[0:04] Council's order, present tonight. Mark Wickey, single member district one, late Jones, Mayor Pro Tem,

[0:10] Oliver Cosby, single member district three, and Diana Weaver, single member district four,

[0:14] Michael Moreiro, our city manager, Ashley Durker, our city attorney, and various department heads.

[0:19] If you'll please rise with me for the education led by Gentry Ashley from Pentecostal Family Church.

[0:25] Thank you for allowing me to be here. You buy your heads in prayer. Lord, we love you,

[0:30] and we thank you for this time of meeting today. I pray that you take this meeting time and

[0:35] use it for your glory and for your purpose. As these leaders come together to plan the

[0:39] future of our city, I pray that you would be the leading hand that guides every thought

[0:43] and every intent of their heart. Every leader here today, I pray that the Spirit of the

[0:48] Lord would give them wisdom, understanding as they lead their department with you leading

[0:52] them. Take our plans and multiply them into what you want them to be so that we may lead

[0:57] the city to you. Let us accomplish your will and everything that we do and say, let

[1:01] Let us love one another as you have loved us.

[1:04] We love you and we thank you for everything

[1:06] that you've done for us in the mighty name of Jesus name.

[1:09] We pray, amen.

[1:10] Amen.

[1:13] A pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

[1:17] and to the Republic for which it stands.

[1:19] One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty

[1:22] and justice for all.

[1:25] All right.

[1:27] Everyone can be seated.

[1:29] Mrs. Peterson, do we have anybody signed up

[1:31] for public comment?

[1:33] No, so we do not.

[1:35] Not in person.

[1:36] Okay, we do have one speaker and comment registration card from James Martinez.

[1:42] He lives in Bel Lagos.

[1:44] I didn't give an address.

[1:46] I didn't even put an address this time.

[1:51] And then we will go ahead and enter that into the record and make sure that it does reflect that those,

[1:57] those comments were entered today.

[1:59] So, and just for transparency, I did answer Mr. Martinez on Facebook on Friday or Saturday, so if anybody would like to see those answers, I have them, and I'll be happy to for them to say anybody that wants to see them.

[2:14] So, and they're on Facebook right now, if you want to go read. So, it was, it was a lot.

[2:19] So really good questions about generally our general fund

[2:26] Downside risk things like that. So I encourage everybody if they have any questions once again

[2:30] This is your city and it's your budget and it's your tax rate. If you ever have any questions, please come out

[2:36] Okay, this is Peterson. We'll go ahead and move on to community interest and we have a few proclamations

[2:42] Yeah, right. All right. I'm gonna ask

[2:47] Normally I'm gonna do things a little bit differently

[2:49] Normally, I know, normally it was just the mayor that went down, but I'm going to have my fellow council members come down and do these proclamations with us instead of hiding or I remember having to roll back over here, but it should be us together doing this because it is representative of the council.

[3:06] So if my fellow council members will come with me, we'll go do these today.

[3:23] They tell me how to use this one, this is work, that actually works.

[3:26] Okay, so,

[3:32] candy, would you please come up?

[3:34] Anybody else that would like to come up as well?

[3:36] I

[3:59] have a few proclamations this month, so I want to make sure that these are all very near and

[4:07] dear to my heart as a veteran.

[4:08] I want to make sure that we're giving the proper reverence and respect to those that missinging

[4:14] action or POWs, and then we have others that are coming up as well.

[4:18] So, this first one is POWMIA Day, a recognition day.

[4:23] So, whereas the third Friday of each September has been nationally recognized as POWMIA recognition day since 1979 to commemorate the prisoners of war and missing an action, military personnel who's whereabouts remain unknown, and whereas this day is recognized throughout the nation and around the world on military installations, ships at sea, state capitals, schools, churches, national veteran and civic organizations.

[4:48] police and fire departments, fire stations, federal buildings, and the American Legion,

[4:53] auxiliary unit post, and squadron 50 in Cleveland together with the other veteran service organizations in Cleveland.

[5:00] And whereas the remains of many Korean, World War II, Vietnam, and

[5:05] service members from other wars have been identified, and are being returned home to their families and an estimated 15,000 former POWs live among us nationally.

[5:14] and World War II MIA are 71,693,

[5:20] 7,359 missing from the Korean War.

[5:23] 1,565 are accounted for from the Vietnam War,

[5:26] and of these a total of over 4,100 are from Texas

[5:30] and are estimated to be recoverable.

