[0:18] Good morning. It is September 8th, May

[0:20] 26, 9:00 a.m. I like to call this

[0:22] meeting to order and ask you please rise

[0:24] with the invocation and pledge of

[0:25] allegiance from Mayor Pro Tim, Miss

[0:27] Terry S. Good morning everyone.

[0:31] Heavenly Father, thank you for the

[0:32] privilege to serve the people of Asing.

[0:36] Grant us clear minds, steady judgment,

[0:38] and hearts committed to unity and

[0:40] fairness. Bless every council member,

[0:42] staff member, and resident we represent.

[0:46] Guide our decisions so that we bring

[0:48] peace, progress, and strength to our

[0:50] community in your holy name. Amen.

[0:53] » Amen.

[0:54] Allegiance to the flag of the United

[0:57] States of America and to the republic

[1:00] for which it stands. One nation under

[1:02] God, indivisible, with liberty and

[1:05] justice for all.

[1:09] » Thank you, Miss Halter. We will now move

[1:12] to motion item three motion finding that

[1:14] of the advanced posting and notice

[1:16] requirements of article 8.12000

[1:19] of the code of ordinances of the city of

[1:21] Orange, Texas have been met in relation

[1:23] to all minutes and pending ordinances

[1:25] and resolutions on this agenda and that

[1:27] the reading of such items be confined to

[1:29] the captions as are agreed upon by the

[1:32] ordinances and resolutions. Do I have a

[1:34] motion? Motion.

[1:35] » Okay, we have a motion. Mr. Mimer,

[1:37] » Mr. Charles,

[1:38] » Mr. Bur. I

[1:40] » Mr. Chandler.

[1:40] » Hi,

[1:41] » Mr. McKenna.

[1:41] » Hi,

[1:42] » Miss Soft.

[1:43] » I motion passes. On to item four,

[1:45] citizen comments.

[1:48] » At this time, comments will be taken

[1:50] from the audience of any subject matter

[1:52] whether or not that item is on the

[1:53] agenda. All comments are limited to a

[1:55] maximum of three minutes for each

[1:56] speaker and your comments are

[1:58] appreciated. As the Texas Open Meetings

[2:01] Act does not allow the council to

[2:03] respond to items not listed on the

[2:04] agenda, your comments repeatedly be

[2:06] noted by the council and forwarded to

[2:08] the appropriate department for proper

[2:09] consideration. A member of the audience

[2:11] that desires to speak during the city

[2:13] council's consideration of any specific

[2:15] agenda item is requested to notify city

[2:18] staff prior to the start of the meeting.

[2:20] At this time, there are no names on our

[2:22] list. Is there anyone who would like to

[2:23] address the council?

[2:26] If not, we will move on to city

[2:28] announcements, city staff announcements,

[2:31] and city events. Miss Ross,

[2:34] » Good morning, mayor and council.

[2:35] » Good morning.

[2:36] » Good morning.

