The proposed $42,409,684 budget is a 1.3 percent decrease from last year’s budget.

The General Fund Budget projects revenues of $20,737,060, a 1.6 decrease from last year, and expenditures of $21,440,509, a 2.5 percent decrease from last year.

The revenue sources for the General Fund are primarily local sales tax, which has remained flat since 2009, and property taxes. City staff expects property tax valuation to decrease, due in part to outstanding protests.

A decrease in property values means an increase in the effective tax rate – the rate the city must asses in order to generate the same amount of revenue as the previous year.

The city has had a tax rate of $0.50 since 2009. Final numbers from the Fort Bend County Appraisal District will not be available until some time in August.

The proposed budget continues the city’s 1 percent Homestead Exemption.

Along with a flat sales tax, the budget has projected a 12 percent reduction in Municipal Court revenues.

The budget also includes 222 full-time positions – down from 237 in FY 2010, a 6 percent reduction.

The city has said it is a priority to maintain staffing levels at both the fire and police department, especially since both departments have been experiencing an increase in calls.

City officials said it is “realistic to expect” slower service than residents are used to.

There are no employee raises budgeted, but a 6.3 percent in crease in the city’s health insurance plan will be covered in the budget along with the funding of catch-up provisions for the Texas Municipal Retirement System to cover future retiree benefits. 

“Roll-over” funding has been included for capital improvement to: Bamore Road; the Seabourne Creek Drainage Project; the Dry Creek Drainage Project; FM 2218; the Seabourne Creek Park Water Reuse Project; Reading Road and Allwright Street Drainage; Homestead Subdivision Drainage; engineering for the Blume Road Project; Spacek Road Intersection Relocation; and North Side Sewer Improvements – Phase V. 

The city has proposed the first balanced budget for the Water/Wastewater Fund Budget, but said it continues to be underfunded to meet future infrastructure needs.

The city will need to continue to adjust rates to make the fund self-supporting and cover costs associated with the surface water conversion project and continued capital improvements.  Until the 2015 deadline for groundwater reduction, the city will need to continue annual increases in water and wastewater rates. 

In the past, the city depended on a portion of the property tax revenue to subsidize debt obligations for the Water/Wastewater Fund.  Since this fund is now self-supporting, and due to the fact that the city has retired some higher interest debt service obligations, the city is able to reduce the debt service portion of the property tax rate from $0.27 in FY2010 to $0.265 in FY2011. 

The additional $0.005 was shifted in the Proposed FY2011 Budget to support the City’s annual maintenance and operating expenditures instead of debt service obligations. 

City officials said the biggest challenge the city is facing is maintaining the proposed budget while also meeting the increasing service needs of the community.

Council will consider the Proposed FY2011 Budget in workshop sessions at 8 a.m. Aug. 7, at the Civic Center, 3825 Highway 26 South, and again at 6 p.m. Aug. 12 at Rosenberg City Hall Council Chamber, 2110 4th Street. 

Interested individuals may view a copy of the FY2011 Proposed Budget in the City Secretary’s office.  For more information on public meetings, visit www.ci.rosenberg.tx.us, or call the City Secretary’s Office at 832-595-3340.

Karan has been charged with enticing a child, a third degree felony, and is being held in New Mexico on a $150,000 bond. He will eventually be extradited to Fort Bend County.

“Without question she was with him of her own accord,” said Brady. “If she were 18 years old, we wouldn’t be here talking.”

An Amber Alert was issued for Rehfield Tuesday when her mother discovered her missing. The alert was cancelled late last night after the pair was found in Raton, New Mexico.

They were pulled over in Karan’s car by local authorities.

Karan has been charged with enticing a child, a third degree felony, and is being held in New Mexico on a $150,000 bond. He will eventually be extradited to Fort Bend County.

Brady said Karan has no verifiable criminal record.

According to Brady, Rehfield and Karan, who met through a social networking Internet site, have had an ongoing relationship since at least 2009.

Karan has apparently been living since June in an extended stay hotel near Fort Bend County. Brady did not know where he lived previously.

According to Brady, in 2009 Rehfield’s mother raised allegations of sexual contact between Karan and her daughter, but the Harris County District Attorney’s Office never went ahead with the charges.

