Passport fee may increase in this month
The Maverick County District Clerks office will be assessing an increase of $10 beginning in the month of April to its American Passport Program.
Public hearing on water impact fees set for March 20
Jose G. Landa
Staff Writer
The Eagle Pass City council voted in favor of a resolution scheduling a public hearing to discuss the imposition of a water impact fee to benefit the Eagle Pass Water Works System and its Capital Improvement projects.
Democratic candidate for governor Lupe Valdez calls for increased minimum wage, is open to a tax increase
By Patrick Svitek | The Texas Tribune
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez sat down Thursday with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith for her most in-depth interview since entering the race in early December.
Bridge traffic continued to increase in 2017
Jose G. Landa
Staff writer
The Eagle Pass Bridge System has reported that the total amount of crossings in 2017 surpassed 2016 by a whopping 33,868. 2017 saw 3,467,327 crossings, a significant rise from 2016 which had 3,433,459 total crossings.
Emergency calls continue to increase within the community
Incident calls attended to by local law enforcement agencies continue increasing on a yearly basis, putting a strain on law enforcement departments and court systems as well.
Community growth leads to more work for post office
Post Master Ernesto Saucedo spoke to The News Gram in an interview about the movement of mail in the community.
MCHD approves tax increase
The Maverick County Hospital District proposed and approved a tax increase in recent weeks which will assist the organization in bringing the necessary medical services to the community through their specialist and indigent care services.
Voters approve EPISD tax ratification
The Eagle Pass Independent School District Tax Ratification Election came to a close on Saturday with the majority of local voters electing to approve the slight increase.
Sex Offenders Registry Statistics For Eagle Pass, TX continues to grow
Staff Reports
Convicted sex offenders are required to register into a database which shows their criminal status and movements in the state.
Water and gas increases approved by city
Jaclyn Guzmán
Staff Writer
Eagle Pass City Council approved water impact fees and gas increase fees after the third and final reading of the ordinances at the most recent meeting on Wednesday, August 10.
Gas increases will begin September 1, 2016, with a proposed average increase of 2 percent.
Water impact fees will be effective October 1, 2016 with a proposed average increase of $2.90 over five years, with the overall increase being approximately $14.50.
Both increases would depend on the amount of gas or water used by the resident: prices for certain individuals could be lower or higher than the proposed average.
Eagle Pass Water Works General Manager Jorge Barrera said the department is very excited they can begin these seven much needed projects now that impact fees have been approved by the city.
“We just got approved for the financial part of the application, so right now the Water Development Board is going to be looking at the technical part,” said Barrera. “Hopefully in the next month or so we’ll get an ‘ok’ and we can get going.”
EPWW hopes to begin the projects by December or January, said Barrera. It would take approximately three to four years to complete all seven projects, with bigger projects such as pipe replacements throughout the downtown area taking up to 3.5 years. This will undoubtedly cause a disturbance in the area, but Barrera said the department is doing its best to make sure it is minimal.
“We’re going to be getting together with all the entities and try to minimize the disruption. There’s going to be some, and that’s why this project is going to take a little longer,” said Barrera. “We could go in and try to do everything, but we don’t want to cause that chaos so we have to be very careful how we do it.”
Ciudad aprueba aumento de agua y gas por la
Jaclyn Guzmán
Staff Writer
El concilio de la ciudad aprobó aumentar tarifas de gas y agua después de la tercera y última lectura de las ordenanzas de la ciudad en la más reciente reunión del miércoles, 10 de agosto.
El aumento del gas comenzará el 01 de septiembre de 2016, con un aumento promedio propuesto de 2 por ciento.
Cuotas de impacto de agua será efectivos 01 de octubre de 2016 con una propuesta promedio de aumento de $2.90 por cinco años, con el aumento total que es aproximadamente $14.50.
Ambos aumentos dependerán de la cantidad de gas o agua usada por el residente: precios para ciertas personas pueden ser más baja o más alta que la media propuesta.
Gerente General del Sistema de Agua Jorge Barrera dijo que el departamento está muy entusiasmado en poder comenzar estos siete proyectos que mucho se necesitan ahora que el aumento ha sido aprobado por la ciudad.
"Nosotros sólo fuimos aprobados para la parte financiera de la aplicación, así que derecho que ahora la Junta de desarrollo de agua va a estar buscando en la parte técnica,", dijo Barrera. "Esperemos que en el mes siguiente nosotros podemos empezar".
EPWW espera iniciar los proyectos por diciembre o enero, dijo Barrera. Tomaría aproximadamente tres a cuatro años para completar los siete proyectos, con proyectos más grandes como reemplazos de tuberías a lo largo de la zona centro hasta 3,5 años. Esto sin duda hará que haya unas perturbaciones en la zona, pero Barrera dijo que el Departamento está haciendo todo lo posible para asegurarse de que sea mínima.
"Vamos a trabajar junto con todas las entidades y tratar de minimizar la interrupción. Va a haber algunas, y es por ello que este proyecto va a tardar un poco más, "dijo Barrera. "Podríamos ir y tratar de hacerlo todo, pero no queremos causar ese caos así que tenemos que tener mucho cuidado cómo lo hacemos".