[5:33] And whereas we wish to pay tribute

[5:34] to former POW MIA personnel in our midst

[5:37] and to the service members who have not returned

[5:39] from the battlefield to stand beside their families

[5:42] and honor those who were held captive as prisoners of war, while we pledge to never forget their sacrifice,

[5:48] nor ever abandon our responsibility to do everything in our power to bring them home to their families.

[5:53] And whereas, as recently as July 2026, remains have been returned to Texas families with loved ones

[5:59] from as far back as World War II, finally giving closure to those gold star families

[6:04] that have been wondering for decades. And whereas, Cleveland patriotic citizens

[6:09] realize our work is not finished until our heroes are returned safely to our shores or

[6:14] a full account is provided to their loved ones and further desire to participate in the National P.O.W.

[6:19] M.I.A. recognition day and as much as there are families and Cleveland that still await

[6:24] knowledge of their loved ones were about since as long ago as World War I.

[6:28] And whereas Cleveland American Legion post 50, auxiliary unit 50 and the sons of the American

[6:33] and Legion will host the ceremony at 313 West Chambers the evening of September 18th,

[6:39] 2026, for the purpose of remembering and honoring these heroes.

[6:43] Now, therefore, I, Derrick, whether's Mayor of the City of Cleveland, together with the City Council,

[6:48] do hereby proclaim participation of September 18th, 2026 in observance of POWMA recognition day.

[6:56] In Cleveland, and I do hereby call upon residents of Cleveland to join in honoring former

[7:01] former American prisoners of war who suffer the hardships of enemy captivity and in renewing

[7:06] our commitment to those still missing in action encourage the wearing and display of yellow

[7:11] ribbons in the flying of the POW MIA flag to symbolize this tribute. Thank you Marty and thank you

[7:18] with candy for this as well. We really appreciate all that you do and it is somber to remember that we

[7:26] We have that many still missing, but we do need to bring them home.

[7:31] So thank you very much.

[7:32] Hope do you want to get a picture right quick?

[8:16] This next proclamation is the 9-11 day of remembrance for Patriot Day.

[8:20] It is the 25th anniversary of 9-11 and that singular day is why I stand here today.

[8:28] It's at the course of events to where we are today, where I enlisted in the Army, deployed,

[8:33] came back, and eventually everything that I've been through, standing here today,

[8:39] that singular day, is what affected me the most. So it has a, it's a somber place in my heart,

[8:47] but we, what I want to make sure that we remember is, and I'll go into this a little bit more on,

[8:53] on Friday, at the memorial, but we really need to remember and tap into that spirit of September 12th.

[9:00] Whenever we were all together, whenever we had a singular purpose and we still have that

[9:06] singular purpose today, please make sure you're taking care of each other, taking care of

[9:10] your neighbors, and remember that we can agree to disagree without getting nasty, without

[9:14] getting ugly, and make sure that above all else, we are here for the things that matter most

[9:19] which are our children and our children's children and to leave a better place for them.

[9:23] So whereas on September 11, 2001, people of all ages and walks of life across America

[9:30] and around the world collectively witnessed an event of immense tragedy and the American people

[9:35] endured, with courage and heroism, the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil in our nation's history.

[9:42] And whereas the events of that day instantly transformed nearly everyone's lives,

[9:47] some through personal loss and many others through an unfamiliar sense of individual and national

[9:51] vulnerability. And whereas in response to this tragedy, an unprecedented historic bonding of

[9:58] Americans arose from the collective shock. Unifying the country in an outpouring of

[10:03] national spirit, pride, selflessness, courage, and service, and Americans across the country

[10:09] came together in a remarkable spirit of patriotism and unity and carried out countless acts of

[10:14] kindness, generosity, and compassion. And whereas there were 2,977 lives lost in the crashes,

[10:22] fires and collapse of the World Trade Twin Towers, the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania.

[10:28] And whereas the Edward M. Kennedy Service America Act, approved by Congress and enacted in the law April 21, 2009,

[10:36] requested September 11th to be observed and recognized as an annual National Day of Service and Remembrance.

[10:43] And whereas participating in service and remembrance activities on September 11th is a positive and

[10:49] respectful way to remember the lives of the 343 firefighters, 60 police officers,

[10:55] eight paramedics who died instantly when the Twin Towers collapsed.