[2:37] » I'm excited to share some information

[2:39] about Orangetober, one of our great

[2:41] great annual celebrations. Uh this year,

[2:44] Orangetober is October 2nd through the

[2:46] 4th at Riverside Pavilion. And this

[2:48] year, we're looking forward to an

[2:49] exciting weekend filled with food,

[2:52] family, music, entertainment, local

[2:54] vendors, and community activities. Um

[2:57] throughout the weekend, attendees can

[2:58] look forward to live entertainment

[3:00] Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with a

[3:02] special lineup of local artists on

[3:04] Friday and Sunday. We'll have food

[3:06] trucks and on Saturday, we'll have lots

[3:08] of activities. We will have the Dean

[3:10] Granger Memorial 5K and Kitty Run

[3:13] Saturday morning. The Orange Rotary Club

[3:15] will have their vendor market located

[3:16] inside the Orange uh city boat ramp and

[3:19] the Orange Lions Club will have their

[3:21] gumbo cook off as well as Texas

[3:24] Agricultural Life will have their

[3:25] pumpkin pie eating contest. Um as

[3:28] always, you can always look forward to

[3:30] new and enhanced activities, great photo

[3:32] ops in our expanded pumpkin village. And

[3:34] on Sunday, we will continue our

[3:36] tradition with pick up the patch where

[3:38] the littles 80 and under can get their

[3:40] very own pumpkin. And we will also have

[3:41] our fun-filled pumpkin scramble. Um, as

[3:44] we continue to grow this event, we like

[3:46] to keep focused on what makes it

[3:48] special, and that's our community and

[3:49] the people who make it great. On Trover

[3:51] gives us an opportunity to highlight and

[3:53] support local businesses, organizations,

[3:56] vendors, artists, and community

[3:57] partners. So, we're thankful partners

[3:59] such as Free State, which provides

[4:01] sangrias, the BFW with a beer roof, uh

[4:04] our ATM providers, Dog Good and

[4:06] Fivepoint, and many other local and

[4:09] regional organizations to help make this

[4:11] event possible. So, with so much

[4:13] happening throughout the weekend, we

[4:15] want to make sure that everyone has

[4:16] information that they need um to come

[4:19] out and enjoy the festivities. So, the

[4:21] details are the location will be at

[4:23] Riverside Pavilion, Octo the dates are

[4:25] October 2nd through the 4th. The gate

[4:27] times Friday gates open at 4. Saturday

[4:31] the gates open at 10 and Sunday the

[4:33] gates open at 10. So for more details

[4:36] about Orange, please follow our Explore

[4:38] Orange Facebook page and we hope that

[4:40] the community comes out. Thank you.

[4:42] » Thank you.

[4:43] » Thank you.

[4:46] » Okay, next we will move to item six,

[4:49] consent agenda. Item 6 A, August 11th,

[4:52] 2026 Orange Economic Development

[4:54] Corporation meeting minutes. And item

[4:56] 6B, August 18th, 2026, special call city

[5:00] council meeting minutes. And item C,

[5:02] August 25th, 2026, regular city council

[5:05] meeting minutes. Do I have a motion?

[5:07] » Motion.

[5:08] » Can we have a motion to second, Mr.

[5:10] Mortimer?

[5:10] » Hi,

[5:11] » Mr. Charles.

[5:12] » Hi,

[5:12] » Mr. Bur. Hi,

[5:13] » Mr. Chandler. Hi,

[5:14] » Miss McKenna. Hi,

[5:15] » Miss Alter.

[5:16] » Hi.

[5:16] » Okay. Motion passes. Item 7A, final

[5:19] reading. Consider an ordinance adopting

[5:22] a budget for the fiscal year beginning

[5:23] October 1st, 2026 and ending on

[5:26] September 30th, 2027 in accordance with

[5:28] the charter of the city of Orange,

[5:30] Texas. And this requires a record vote.

[5:32] First reading was September 1st, 2026.

[5:35] Miss Zto.

[5:36] » So this is our final reading for the

[5:39] budget and the budget has not changed.

[5:43] The budget is the total number per fund,

[5:46] right? So for the general fund, it's

[5:48] 29,754,370.

[5:52] That number has not changed as none of

[5:55] the other funds. Even though um council

[6:00] voted last council meeting for a 2% cola

[6:04] for general government that was taken

[6:06] from contingency savings on the

[6:09] insurance or if it wasn't in the general

[6:12] fund water and sewer I had to make that

[6:14] work which I did and special revenue I

[6:17] had to also do the same. So the budget

[6:20] is number in total is exactly the same.

[6:24] So this

[6:26] reading is the same and it's your

[6:29] pleasure to um

[6:32] the line items are

[6:34] » Just okay.

[6:36] » So I could go over where we got all

[6:38] those differences. It only affected our

[6:41] contingency in the general fund by

[6:43] $58,000.

[6:46] » All right. Thank you, Miss Zito. Do we

[6:49] have any questions or comments?