Brady said he is unsure why charges were not filed.

“That’s not really uncommon,” said Brady. “A lot of times parents don’t want to subject their children to the legal process and testifying in court.”

Rehfield is still in New Mexico, in the custody of the state’s Children, Youth and Families Department. Her mother and stepfather are on their way to get her.

Karan faces the possibility of additional charges once he is interviewed by Fort Bend County detectives.

During last week’s meeting, council members voted to suspend CenterPoint’s proposed Aug. 6 rate hike and to join a coalition of cities to negotiate that rate increase with the company.

The coalition will hire the Lloyd Gosselink law and consulting firm to represent the member cities’ interests, including possible litigation and appeals of the proposed rate. Costs incurred by the law firm will be paid by the utility company and not the cities, as required by law.

During tonight’s meeting, Fulshear council members will consider approval of a resolution to formally join the group, called the Gulf Coast Coalition. The nearby cities of Weston Lakes and Simonton have already voted to join the coalition, as have Sugar Land, Missouri City and Rosenberg.

Following deliberation of the utility rate resolution, the council will discuss the city’s 2010-2011 budget. The city’s budget year begins Oct. 1.

No formal action on the budget is expected at tonight’s meeting.

The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Fulshear City Hall.

A young woman lost control of her vehicle at Avenue E and Dulles Avenue on June 3 at 2 p.m., left the roadway and landed upside down in a drainage ditch filled with water.

As people gathered along the banks of the waterway, Debbie Coyl’e-Larner jumped into the water without hesitation to help the young woman whose head was already submerged. Coyl’e-Larner forced open the door and adjusted the driver’s seat to raise her head above the water’s surface.

Brad Murff and another man followed Coyl’e-Larner into the ditch and unsuccessfully attempted to turn the vehicle back over before all three focused their efforts on removing the trapped driver from her car.

They stayed with the driver until the arrival of firefighters and paramedics.

“I was on my way to work that day,” said Christina Thomas. “Within a few minutes (of landing in the ditch), my car started filling up with water. There was no way I would have been saved if it weren’t for Debbie and the others. I want to thank them.”

Mayor James Thompson, Fire Chief Juan Adame and several SLFD firefighters recognized Coyl’e-Larner and Murff during a regularly scheduled City Council meeting.

During yesterday’s mark up session, Green said the bill, which has 68 cosponsors, is bipartisan and underlined “it aims to provide the necessary enforcement to guarantee equal opportunities and prosecute housing discrimination, as well as to be a deterrent for this kind of behavior.”

According to the National Fair Housing Alliance, more than four million violations of fair housing laws go unreported every year and approximately only an average of 30,000 are reported to federal, state or local authorities.

 The bill would authorize $15 million annually for the Department of Housing and Urban Development to administer a nationwide testing program to measure patterns of adverse treatment based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability or national origin in rentals, real estate sales and lending practices.

It would also establish a $5 million competitive matching grant program for private non-profit organizations to examine the causes of housing discrimination and segregation, as well as their effects on education, poverty and economic development.

It would also authorize annual funding for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program at $42.5 million through fiscal year 2015, which is the current level appropriated in FY 2010. This funding would support enforcement, education and outreach by private, non-profit fair housing centers.

The Housing Fairness Act is endorsed by the following organizations: American Civil Liberties Union, American Legion, Greenlining Institute, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, League of United Latin American Citizens, NAACP, National Coalition for Asian Pacific, American Community Development, National Community Reinvestment Coalition, National Council of La Raza, National Fair Housing Alliance and National Urban League.

Rehfield was discovered missing around 1 a.m. Tuesday and was believed to be with 36-year-old David Karan, who she met over the Internet. Authorities believed the pair was headed out of state.

More information will be published as soon as it is made available.

According to police, a woman was in her car when she was approached by a man with a gun. She was able to speed away before he made contact. Police were not able to find any suspects in the area.

At this time, no further information is available.

According to police, officers were called to the 2600 block of West Lake Drive in the Eldridge Lake subdivision around 10:58 this morning where two armed Hispanic men with handguns entered a home and demanded money.

After they got the money, they ran on foot from the rear of the home towards Eldridge. Officers searched the area but did not locate either suspect. No one was injured.