[11:00] And whereas we honor the military service members who, in the years that followed,

[11:04] answered the call to protect the lives of Americans here and abroad against terrorism,

[11:08] and whereas Cleveland's CE Delario American Legion auxiliary, the American Legion and the

[11:13] sons of the American Legion, together with other military service organizations,

[11:17] organizations and Patriots from all walks of life began observing the anniversary of September 11th as a charitable day of service to honor the memory of those who were lost and those who united in response to the tragedy, including first responders and volunteers.

[11:33] And whereas September 11th will never and should never just be another day in the hearts and minds of all Americans.

[11:40] And whereas 25 years have passed, and on September 11th, 2026, and on the days leading up to and following this day, citizens of Cleburn, Texas have an opportunity to participate in activities that honor 9-11 victims.

[11:54] And now, therefore, I, Derrick Reathers, Mayor of Cleburn, together with the City Council, do hereby proclaim September 11th as 9-11 Dave Remembrance Patriot Day, in Cleburn and

[12:04] California nurses to honor the lives and the memories of those lost through the flying of the flag of the United States at half staff through moments of silence, as well as participation in community service and remembrance ceremonies on this day.

[12:18] Once again, Candy and Marty, for years and years you have been the steady hand that guides us and on this 25th anniversary of 9-11 I look forward to sharing in service with you and with Marty.

[12:33] Thank you very much.

[12:34] I

[13:13] want to recognize the daughters of the American Revolution for all of the work and

[13:17] the service that they do on behalf of Kleber and those around the county in this area.

[13:22] So this is also going to be the Constitution Week proclamation.

[13:28] So whereas the Constitution of the United States of America, the guardian of our liberties embodies

[13:33] the principles of limited government in a republic dedicated to rule by law.

[13:37] And whereas September 17, 2026, March the 239th anniversary of the drafting of the U.S. Constitution, and whereas the daughters of the American Revolution, petitioned Congress in 1955 to designate September 17 through 23rd as Constitution Week, as an annual observance recognizing that it is both fitting and proper to accord official recognition to this magnificent document and its memorable anniversary, and to the patriotic celebrations which will commemorate the occasion.

[14:06] and whereas President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the resolution in the law on August

[14:11] 2, 1956, to encourage the study of historical events framing the Constitution and remind

[14:17] citizens of the responsibility to defend it, whereas the American Legion auxiliary preamble

[14:22] to their Constitution begins with a phrase to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United

[14:27] States of America and branches of our military personnel swearing oath to support and defend

[14:34] in the Constitution of the United States

[14:36] against all enemies foreign and domestic.

[14:38] And whereas Cleveland's Nathaniel Winston Chapter

[14:41] of the National Society of Daughters

[14:44] of the American Revolution formed in 1957,

[14:46] members have welcomed C.E. Delario, American Legion

[14:49] auxiliary unit 50, chartered in 1926 members

[14:52] to join together in Cleveland's celebration

[14:54] of the United States Constitution.

[14:56] And whereas during the early days of our country,

[14:59] bells were used,

[15:00] We used to call people together to alert them to important announcements or events, and in Philadelphia, on September 7, 1787, bells called the public together for the first public reading of the new U.S. Constitution, and D.A.R. together with ALA are asking and encouraging Cleveland residents, businesses and organizations to participate in bells across America by ringing bells at 3 p.m. Thursday, September 17, 2026, the anniversary of the drafting of the United States

[15:29] Constitution by the Constitutional Convention.

[15:33] Now, therefore, I, Derrick, whether it's mayor of the City of Cleveland, together with the City Council.

[15:37] Do you hear by proclaim the week of September 17th through 23rd, 2026, as Cleveland Constitution week.

[15:44] And urge all citizens to study the Constitution and reflect on the privilege of being an American,

[15:49] reaffirming the ideals the framers of the Constitution had in 1787, by visually protecting the freedoms guaranteed to us

[15:57] through this guardian of our liberties, and we further encourage participation in bells

[16:01] across America at 3pm on September 17th by individuals, businesses, and organizations

[16:07] in Cleveland.

[16:08] Thank you, Betsy.

[16:09] Would you like to say a few words?

[16:11] Well, one thing I tell people is, you know, when we think of Patriot Day, well the daughters

[16:17] of the American Revolution, we've had Patriots in our family for 250 years now, because

[16:24] you must be a patriot descendant to be part of the, the orders of the American Revolution.

[16:33] But we appreciate the Constitution. We appreciate what our ancestors went through to, and that's why

[16:40] we want to make sure and honor this country and the principles it was founded on. Thank you.

[16:48] Thank you, Betsy. You'll give her a round of applause. Thank you very much.