[6:51] » Yeah, I'd like to make a quick

[6:52] » Yes, sir. Mr. Morgan,

[6:53] » Uh last as you know voted no against it

[6:57] because the coal is some of the thoughts

[6:59] from what we brought up last year.

[7:01] However, we're also making some new

[7:03] changes this year, especially in the

[7:05] area of insurance and I know nobody was

[7:07] real happy uh about the whole the whole

[7:10] thing.

[7:11] I am so glad to see that it's not going

[7:14] to affect the contingency, but about

[7:16] $58,000

[7:18] and that we were able even though uh we

[7:21] had to change the insurance

[7:24] that we're taking any additional savings

[7:26] and in this case bringing it back to the

[7:28] employees. So, so my heart has changed

[7:31] definitely on this matter.

[7:33] » Thank you, Mr.

[7:36] » Okay. All right. With that being said,

[7:39] do we have a motion? If we have a

[7:40] motion, you will have to read it as it

[7:43] is.

[7:45] » Okay. You have my motion.

[7:48] [clears throat]

[7:53] » Consider an ordinance making a tax levy

[7:55] and fixing the maintenance and

[7:56] operations tax rate.

[7:57] » No. No. Right here. 78.

[7:59] » Oh.

[8:01] » Consider an ordinance adopting a budget.

[8:04] » I'm sorry.

[8:06] » This one right here. right here.

[8:10] » I think they just vote on the motion for

[8:12] this. The ratifying is the next denial.

[8:15] » So 78. So what does he have to read

[8:17] then?

[8:20] » Nothing on that.

[8:20] » Oh, so why does it say this?

[8:22] » Okay. Well, it says it on here.

[8:24] » I just need to vote on this,

[8:25] » Right?

[8:25] » Okay. Okay. Well, then if we have a

[8:28] motion, we have a second. I'm sorry.

[8:29] » That's okay.

[8:30] » I was reading it wrong.

[8:31] » That's okay.

[8:31] » Do we have a second?

[8:32] » Second. Second.

[8:33] » Can we have a motion to second? Mr.

[8:34] Mortimer. I

[8:36] » Mr. Miles.

[8:37] » Hi.

[8:37] » Okay. Mr. Burge.

[8:38] » Hi,

[8:38] » Mr. Chandler.

[8:39] » Hi,

[8:39] » Miss McKenna. Hi,

[8:40] » Miss Salt.

[8:41] » Hi.

[8:41] » Okay. Motion passes.

[8:43] » Mayor, you need a vote.

[8:45] » Oh, sorry. I see I as well. My bad. I am

[8:50] tripping this morning. I'm sorry, y'all.

[8:51] » Need more coffee.

[8:52] » Oh, yeah. Something. So, now I can go to

[8:54] 7B.

[8:55] » Well, see the

[8:58] » So, there's another one. Okay. Consider

[9:00] a motion ratifying that the budget for

[9:02] the fiscal year beginning October

[9:03] [clears throat] 1st, 2026 and ending on

[9:06] September 30th, 2027 will raise less

[9:09] total property taxes than last year's

[9:11] budget by an amount of 171,526,

[9:15] which is a 1.76%

[9:17] decrease from last year's budget. The

[9:20] property tax revenue to be raised from

[9:22] new property added to the tax roll this

[9:24] year is $122,888.

[9:28] So this is um a formality because you

[9:31] need to ratify the budget also in accord

[9:34] in regards to the tax the tax revenue.

[9:38] So it the tax property tax revenue is

[9:41] decreased slightly in this.

[9:43] » Okay. So do we have a motion?

[9:45] » Motion second.

[9:46] » We have a motion second. Mr. Mortimer.

[9:48] » Hi.

[9:48] » Mr. Charles.

[9:49] » Hi.

[9:49] » Mr. Burge.

[9:50] » Hi.

[9:50] » Mr. Chandler.

[9:51] » Hi.

[9:51] » Miss McKenna. Hi.

[9:52] » Miss Sal.

[9:53] » Hi.

