By Tony Cantú
Contributing Writer

The city of Terrell Hills’ consistently healthy bottom line – typically under budget for expenses with surplus income – is now further fortified by nearly $600,000 following the recent sale of the municipal sewer system.

City Manager Mark Browne said the city received the windfall last month from the San Antonio Water System (SAWS), which purchased the city’s sewer lines after months of negotiations. Browne gave the update during the last Terrell Hills City Council meeting July 14.

“We got the payment in June, which gave us an additional $590,000 in our general fund income,” Browne said in a subsequent interview. “This boosted our total gross income to 130 percent over budget,” he added, breaking down that percentage as being equivalent to about $800,000 over budget on income.

Two years in the making, the sewer system transfer to SAWS represented an opportunity to trim municipal expense. In an October interview, Browne said the city would reap significant savings from the transaction – some $40,000 annually in routine line maintenance alone.

But even without the sewer sale windfall, the city continues to keep expenses down under Browne’s fiscal leadership. The expense part of the balance sheet came in $475,000 below budget, helping to keep alive a municipal streak of operating in the black.

“We just try to be as efficient as we can,” Browne said. “We’ve had this going for several years now – about two or three years – and it’s continuing. We try to be conservative in our expenditures.”

Notwithstanding such gains, the city – like virtually every other entity operating a vehicle fleet – is not immune to the rising cost of gasoline. Browne told council the city is $20,000 over budget on fuel costs for the fiscal year ending in July.

That increase is just for the city’s police and sanitation vehicles excluding fire engines, Browne said. Because little can be done to mitigate the soaring cost of fuel – especially given that police and sanitation workers are on constant patrol – no counter-measures are being mulled, Browne said.

“I’m not contemplating any extraordinary steps at this time, but we’ll continue to look at operations,” Browne said. “Like any government entity, we’re over-budget in that area. I don’t need to adjust the budget now, but we will take a strong look at it next year.”

In other business, council approved an expenditure of $50,616 for purchase of a 2008 Crown Victoria and 2008 Ford Expedition to be used as police vehicles. Made through Philpott Motors and the Houston-Galveston Area Council of Governments, the purchase is in keeping with standard three-year rotation of police vehicles, Browne said.

Also, council renewed its long-term contract with Allied Waste for city trash collection. Browne said the latest extension runs until 2013, but with annual exit clauses as a precaution. In related action, city sanitation worker Frank Gonzales was honored as July’s employee of the month, awarded with a certificate of appreciation to recognize what Browne categorized as an exemplary positive attitude exhibited by the recent hire.