[16:51] Not

[17:43] everybody stay at the same time, okay?

[17:45] All right, Mr. Peterson, let's go ahead and conduct a people's business.

[17:50] Let's move on to item seven, please.

[17:52] Yes, sir.

[17:54] 7.1, consider minutes for the August 25th, 2026 regular council meeting.

[17:59] 7.2, consider resolution, authorizing renewal of the agreement with Johnson County for housing, the city's classy, misdemeanor prisoners.

[18:06] 7.3, consider resolution, authorizing an agreement with all of engineering, ink for professional engineering services.

[18:12] for the wastewater, aerial, crossing, rehabilitation project for an amount not to exceed $225,000.

[18:19] 7.4 consider a resolution of probing accounts payable and budget transfers for July 2026.

[18:27] Okay. Is there any, does anybody have any questions for staff on the consent agenda?

[18:33] I do. Yes, ma'am.

[18:34] It's 7.3. Is that the one that they, that we received a grant for?

[18:44] This project originated from some inspections that found some aerial crossings.

[18:48] This is where we have sanitary shorelines that go across the creek.

[18:53] You'll sometimes see that pipe kind of come across.

[18:56] We had some casing that is deteriorated to a point in this needing replacement.

[19:00] It's a priority project.

[19:01] We do have funding through our annual renewal funds that we're utilizing for this project.

[19:05] But no, this is not a grant funded project.

[19:08] Okay.

[19:09] Thank you.

[19:10] Any other questions?

[19:12] Does anything need to be pulled from the consent agenda? Okay. I'll go ahead and entertain a motion.

[19:18] Mr. Mayer, I'll move that we approve the consent agenda items as presented.

[19:23] I have a motion by Councilman Cosby to have a second.

[19:25] Second.

[19:26] I've got a second by Councilman Wiki. All those in favor say aye.

[19:30] Any opposed?

[19:32] None opposed, and we'll move on to the next agenda item, so 8.1.

[19:37] To hold a public hearing for public input on the fiscal year 2027 proposed tax rate of 0.581,000 per $100 valuation in accordance which out to 26 of the Texas tax code.

[19:53] Good evening, Mayor and Council. So before I talk about the tax rate, I did want to go ahead and do a brief recap of kind of where we've been and where we're going.

[20:00] So on August 25th of the regular schedule council meeting, the proposed budget public hearing was held to night we'll be holding the public hearing for the proposed tax rate.

[20:12] And then at the next regular the scheduled council meeting which is September 22nd, that is when the actual votes will occur for the ordinance to adopt the proposed budget, adopt the tax rate and then also ratify the revenue increases.

[20:27] So there won't actually be any items voted on this evening in relation to the budget or tax rate.

[20:34] So to recap, the proposed tax rate that the fiscal year 2027 budget was built on is 0.581 per $100 of assessed valuation.

[20:44] This proposed rate is actually a reduction from the fiscal year 2026 tax rate, which is currently set at 0.612548.

[20:53] that is approximately a two-cent reduction on the maintenance and operation or

[20:57] M&O side and just over one-cent reduction on the INS for interest in sinking

[21:03] fun side. The proposed tax rate was previously presented in the budgetary

[21:07] workshop on August 11th and discussed during the budget public hearing of August

[21:13] 25th. The public hearing is required on the tax rate because the tax rate

[21:17] proposed is greater than the no-new revenue rate so per chapter 26 of the

[21:22] the Texas property tax code.

[21:25] We are required to hold a public hearing

[21:26] and garnered public input.

[21:31] So the tax compliance, the adoption of a resolution

[21:34] stating the intent to adopt a tax rate of 0.581

[21:38] was passed by this council on August 11th

[21:40] and that is resolution 08-2026-100.

[21:44] And the public notice was also put

[21:46] in the Cleveland Times review on August 15th of 2026,

[21:50] indicating that there is a property

[21:53] a public hearing on a tax increase.

[21:57] So this evening, what we need to do is have a whole day public hearing on the proposed tax rate prior to any tax rate adoption or budget adoption that will occur as I stated later on this month at the September 22nd, regularly scheduled council meeting.

[22:14] Thank you, Mr. Grinchard.

[22:16] I'm going to open up a public hearing right away.

[22:19] Okay, so at this time, I keep looking up at the clock and it's not there anymore.

[22:24] It is 523. I will go ahead and open up a public hearing on 8.1. Anyone that wishes to address the council on 8.1, please come to the dius.