[9:53] » Motion passes. Mayor

[9:56] » Vote as well. me as well. Sorry.

[9:59] Item 7B, consider an ordinance making a

[10:02] tax levy and fixing the maintenance and

[10:04] operations tax rate, net le service tax

[10:06] rate, and total tax rate for the city of

[10:08] Orange, Texas for the fiscal year

[10:10] beginning October 1st, 2026 and ending

[10:12] September 30th, 2027 upon all taxable

[10:16] property in the city of Orange, Texas on

[10:18] January 1st, 2026, according to the laws

[10:20] of Texas, the charter provisions and the

[10:23] ordinances of the city of Orange, Texas,

[10:25] and provided that the said taxes levied

[10:27] shall be collected

[10:28] First reading September 1st, 2026. If we

[10:32] make a motion on this one, then we got

[10:34] to reheat it.

[10:36] » The following motion,

[10:37] » Mr. Sp, I'll read that one for you.

[10:39] » Okay. Thank you.

[10:40] » I move that the property tax be

[10:42] decreased by the the adoption of tax

[10:44] rate of.86600

[10:49] per $100, which is effectively a 0.06

[10:54] decrease in the tax rate.

[10:56] » Okay. Thank you, Mr. Childs. Do we have

[10:58] a second?

[10:58] » Second.

[10:59] » And we have a second. So I'm not going

[11:00] to forget this time. I'm going to vote

[11:02] first. Yes.

[11:04] » Okay. Mr. Mortimer.

[11:05] » Hi.

[11:05] » Mr. Johns.

[11:06] » Hi.

[11:07] » Mr. Bur. Hi.

[11:08] » Mr. Chandler.

[11:09] » Hi.

[11:09] » Miss McKenna. Hi.

[11:10] » Miss Salter.

[11:11] » Hi.

[11:11] » Okay. Motion passes.

[11:13] » Item 7 C. Consider an ordinance amending

[11:16] the adopted budget for the fiscal year

[11:18] beginning October 1st, 2025 and ending

[11:21] September 30th, 2026 in accordance with

[11:24] the charter of the city of Orange,

[11:25] Texas, Miss Zito. So, we're back to this

[11:28] year. So, this one will be um my budget

[11:32] amendments from April 1st to August 31st

[11:35] for this year as we do couple times a

[11:39] year. I'll just point out a few

[11:42] um items that let's see

[11:48] we council approved buying police

[11:52] vehicles from the reserves for 197,000

[11:56] three Taho and a Ford pickup instead of

[11:59] financing them that had to come from

[12:01] reserves. So that's a budget amendment.

[12:03] Um we had to move a project forward

[12:07] 60,000 for the finish the project for

[12:10] the city hall uh air conditioning

[12:12] controls when we start in one year we

[12:14] have to finish in the next year we have

[12:16] to roll that budget forward that's a

[12:17] budget amendment that was 60,000

[12:21] um in parks department we also bought a

[12:24] couple of trucks same we bought them

[12:26] from the reserves instead of financing

[12:28] them that was 85,000

[12:31] in the water and sewer fund we had to

[12:33] finish if you remember we had a grant to

[12:35] do water and sewer lines at Sunset Park

[12:38] neighborhood

[12:39] Um the price uh greatly increased during

[12:42] that project. We the grant didn't cover

[12:44] it. So we had to take it from water and

[12:46] sewer. That was 452,000 that had to come

[12:49] from reserves. And y'all approved a

[12:52] study for the western expansion of water

[12:54] and sewer. So I had to take money from

[12:58] the water and sewer reserves 1.2 2

[13:01] million and put it to the uh water and

[13:03] sewer construction progress construction

[13:05] in progress fund so that we can set that

[13:08] money aside to pay for that study that's

[13:11] in here.

[13:13] Um CBB just a few meetings ago you

[13:16] agreed to give them 150,000 from the CBB

[13:20] reserves to cover some overages in

[13:22] Orangetober and the fact that they had

[13:25] additional events during the year that

[13:28] they needed a little bit more money for.