On Monday four black men, armed with handguns, entered a residence in the 1100 block of Sugar Lakes around 10:46 p.m. The suspects forced entry through the back door. They tied up four adults inside the home, then ransacked the house and fled with money.

Kazzaz

Katy resident Mouafak Kazzaz, 26, was shot and killed after robbing a Sugar Land Bank of America.

He was known as the “Reckless Robber” due to his increasing violence and erratic behavior that escalated during his state-wide bank robbing spree.

Kazzaz and  25-year-old Larryl Williams were attempting to evade deputies May 22 when Deputy Charles Scott caught up to the getaway van near West Airport just east of Hwy. 99, and Kazzaz opened the back doors of the van and began shooting at Scott.

Additional deputies eventually cornered the getaway van at a dead end of West Bellfort and Dargail, and a shootout ensued which ended in the death of Kazzaz. Deputy Courtney Bank was injured by glass from a shattered windshield.

 A woman with her two children in her car was hit by a stray bullet while driving by the chase. She recovered after surgery.

According to America’s Most Wanted, Kazzaz robbed banks in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. Representatives of the FBI said he was hard to catch because each time he robbed a bank, he never wore the same clothes twice, wore sunglasses, sometimes wore a balding wig and would change his accent.

The practice test will be held at 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 7 in Room 2B.

A follow-up strategy session will take place the following Saturday, Aug. 14, from 10 a.m. – noon in the same location.

Students will take the practice test during the first session and will review their scores and learn strategy tips to increase their future scores at the second session.

College graduate schools and business schools use GRE scores to evaluate a student’s readiness for graduate-level work. The GRE General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and analytical writing skills that are not related to any specific field of study.

The sessions are free, but seating is limited and reservations are required.

To register online, go to the library’s website at www.fortbend.lib.tx.us, click on “Calendar,” select “George Memorial Library,” and find the program. Participants may also register in person or by calling the library at 281-341-2604.

Patrons will not be able to use the libraries’ computers, WiFi, catalog, databases, printing services, self-check or the Internet, nor will they be able to access their library account.

Services are scheduled to resume on Monday, August 2.

On Aug. 3 and 4, Fort Bend County Libraries’ library catalog (including patrons’ library accounts) and Overdrive service will not be available. Computer services will be available to the public, but printing services may be intermittent.

All regular computer-network services will resume on Thursday, Aug. 5.

For any questions, call the library’s public information office at 281-341-2677 prior to July 29.

The editorial section appears on the right side of the page.

Readers who would like to submit an editorial, or an opposing view to a current editorial, are invited to send them for consideration to editorials@fortbendnow.com.

Webb’s work experiences include 16 years with the Bell System in which he held various technical and management roles in Central Office operations, Network Engineering and Customer Service. While assigned to Bell Labs, Webb played a key role in planning and implementation of systems, tools and processes that the Bell Operating Companies used after the Bell System divesture.

Webb also spent 20 years with Compaq/HP in IT leadership roles, through heavy growth and worldwide expansion in the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s, including mergers with Tandem, Digital Equipment Corporation and HP. Webb concluded his work with HP by serving as the head of Global Managed Network Services providing services to HP worldwide and to external customers that had outsourcing agreements with HP.

Webb spent one year as head of IT Infrastructure Services at Aegis Mortgage Corporation and three years as head of the Managed Services business unit at CHR Solutions, Inc. with P&L responsibility. This business unit provided a full range of IT consulting and IT outsourcing services for small to medium sized businesses.

Webb studied Electronic Technology at the US Air Force Technical Academy graduating with honors and Business Administration at San Jacinto College. He is a Vietnam veteran.

Council approved creation of the unpaid peace officer positions at the request of City Marshal Ron Horowitz.

Horowitz said the reserve officers will be used to provide security for the city anytime the emergency operations center is activated, as well as provide police patrols within the primarily-gated city at staggered hours throughout the week.

“Whenever the (emergency operations center) is activated by the mayor, the four reserve deputy marshals will work in pairs of two for 12-hour shifts,” Horowitz said. “One will man the front gate; one will patrol in the car.”

At other times, the officers will patrol the city three times a week in staggered shifts to provide a police presence and assist with traffic management and security, Horowitz said.