[22:38] I'll rush up here. Come on. I know.

[22:43] Okay, I'll go ahead and seeing that nobody's going to come up. I'll go ahead and close the public hearing.

[22:48] Does anybody have any questions for Mr. Benchra?

[22:52] Anything they'd like to say?

[22:59] I do, so I just want to make sure that everybody understands what the goals are here.

[23:08] So we need to make sure that we're managing our tax rate over time and we're not chasing

[23:15] headlines or short-term gratification by putting it to the no-new revenue rate every year.

[23:20] That's not being physically conservative or physically responsible.

[23:23] Our charge is not just to look at the budget and the tax rate this year, but over time, and make sure that we earn a good position physically across all fiscal years, not just this one.

[23:36] I think that the tax rate that we're setting does exactly that.

[23:41] Not many cities, even though we had a 16.4% increase in our average homestead value, is that about right?

[23:49] That's about right, so even with that increase in the homestead value, we've been able to bring the citizens

[23:57] to tax rate decrease, and then actually, actually save some money on their homestead for the first time in a few years.

[24:07] So that is fully attributable to our growth, and to this staff's fiscal responsibility in budgeting.

[24:14] So, I want to commend our staff.

[24:17] This was a budget that had a lot of hard decisions to make.

[24:21] This is one of the, this year, it's the lowest supplemental budget that I've ever seen since

[24:26] I've been on council.

[24:27] So I really commend the staff for really bringing us a fiscally responsible and fiscally conservative

[24:32] budget, especially this year, as we, as we're mindful of what the people need, which is just

[24:38] a little bit of tax relief as we grow.

[24:41] So, could we have lowered the rate a little bit more, could we ask for it to be a little bit lower?

[24:46] Yeah, we could, but once again, that's not the goal of this.

[24:50] It is to make sure that we are financially solvent over the term of years, not just today.

[24:56] We're not headlighting chasing, we're not chasing a field good rate, which is what the known new revenue rate is.

[25:01] Even though there are some state representatives out there that think it is, it's not.

[25:06] And some in Austin that have never had to run, never had to make decisions on who, what to cut, when to cut, et cetera.

[25:13] So I really want to commend the Council, the staff, and everybody else for all of their hard work.

[25:20] Whenever it comes to our budget and our tax rate, and addressing the needs that Cleveland has, including adding 500,000 to our

[25:27] street maintenance budget, which is sorely needed, and I want to commend Mr. Hut for that as he brings that forward because he is the reason why

[25:34] our streets are continuing to get repaired and continuing to get repaved.

[25:40] And once again, this is your tax rate.

[25:44] It is your budget, so please, if you have any more feedback, if you would like to come speak to council,

[25:49] one of your councilmen or me, please let us know.

[25:52] And we'll make sure that if you have questions, if we can't answer them,

[25:55] then we have a member of staff that will be more than happy to answer.

[25:58] So that's what I would like to say about that.

[26:01] But do we need to, we don't need to vote on anything, we just need to do notice, right?

[26:10] Okay,

[26:14] so, so did I close it?

[26:20] I will go ahead and close the public hearing if I did not already apologize.

[26:24] It is 527 and, oh, I need to announce it before I close it, sorry, my first time, my bet.

[26:32] So, I'm not going to close it yet. Is that okay?

[26:36] I'm going to go ahead and reopen the public hearing. Make sure I do this right.

[26:41] The vote on the ordinance for the adoption of the proposed FY27 budget,

[26:47] the vote on the ordinance for the adoption of the proposed FY27 tax rate,

[26:51] and the vote on a resolution ratifying the revenue increase in the FY27 budget will

[26:56] take place at a regularly scheduled council meeting here at City Hall on September 22nd.

[27:03] 2026 at 5 p.m. Is that work? Okay, I did it right this time. Now I'll close the public hearing, and then we can, uh, we can go ahead and move on to 8.2, which,

[27:12] can I just go ahead and say it? That was just bull.

[27:16] Yeah, it was withdrawn.

[27:18] Okay, so this item has been withdrawn, so we don't, and there's no reason to take any action since it was withdrawn by the requester, so 8.2 is no longer anything we need to take action on.

[27:32] We do not have any executive session items, so with that, do I have anything else?

[27:38] Are we sure?

[27:40] 28 minutes?

[27:41] All right.

[27:42] With that, we have no more agenda items.

[27:46] This meeting is adjourned.

[27:47] Thank you.

Sep 08, 2026 City Council

Transcript