[13:30] Um then the rest of it is mostly uh

[13:33] grant funds, donation funds, just kind

[13:36] of balancing out like the dog park at

[13:38] animal control that went over a year. We

[13:42] didn't finish it till this year. So we

[13:43] had to roll the budget forward of

[13:45] 19,700.

[13:48] And that's the main highlights of our

[13:51] budget amendments for this time frame.

[13:53] » Any questions on those?

[13:56] » Any questions or comments from council?

[13:59] If not, do we have a motion?

[14:01] » Second.

[14:02] » We have a motion and a second.

[14:04] » Mr. Mortimer. Hi,

[14:05] » Mr. Childs. Hi,

[14:06] » Mr. Bur. Hi,

[14:07] » Mr. Chandler. Hi,

[14:08] » Miss McKinnon. Hi,

[14:09] » Miss Salter. Hi.

[14:10] » K. Motion passes. Thank you, Miss Zito.

[14:12] » Item 8A, consider a resolution

[14:15] authorizing the city manager to execute

[14:17] amendment number five within Vermont LLC

[14:20] for the wastewater system operation and

[14:23] maintenance contract. Mr. Jack.

[14:24] » Good morning, council. Uh this contract

[14:27] originally started in June of 2018,

[14:30] expired in 2028. Uh originally we hired

[14:34] Inframark to run our wastewater

[14:36] treatment plant. At the time we did not

[14:38] have a wastewater treatment plant

[14:41] certified operator. I am glad to report

[14:44] that Gavin Victoria, our utilities

[14:47] manager, is now certified to be able to

[14:50] run that plant. Um and he is overseeing

[14:53] what is going on with Infrarark there.

[14:55] This amendment is to increase the budget

[14:57] by $55,000 or approximately 5% of the

[15:02] contract. Uh there was an increase in

[15:05] lab fees, what we call process residual,

[15:08] which is the removal of sludge, uh

[15:11] repair and maintenance. We've been

[15:13] having an ongoing conversation about the

[15:15] wastewater treatment plant and repairs

[15:17] and maintenance there. Um, so we are

[15:21] requesting this amendment to increase

[15:23] the contract from $1.15 million to $1.2

[15:28] million in FY27.

[15:31] The FY27 budget does accommodate for

[15:34] this increase.

[15:35] » Okay. All right. Any questions or

[15:37] comments for Mr. Jack? If not, do we

[15:40] have a motion?

[15:40] » Motion second.

[15:42] » We have a motion and a second. Mr.

[15:43] Mortimer. Hi.

[15:44] » Mr. Childs. Hi.

[15:45] » Mr. Bur. Hi.

[15:46] » Mr. Chandler. Hi.

[15:47] » Mckenn. Hi. Miss Alter.

[15:49] » Okay. Motion passes. Thank you, Mr.

[15:50] Jack. Item 8B, consider a resolution for

[15:53] city council to approve the engineering

[15:55] and construction of the sites road lift

[15:58] station generator replacement in the

[16:00] amount of 400,000 zero out of 100 cents.

[16:04] Mr. J.

[16:05] » So, public works is requesting a

[16:07] $400,000

[16:09] u

[16:11] encumberment from the reserve from the

[16:13] utility reserve to replace the generator

[16:16] at this lift station.

[16:18] This left station currently does not

[16:20] have emergency power. It serves all

[16:23] areas west of MLK within the city. Um,

[16:29] this also refers back to our letter of

[16:32] enforcement with TCQ. This is one of the

[16:35] items that is in that letter that we've

[16:37] discussed. Uh, public works is ready to

[16:40] begin the engineering. Uh we have an

[16:42] engineering um task order from our

[16:45] annual contract for $73,000 to begin

[16:49] that work. We also have an annual

[16:51] contract for electrical services that

[16:54] we'll utilize to do the actual

[16:56] construction. And again, public works is

[16:58] requesting the encumberment of these

[17:00] funds. When we get to actual

[17:02] construction, we will come back and let

[17:04] you know what that construction dollar

[17:06] figure will be.