Currently, the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office responds to calls for police service within the city, but does not routinely patrol Weston Lakes, Horowitz told the council.  The sheriff’s office will continue to take reports and conduct investigations, but the deputy marshals would provide “community policing” and work to deter such crime as youth-related vandalism.

Most of Weston Lakes is gated, with security officers monitoring those who enter. The guards, however, are not peace officers.

Additionally, the Weston Lakes Property Owners Association employs an off-duty sheriff’s sergeant to patrol several days a week. Horowitz said once the deputy marshals begin patrolling, the POA would have the option of ceasing that practice.

Horowitz said he had posted an advertisement on a police recruiting website and already had several applicants. As he had during a previous presentation on the reserve deputy marshal concept, the city marshal stressed although the officers would not be paid, they would be fully certified and licensed through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education.

Reserve officers typically accept unpaid positions to maintain their license and out of a desire to serve the community, Horowitz explained. He compared it to being a volunteer firefighter.

Although the concept had been previously discussed and approved by city council, Aldermen Gary Owens and Ted Case initially appeared reluctant to approve the positions.

Case said he wanted to see the city “coordinate with the POA and develop a job description before we go down that path.”

Owens said he also wanted job descriptions created, as well as “other policies associated with the positions.”

Horowitz said he had a model job description taken from a website and was in the process of creating a policy manual for the deputies. 

City Attorney David Olson said the council could approve the creation of the positions contingent on the job descriptions, policies and coordination with the POA.

Alderman Clifton Aldrich made the motion to create the positions with the conditions recommended by Olson. Alderman Trent Thomas seconded the motion, which was then approved on a unanimous vote.

A second request from Horowitz to spend $2,500 on five sets of body armor was rejected by council in lieu of seeking grant funding.

District 22 Pete Olson has signed on as an original cosponsor for the bill, which representatives from Green’s office said signals the “bi-partisan spirit of the initiative.”

The bill directs the Department of Labor to develop training programs for JSC’s affected workers who will have to look for new jobs. The bill provides $10 million in FY 2011 and FY 2012 for this initiative.

 “I would like the Department of Labor to establish one-stop career centers that will specifically address the professional possibilities that the valuable and skillful JSC workers can bring to the regional and national job market,” said Green. “These centers would provide them with training referrals, career counseling, job listings and similar employment-related services.”

Since the administration’s proposed changes at NASA would also impact the businesses within the geographical area where JSC is located, the bill requires the Department of Commerce to set up cooperative agreements with eligible state and local recipients to promote new economic growth and stabilize the local workforce.

Acting through its Economic Development Administration, the Department would provide financial and technical assistance to implement business ventures and entrepreneurial networks among the businesses and professionals affected by the changes at JSC.

“The Department of Commerce will be able to draw down on its resources to create an economic stability program to promote economic growth in the JSC region and assist the dislocated workers in starting projects based on their specific skill set,” said Green.

 “Congressman Green’s bill is an important compliment to the NASA authorization bill that my colleagues and I moved through the House Science Committee last week,” said Olson. “That bill ensures that the work done at the Johnson Space Center on behalf of Constellation and the future of human space flight will continue, ensuring this highly skilled group of workers remains active and engaged in the aerospace community. Rep. Green’s bill will provide an additional resource to those who may need it going forward.  Most importantly, these funds will not come from NASA’s overstretched budget.”

Last June, the Administration proposed an amendment to the FY 2011 budget request that would set aside $40 million from NASA’s FY 2011 budget on transition efforts for Kennedy Space Center employees who would also be affected by NASA’s new direction.

“Our bill provides the JSC workforce the same opportunities that Kennedy Space Center employees will have in terms of getting effective assistance to look for new employment in a very competitive job market,” said Green.

The Greater Houston Partnership and the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership estimate that if the Constellation program is not continued in the Administration’s FY 2011 budget, the Johnson Space Center could lose up to 7,000 direct and indirect jobs with a resulting loss of income and expenditures reaching $1 billion in the Houston region.

District 18 Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and District 29 Congressman Gene Green have also signed as cosponsors of the bill.

An Amber Alert has been issued for a 16-year-old Fort Bend County girl who is believed to be with a 36-year-old man she met over the Internet.

