Josh Ritchey - Devine District 4

Reach out to Wes Virdell and share your opinion on SB10's restriction to tax rates that would significantly constrain municipal spending. I'll let you guess my thoughts, but you need to share yours.
https://house.texas.gov/members/4775/email

Today, the Texas House considered S.B. 10, which would lower the revenue multiplier in the voter-approval tax rate calculation, and added two critical amendments.



As amended by the Texas House, S.B. 10 would now do the following:



Lower the revenue multiplier in the voter-approval property tax rate calculation from 3.5 percent to 1 percent for all Texas cities, regardless of population; and
For cities over 75,000 population in which the public safety expenditures of the city exceed the amount of public safety expenditures from the preceding tax year, allow for a positive adjustment to the voter-approval tax rate calculation to account for the increased public safety expenditures.


It is likely that the limitation of the voter-approval tax rate adjustment for public safety expenditures to cities over 75,000 population only was an oversight by the House, and the expectation is that the adjustment will be extended to apply to all cities when the House considers the bill on third reading on Tuesday (or alternatively in a potential conference committee report on the bill).



However, all cities should be aware that if further changes are not made by the legislature, the voter-approval tax rate revenue multiplier will be reduced to 1 percent for all Texas cities, effective January 1, 2026. For many cities, this will have a significant impact on city revenue from property taxes.



The House will take one final vote before sending the bill back to the Senate for its approval. City officials with concerns about the impact of the bill are encouraged to get in contact with their state senators and state representatives immediately.

Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives provides information on legislation, committees, sessions, and the Texas House

Devine TX: The phone lines to City Hall and the Police Department are currently not working.

If you need immediate police assistance, please dial 911.

For non-emergencies for Devine PD Call 830.538.8986 during normal business hours Mon-Fri 8 am to 5 p.m. After 5 p.m. you can contact Medina County Dispatch at 830-741-6153.

If you need to contact City Hall, call 830.538.4123 during normal business hours Mon- Fri 8a.m. till 5 p.m.

Don’t forget to save 3 lives this weekend by giving a blood donation! Register by scanning the QR code to reserve a time and get a reminder the day before, or walk in anytime between 10am and 2pm! Hope you see you there!!!

I’ve got 11 months left in office, and I’m asking for your help to get something done that will benefit us all.

I’m proposing a change to allow .25-acre lots in our city ordinance. This one change could make a huge difference long-term—bringing down the cost per person for water and sewer by increasing density and utility efficiency.

Water rates are hurting all of us. This is one real step we can take to push back against future increases. But I can’t do it alone.

If you’re tired of the complaints and want to be part of a solution, speak up. Share your support. Come to a P&Z meeting. Tell your neighbors. Help make this happen. Reach out, let's talk solutions.

Let’s stop just talking about problems—and start fixing them.

Thank you David for leveraging your relationships to lead this effort to success so well that most people here in town won't even know it happened.

Gratitude and Praise for Outstanding Teamwork!

This morning, Steve Smith from Smith Pastures went above and beyond after tending to his poultry. He noticed something unusual with one of our wells and immediately reported it to me — not with complaints or negativity, but with a positive attitude and a genuine desire to help. That kind of spirit truly makes a difference in our community.

A huge thank you also goes to Pete Sanchez and our Public Works team for jumping into action on a Sunday, when most folks are sleeping in or attending worship services. Their rapid response ensured the issue will be handled quickly and professionally. Please conse4ve water in the meantime

It’s moments like this that show the strength and heart of our community — neighbors who care and public servants who show up when it matters most. Thank you all!

Friendly reminder, water shuts off tonight at 9 until Wednesday morning at 0500 for upgrades.

Here are the water rates and volume levels we set last fall. This was a change to provide some relief to low income.

15 April, 6 PM at the community center. I anticipate this being very informative for all parties involved. Council will learn how much revenue we're bringing in and we can all get an idea of the overall expenses we're facing.

https://cityofdevine.org/

Please come out to the meeting tonight for a better understanding of the big projects we're using your water money for and also to hear about the results of this salary study.

Comprehensive rate study results.

Water rates
Recc increase all volumes 48.2% per 1K gal a 2% per year

Sewer Rates
Recc increase all volumes 91.4% per 1K gal and 2% per year.

Base Rates were recommended to be increased to $38, we went with $18 and instead increased the price per gallon at a graduating scale, moving up in usage. We also split the cost increases into 2 phases so as to mitigate more increase if we're able to bring in enough revenue to cover costs, upgrades, and debt for our water system. This ensured protection of low-income residents, while putting the increased cost burden on those using significantly increased water. This also incentives water saving as our aquifers drop, the water authority fines us for over use, and the region transitions to desert.

We do spend a lot of the water & sewer money on personnel, but it is important to note that the salary study showed that only 3 of our employees are paid above the surrounding cities and county, the county being only slightly higher to the point that it was left in the study as a result of the minimal impact on output. We have several employees paid far less than median and average. All that to say, we need to cleanup a few salaries, but we aren't overpaying a bunch of staff and the few that are overpaid, based on this study, don't make enough to reduce water rates more than a few cents.

If you would like the full data we had to work with, please contact the city office and request the Unlimited Rate Analysis & Recommendations Report in addition to the Propose Water & Sewer Rates document provided to council. The proposed rates document is rather confusing with formulas that don't quite formula, but we were able to work through it.