[17:08] » Okay. Thank you, Mr. Jack. Do we have

[17:10] any questions? Comments from Mr. Jack.

[17:14] » A motion.

[17:14] » Can we have a motion and a second? Mr.

[17:16] Mortimer.

[17:16] » Hi.

[17:17] » Mr. Charles.

[17:18] » Hi.

[17:18] » Mr. Bur. Hi.

[17:19] » Mr. Chandler. Hi.

[17:20] » Miss McKenna.

[17:21] » Hi.

[17:21] » Miss Salter.

[17:22] » Hi.

[17:22] » Okay. Motion passes. Thank you, Mr.

[17:24] Jack.

[17:24] » On to item 9A. Consider a motion

[17:27] acknowledging receipt of the Orange

[17:29] Economic Development Corporation's

[17:31] proposed budget for fiscal year 2027.

[17:34] Miss Zto.

[17:34] » So, earlier at the EDC board meeting, I

[17:37] presented their proposed budget.

[17:41] was

[17:42] very close to this year's budget. They

[17:44] didn't increase much of anything. Uh

[17:47] slight decrease in revenue, slight

[17:49] increase, very slight, like $2,000 in

[17:52] expenses. And then all the projects. So,

[17:55] um I projected for 27 they should have a

[17:58] little over $2 million for future

[18:00] projects. So, that would be great. So,

[18:03] um we can go over it more detail if you

[18:05] want, but I did present it at the board

[18:07] meeting.

[18:07] » Yes, ma'am. Okay. Any questions or

[18:09] comments from Miss Zito?

[18:11] » If not, do we have a motion?

[18:13] » Motion.

[18:13] » Okay, we have a motion and a second. Mr.

[18:15] Mortimer. Hi,

[18:16] » Mr. Charles. Hi,

[18:17] » Mr. Bur. Hi,

[18:18] » Mr. Chandler. Hi, Miss McKenna. Hi,

[18:20] » Miss Salter. Hi. Okay, motion passes.

[18:22] Thank you, Miss Zto.

[18:24] » On to item 9B. Consider a motion

[18:27] reappointing or appointing Mike to the

[18:29] planning and zoning commission for a

[18:30] term ending September 8th, 2028. Mr.

[18:33] There are four positions on the planning

[18:35] and zoning commission that are either up

[18:37] for reappointment or appointment and we

[18:39] have received applications from seven

[18:41] people and those people are Joseph

[18:43] Angela, Sue Bard, Caleb Harris, Michael

[18:47] Henghan, Latoya Over Street, Ron Sigler,

[18:50] and Jamie Wilson.

[18:53] » I like to make a motion that we

[18:55] reappoint Mike Henan.

[18:57] » Second that.

[18:58] » Okay, we have a motion and a second from

[19:00] Mike Henan.

[19:01] » Mr. Mortimer. Hi,

[19:02] » Mr. Childs.

[19:03] » Hi,

[19:04] » Mr. Burge.

[19:05] » No,

[19:05] » Mr. Chandler.

[19:06] » Hi,

[19:06] » Miss McKenna.

[19:08] » No,

[19:08] » Miss Salter.

[19:09] » Hi.

[19:09] » Okay,

[19:11] » Who made the second? I didn't hear.

[19:12] » Uh, Mr. Childs made the second.

[19:15] » Okay. So, that motion passes. 42. We

[19:18] will move to the next one. So, we can

[19:20] just keep popping up names. I don't have

[19:22] to read it each time.

[19:23] » Yeah. You would read it.

[19:25] » Okay. Consider a motion reorning or

[19:28] appointing blank to the planning and

[19:29] zoning commission for a term ending

[19:31] September 8th, 2028. Mr. N.

[19:33] » Yeah. Senator.

[19:34] » Okay.

[19:35] » Nominate Jamie Smith and for reappoint.

