Open letter to citizens of Fate from Mayor David Billings

FATE, TX (May 11, 2021) Yesterday marked the official start of the fiscal year 2022 City of Fate budget season. We will be holding budget workshops and townhall meetings to get feedback from citizens and various stakeholders.

One of the challenges in developing this year’s budget is the 87^th legislative session in Austin. I recently spent 5 days in Austin, and honestly, the process and approaches are quite frustrating. I have witnessed the power that the various Texas political action committees, special interest groups and associations wield over the legislative process. So many groups are working against the best interests of our cities, and you the public.

For example, House Bill 4447 is nicknamed the “Super Shot Clock” bill and it would only give cities 30 calendar days, or 20 business days, to approve a land development application. If the city rejects the application, we have the burden of proof in a court case. The bill also states that a developer does not need to submit a requested study, such as a traffic impact analysis or flood study, during the application process. Just think about that for a moment. We could be forced to approve land development applications without understanding the impacts on our roads, or even if home developers will fill floodplains. This bill would give extraordinary power to developers and would further limit your voice in how our community is built.

I also wanted to communicate my priorities for the 2021/2022 budget.

Ensure we have a well-funded Fate DPS, including adding officers, equipment, etc.
Increase the road maintenance budget to adequately maintain our roads.
Maintain a reasonable city tax rate to support our growing community.
Continue to promote and maintain financially viable commercial development.
Maintain/improve our infrastructure for our growing city

As we move forward, I will continue to keep you informed. This is your community, and your voice is important to your City Council. Please attend the budget workshops and town hall meetings as we move through the budgeting process this summer.

Yes, indeed, our future is bright. May God bless our great city and each of your families.

In Service –

David Billings

Mayor

City of Fate

Our print edition is delivered free to ~15,500 homes in Rockwall and Heath, TX.