Alyssa Rehfield

David Karan

Authorities said Alyssa Rehfield, 16, of the Pecan Grove subdivision near Richmond, has been reported missing and is believed to be in the presence of David Karan, 36, who she met over the Internet.

Rehfield was last seen around 11:30 p.m. yesterday at her residence.

Fort Bend County detectives believe the pair was last sighted in the area of Boerne around 8:40 a.m. today. They are believed to be headed out of state.

The alert did not indicate whether Rehfield was taken against her will. 

The pair is reportedly traveling in a silver-colored 1995 Ford Aspire hatchback with Oregon license plates 884-AGZ.

Rehfield was described as a white female, 5’7” tall, 180 pounds with blonde hair and brown eyes. She is described as having a “large build” and braces.

When she was last seen, Rehfield was wearing dark blue or black skinny jeans, a black T-shirt with a black wrap-around cardigan.

Karan was described as a 36-year-old white male, 5’7” tall, 130 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He is known to have lived in Missouri, Oregon and California.

FBISD’s Special Programs Department and campuses “work together to improve the educational outcomes” for homeless students by addressing areas of enrollment, transportation, academic, social and psychological needs, according to district representatives.

Amanda Hartley, Title 1 Coordinator in Special Programs, serves as the district’s Homeless Liaison. For information on services provided to our homeless youth, call Hartley at 281-634-1355.

First Colony Little League Takes Part In Texas East State All Star Tournament

WULL started its Challenger Division in 2005 and FCLL followed in 2007.  Katy American and Missouri City Little Leagues also have Challenger Divisions in District 16.

Combined, these leagues serve 250 special needs players and 400 buddies.  Each player with a disability is partnered with a “buddy” who helps them bat and round the bases.

There are 48 Texas Little Leagues (134 teams) who host Challenger Divisions and 867 Little Leagues across the United States (1876 teams) and 950 Little Leagues worldwide who have Challenger divisions (2050 teams).

On July 24, All Stars from across Texas took to Field 6 at the Faulkner Park Sports Complex in Tyler, Texas, alongside four special Challenger teams from Districts 10, 15, 16 and 28, a host of umpires, district administrators and other special guests for the traditional opening ceremonies. 

At 4 p.m., on Field 7, District 16 Challengers took on the team from District 28.  Those representing District 16 were Kenneth Adkins and buddy Chet Danto, Sean Barone and buddy Jason Sattler, Hannah Bauch and buddy Angela Sattler, Sofi Bauch and Catherine Taylor, Natalie Gay and buddy Tyler Gauntt, Blakeley Kress and buddy Kevin Roy, Jim Li and Drew Diaz, Maggie Mae Merrill and Hannah Pearson, L’Air du Robertson and buddy Lexi Hicks, Ezra Roy and buddy Harrison James, Devin Singley and buddy Davis Atkins, Emily Stromatt and buddy Matthew McCauley, Heather Jo Thomas and buddy Zach Pearson, and Kamden Thompson and buddy Luke Cone. 

The team was coached by Michael Miller and Scott Sattler.

On Saturday night, the 10-year-old FCLL American, 11-year-old WULL American, Post Oak Little League, and WULL Seniors all played winning games.

The service levels for the transition plan are designed as a starting point, and will be adjusted if necessary, according to city staff. The pilot program will also gauge the “effectiveness of communication materials.”

The neighborhoods included in the transition are Plantation Colony, Magnolia Plantation, Lakefield, Austin Park, Lakes of Austin Park, Colony Park and Sweetwater Sections 1, 2, 3, and 3A. 

Garbage and recycling will be collected on Mondays, Green Waste will be collected on Wednesdays and bulky waste will be collected semi-monthly on the first third and fifth Wednesdays.

Council will discuss the plan during their regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. in Cane Room Number 161 at City Hall, 2700 Town Center Blvd.

Last week, prices increased 3.5 cents per gallon to an average $2.53 per gallon as of yesterday.

This compares with the national average that has increased 2.4 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.74 per gallon, according to gasoline price website HoustonGasPrices.com.

Including the change in gas prices in Fort Bend during the past week, prices yesterday were 23.0 cents per gallon higher than the same day one year ago, but 2.7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago.

The national average has decreased 0.5 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 25.5 cents per gallon higher than this day one year ago.