[19:39] » Second.

[19:40] » Who's that?

[19:41] » Jamie Smith for reappoint.

[19:42] » Wilson.

[19:43] » Wilson. I'm sorry. Jamie Wilson. Excuse

[19:44] me. I'm sorry.

[19:45] » Okay. Jamie Wilson. We have a motion and

[19:47] a second. Mr. Mortimer.

[19:48] » Hi.

[19:48] » Mr. Child. Hi.

[19:50] » Mr. Burge. Hi.

[19:51] » Mr. Chandler. Hi.

[19:52] » Miss McKinnon. Hi.

[19:53] » Miss Alton.

[19:53] » Hi.

[19:54] » Okay. Motion passes. Consider a motion

[19:56] reappointing or appointing blank to the

[19:57] planning and zoning commission for a

[19:59] term ending September 8th, 2028. Mr. N.

[20:02] » Yes. Second.

[20:03] » I'd like to nominate Latoya over street.

[20:05] » Okay.

[20:06] » Second.

[20:06] » Can we have a motion and second? Mr.

[20:08] Mortimer.

[20:09] » Hi.

[20:10] » Okay. Mr. Charles.

[20:11] » Hi.

[20:12] » Mr. Burge.

[20:13] » Hi.

[20:13] » Miss Mr. Chandler.

[20:15] » Hi.

[20:16] » Miss McKenna.

[20:17] » Hi.

[20:17] » Miss Halton.

[20:18] » Hi.

[20:18] » Okay. Motion pass. Sorry about that.

[20:20] » Didn't mean to call you miss. Last one.

[20:23] Consider a motion be appointing or

[20:24] appointing blank to the planning and

[20:26] zoning commission for a term meeting

[20:28] September 8th, 2028. Mr.

[20:32] » No.

[20:32] » Yes.

[20:33] » One more.

[20:35] » Okay.

[20:35] » Second.

[20:36] » Okay. We have a motion and a second for

[20:38] Ron Sichler. Mr. Mortimer.

[20:39] » Hi.

[20:40] » Mr. Charles.

[20:41] » Hi.

[20:41] » Mr. Burge.

[20:42] » Hi.

[20:43] » Mr. Chandler.

[20:43] » Hi.

[20:44] » Miss McKenna.

[20:44] » Hi.

[20:45] » Miss Alter. Hi.

[20:46] » Okay. Motion passes. Thank you, Mr. N.

[20:48] Item 108, city manager report.

[20:51] » Yeah. Um, good morning, mayor and

[20:52] council. Um,

[20:55] hopefully everybody remembers Friday is

[20:57] the 25th anniversary of the terrorist

[20:59] attacks in New York City. Um, so please

[21:02] take a few minutes of your day to

[21:04] remember those folks who lost their

[21:05] lives. Uh, but I would ask us all to try

[21:08] to remember the uh, just how we all felt

[21:10] and came together on September the 12th.

[21:12] That's how we should try strive to be.

[21:15] » Yes, sir.

[21:16] » Thank you. Can you see any council

[21:18] report, Mr. Mortimer?

[21:19] » Uh, I I just want to [snorts] voice the

[21:21] same thing. And one of the key things

[21:24] about it's also just remember our

[21:26] current firefighters and and police

[21:29] staff because from from basically from

[21:33] dispatch through uh they are the they

[21:36] are the people that are there to protect

[21:37] us and I appreciate them more than more

[21:39] than they'll ever know. Thank you very

[21:41] much for your service.

[21:44] » Thank you Mr. Mort. Mr. I'm going to

[21:45] confer what George said. Anything could

[21:47] happen at any time and they are our our

[21:51] heroes. They our heroes.

[21:54] » Thank you.

[21:55] » Thank you, Miss McKinn.

