GGCD Considers Budget, Pay Raises
At its regular meeting Aug. 16, the Glasscock Groundwater Conservation District’s Board of Directors (Mike Hughes and Larry Wheat absent) discussed its new budget and approved an increase of $77 per month in employee insurance premiums.
The district’s proposed budget of $143,000 would be funded by a proposed tax rate of .025473 per $100 valuation, a 2.99 percent increase. GGCD Manager Rick Harston said the new tax rate would increase revenue by approximately $4,000. The proposed budget includes a three percent pay raise for Harston and district secretary Donnita Coats. If the raises are approved, Harston’s and Coats’ salaries will be $37,300 and $22,150 respectively. The board will adopt a budget and set a tax rate Sept. 15 at 9 a.m.
The district’s major expenditure, other than salaries, is the annual $27,000 for weather modification. In discussing weather modification, Harston reminded board members that no cloud seeding can take place during a flash flood watch or warning. He said he thinks the National Weather Service issues those warnings prematurely in order to protect themselves.
Weather Mod Can’t Make it Rain
Harston said seeding planes worked 16 days in July, and there were three days in August when all four planes were seeding in all counties. GGCD directors say the weather modification program can’t make it rain; it can only enhance what’s there. It can, they say, squeeze more water out of eligible clouds.
The board again tabled action on approval of a reinvestment zone and tax abatement for Wind Plus, Inc. (Director Larry Wheat told Harston by phone he was opposed to the tax abatement.) Director John Phillips said he wasn’t opposed to the project, but wanted more definitive information. Although a representative of Wind Plus had met with the board earlier, with Mike Hughes and Dennis Seidenberger absent, the board directed Harston to ask the Wind Plus representative to meet with them again to clarify some issues.