest hearing in December, and final amendments in January 2027.

Three Meetings in a Row, a Council Member Has Objected to Voting on Appointees Without Further Review

Perino's objection to these appointments was not the first in city hall.

In August, council appointed members to the Economic Development Corporation and Community Development Corporation. Gaskin, with a no vote, told the room he gets "a name and an address; and that's it." Perino voted yes on those appointments. Mayor Blair said after that meeting he was reviewing the appointment bylaws with the city attorney.

At the Aug. 25 special council meeting, Gaskin put a discussion item on the agenda about the city's board and committee application and appointment processes.

At the Sept. 8 meeting, with Gaskin absent, Perino raised the same objection about the Capital Improvements Advisory Committee appointments.

The meeting concluded for the evening, but this is likely to be a topic of discussion in the near term.

The City Amended Its Current-Year Budget, Listing Revenues Under Expenditures by $1,110,284

Finance Officer Beverly Standley walked council through Ordinance O-2026-026, amending the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget. Standley presented the overages and answered council questions about them.
As presented by Standley, expenses increased by $1,181,500, moving the expenditure summary from $9,374,056 to $10,555,556. The document's own totals line reads: "Revenues Over(Under) Expenditures ($1,110,284.00)."

The Tax Rate Public Hearing Is Sept. 15 and Adoption Is Sept. 16

The consent agenda included an amendment to the city's budget and tax rate calendar.

The updated calendar, dated Sept. 8, sets a special meeting for Tuesday, Sept. 15 carrying the public hearing on the tax rate and the public hearing on the budget, and a second special meeting for Wednesday, Sept. 16 to adopt the operating budget and the tax rate. The budget takes effect Oct. 1 of this year.

Here is where the rate stands, from the taxpayer impact statement council reviewed in August and the notice of tax rates certified by Montgomery County Tax Assessor-Collector Tammy McRae on July 28.

The proposed rate for the city of Magnolia sits below the no-new-revenue rate, which is the rate that would raise the same amount of money from the same properties as last year. On the median homestead, the proposed rate produces a smaller bill than the 2025 rate did: $563.73 against $579.59. That is the opposite direction from Montgomery County, which adopted a tax rate above its no-new-revenue rate this week.

Residents who want to speak on either the rate or the budget have one meeting to do it: Sept. 15 at City Hall.

The Public Voice: Two Residents Spoke, One About Stray Animals and One About Putting Meetings on Video

The first to speak during public comments, Debbie Posey Ransick told council the city has been failing its animals.

Nobody enforces the animal ordinances, she said. Residents calling about loose dogs and cats get the county, and the county shelter is full. She cited a city ordinance, O-2010-181, which she described as a leash requirement covering both dogs and cats. 

She told council an animal coalition is forming, holds its first meeting Oct. 1, and invited them to attend.

The second resident, Austin Jordan, said he has lived in the area most of his life. He opened by crediting the mayor. "I appreciate you being one of the most responsive and functional mayors we've had in a long time," he said to Mayor Blair.

Then, he cut straight to the point: the City of Magnolia needs to provide better access to the City Hall meetings for residents.

As of right now, Magnolia does not record or stream its council meetings.

Jordan asked the city to put an item on a future agenda to discuss installing cameras wired into the microphones already in the chamber, so meetings could be posted online the same night.

"This allows citizens to go back and see and hear exactly what was discussed, rather than relying solely on meeting summaries," he said.

While a city of Magnolia's size is not required to provide live stream video, this would certainly help with record-keeping and resident involvement. It could give citizens who cannot make a Tuesday evening a way to see what their council actually said, and it gives anyone reporting on this city a record to check against, separate from the Meeting Minutes provided by the City Secretary.

To follow up on Mr. Jordan's request, Dock Line Magazine reached out to the City Administrator's office for its response to his request.

Bob Harvey, the city administrator, was quick to respond. It appears that this issue is already something the current administration is working towards. "The council will be interviewing and hopefully hiring an individual who was a major contributor in bringing live streaming to the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District," he said.

He added, "our goal is to bring active engagement and current information to the citizens of Magnolia."

Department Reports Included Personnel Changes, A Water Conservation Warning, and Other Standard Items

First up to the podium was Bob Harvey, who presented his administration report and the items his office had been working on over the previous month.

The new HR director for the city of Magnolia, John Rudd, started Aug. 20.

The previous billing manager for the city tendered her resignation last month, with her replacement hired within the week, starting her duties Aug. 25.

Interim City Secretary Kandice Garrett's contract has been extended through the end of September. The city is still in the process of interviewing candidates for city secretary and has received 41 applications thus far.

Also reporting was Police Chief Kyle Montgomery, who told council members the usual full-scale report was delayed due to the officer-involved shooting the week prior. Montgomery updated council on this incident, saying both officers are fine and the suspect remains hospitalized and will be taken to jail when released.

He said charges against the suspect are expected to include two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a public servant and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and that the man has an outstanding fraud warrant out of Harris County.

"It's still a little too early to be releasing a lot of information since it is still an active investigation," Montgomery said.

Public Works Director Charles Stroud gave the most detailed report of the night.

Magnolia has entered Stage 1 of its drought contingency plan, and Stroud told council it is not likely to stop there. "Right now, we're doing about 16 to 17 hours a day on well run times. That's extremely excessive," he said. "So we'll probably be stepping up into stage two ASAP."

The city pumped 87,243,000 gallons from its wells in August, with 1,345,000 gallons unaccounted for through maintenance, flushing and leaks, and monthly water accountability at 98 percent.

He also made an offer to the people in the room: city crews will come to a resident's home and assist them in water conservation efforts by helping set an irrigation timer, or finding a leak, or whatever else is needed.

"We are available to any of the public," Stroud said. "There's people that will come out and charge an arm and a leg. We'll come out there for free and give it a look over for you."

On water quality, Stroud said the city has ordered 12 automatic flushers for dead-end water mains, most of them in Magnolia Ridge, to cut down on the discolored water residents there have been reporting.

He gave another comment to the crowd. "Please engage and communicate with us, and we'll come running as fast as we can," he said.

On the Radar for the Next Meeting

The biggest topic of discussion will come from the public hearings on Sept. 15 on the tax rate and the adoption of said rate on Sept. 16. Both meetings will commence at City Hall, 18111 Buddy Riley Boulevard, Magnolia, Texas.