[21:57] » 25th anniversary of a horrible event

[21:59] that proved to us more than anybody else

[22:03] in the world that our first responders

[22:05] are the best. When I'm running away, I'm

[22:08] passing them running the other way. And

[22:10] I just I don't know how they do it, but

[22:12] I'm very grateful. I'm thankful for the

[22:15] police, the firefighters, the ambulance,

[22:17] all those people who every day put their

[22:20] lives on the line for us and I want to

[22:23] thank you.

[22:24] » Thank you, Miss McKenna. Miss Halter,

[22:26] » I agree with all of that.

[22:28] » Okay.

[22:28] » Thank you.

[22:29] » Thank you, Mr. Chandler.

[22:30] » Yeah, I'll tag on. I've seen just a

[22:32] little bit of that from the fire. So, I

[22:34] do appreciate all you guys do. Really

[22:36] does mean a lot as well as for police,

[22:39] uh, especially Mr. Tommy up there doing

[22:41] a good job for us. So, but all

[22:43] seriousness, thank you guys for what you

[22:44] do and it's a it's really a pleasure to

[22:46] get to sit back and watch you guys work.

[22:47] So, thank you for keeping us safe.

[22:50] » Mr. Chall,

[22:52] » I'm going to add a little bit to that.

[22:53] Throughout the employees, including fire

[22:55] and police, uh unfortunately through uh

[22:58] the price of medical insurance this

[23:00] year, the pay dispar disparity has u

[23:04] really widened. So, someone on the lower

[23:07] end of this hill that's making $20,000 a

[23:09] year, that um insurance, if they want to

[23:12] stay with the plan they are, is going to

[23:14] run about 25% of their wages. So, if you

[23:17] make $20,000 a year, you're spending

[23:19] $5,000 just to keep the plan you have.

[23:22] But if you're in the $200,000 range,

[23:24] that's only 1.2% of of your wages. So,

[23:28] my heart goes out to everybody with the

[23:30] fact that insurance is enough. We

[23:31] [snorts] can't stop that. So, maybe we

[23:33] can do something better this next year.

[23:35] you know, maybe find another broker, do

[23:37] some uh creative price changes on on how

[23:42] we pay employees with the insurance. But

[23:45] it's been a tough year for all the

[23:47] council members on this one. That's all.

[23:50] » Thank you, Mr. Charles. And I will close

[23:52] by saying thank you everyone. Of course,

[23:54] I remember being in the

[23:57] I was actually working at the DRA and we

[23:59] heard of a plane hitting a building and

[24:01] you thought maybe it was just an

[24:02] accident and then we watched the second

[24:05] one and you were like, "This isn't an

[24:06] accident." So, once again, as we've

[24:08] already heard several times, we thank

[24:10] you for that and we appreciate all that

[24:12] everyone does around here and we've

[24:14] tried to do our best to continue to

[24:15] honor y'all. I know we had a chance to

[24:17] bring y'all up on stage and do some

[24:19] things at July the 4th, but it's never

[24:21] enough. So, thank you enough. Thank you

[24:22] to everyone and God bless you all. With

[24:25] that, we will move to adjourn to close

[24:27] executive session consultation 551.071,

[24:30] 71 collective bargaining with police and

[24:33] 551

[24:34] 071 collective bargaining with the

[24:37] association firefighters local 1432. So

[24:40] thank you. We will reconvene and open

[24:42] session once.

[48:03] probably what my wife says about me.

[48:04] [laughter]

[48:07] » I love you. A couple years ago, I

[48:08] thought you were cool.

[48:10] » Now you're horrible.

[48:11] » I say next year is our 50th wedding.

[48:13] » Wow.

[48:14] » She asked me, "Do we get to renegotiate

[48:16] this contract?"

[48:18] » We got everybody.

[48:20] » Okay. We will reconvene in open session.

[48:22] Sorry.

[48:24] » We will reconvene in open session. There

[48:26] is no action regarding items 11 A and 11

[48:30] A2. Do we have a motion to adjurnn?

[48:32] Motion. Okay. All in favor say I.

[48:35] Meeting adjourned. Thank you.

City of Orange Texas September 8, 2026 City Council Meeting

Transcript