With summer now well behind us, I am sure everyone’s schedule is full of the things that make up the fall season in Lake Highlands.
School carnivals, soccer practice and games, PTA meetings, homework and tests to study for, and Wildcat Football!
This is also the time for the City of Dallas’ budget. The City also is working on reaching a milestone in transportation needs.
On the latter of these, the Dallas City Council is scheduled to vote Oct. 9 on the Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) for improvements to the I-635 (LBJ) corridor from Luna Road to U.S. 80.
This plan is the result of four long years of LBJ Executive Board meetings.
This board has worked to determine what the communities and government entities within the corridor feel are the best alternatives for the future improvements to the LBJ corridor.
The report breaks down into two parts:
- East of LBJ/Central Expressway interchange, a 10-mainlane freeway with four High Occupancy Vehicle lanes (two or more people in a car). Approaching Skillman, the four HOV lanes will be reduced to two lanes.
- West of the LBJ/Central Expressway interchange, a blend of several designs will be implemented. There will be eight mainlanes and six lanes jointly used by HOV and toll-paying vehicles.
I hope and expect a favorable vote by not only our Dallas City Council, but also by Mesquite and Farmers Branch.
Many thanks for all those, including our own Donna Halstead, for four very hard years of work to hammer out this plan.
This will allow the plan to go into the planning stage with a focus on an alternative that has already been approved by the local communities, which should streamline the process greatly.
This year, the City of Dallas’ budget tops out at $1.3 billion. Due to increases in sales tax and ad valorem taxes, there was no need for any thought of a tax increase. As it turns out, a tax decrease of almost $1 million has been proposed.
In case you missed the Town Hall meetings on the budget, some of the highlights include a five percent increase in sworn police and fire employees pay, a provision to accelerate the 1995 bond program to three years, an additional $7.9 million to fund street repairs beyond the bond issue, and an increase of 12 code enforcement inspectors.
After Council budget amendments, other highlights included increasing by $250,000 the materials budgeted for libraries above the $150,000 increase already proposed, extending the City swimming pool season by two weeks, reducing the budget for Council travel of $37,500, and increasing by three percent the pay for all other City employees.
The Council will have voted Sept. 25 on the budget, and although I cannot be sure everything is set, I do feel that all the things mentioned here will pass.
Some Council members have said we should not give a tax decrease because the average Dallasite will only receive a cut equivalent to the cost of a Big Mac.
My feeling is when you have an opportunity to cut taxes – take it. Maybe next year we can give you fries and a shake!
