Pearland City Council has agreed to hire legal counsel for potential litigation associated with a $10.3 million budget shortfall blamed on a tax valuation worksheet error.
Pooja Bhakta/Staff writerMayor Kevin Cole said the legal firm would seek to correct a worksheet from the Brazoria County tax assessor-collector's office that was used to calculate Pearland's property tax rate. That document included property values from the Harris County portion of the city that were inflated by $1.3 billion, leading to the budget deficit.
Also at its meeting on Monday, the council announced that the city will begin a search for city manager candidates. Deputy City Manager Trent Epperson is temporarily in the position after theon Nov. 21, with council members citing a series of issues such as the budget shortfall and longstanding problems related to water billing.
During the meeting, he instead urged his fellow elected officials to support his motion to ask staff to cut $4.7 million in recurring costs from the city’s general fund. He also suggested a hiring and contractor freeze.Councilman Joseph Koza said if Kamkar wanted to cut $4.7 million out of the city’s general fund, he should present a plan.
Cole said the city will have to look ahead to the 2024 budget and possibly one year beyond when determining the impacts of the current budget issue. He admitted the solutions presented are a reaction to the immediate problem and that the city has work to do in the months ahead. "At our next meeting, we need to talk about whether the bond goes in 2023 or '24, and we'll need to look at the debt-service fund balance to make that determination," Cole said.
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