Ranger City Council Discusses the future of the town.
By Jason Walston
The City Council of Ranger Texas met on March 9th 2015.
The first item was to go over the annual audit. Through all the number crunching it turned out the city is breaking even.
The following order of business was to discuss the 10.33 Program. This Program has been in the works for several years. The military allows cities all over the United States to receive donated equipment and vehicles for the cost of delivery only, or driving to pick them up. There are two different things the city is in the process of getting: a new forklift and a road grater. These will be picked up or delivered to Ranger. They also are looking for a tractor trailer with a lowboy flatbed trailer to make receiving equipment easier in the future.
A major item discussed was Home Rule Law, which could be removed by a pending Texas Senate Bill 343, by definition a bill “relating to the conformity of local law with state law”. Some are not aware of all the Home Rule law encompasses, but a definition from Wikipedia states as follows: “In the United States, the legislative authority granted to local governments varies by state. In some states, known as Home Rule States, an amendment to the state constitution grants cities, municipalities, and/or counties the ability to pass laws to govern themselves as they see fit (so long as they obey the state and federal constitutions). In other states, only limited authority has been granted to local governments by passage of statutes in the state legislature. In these states, a city or county must obtain permission from the state legislature if it wishes to pass a law or ordinance which is not specifically permitted under existing state legislation. Most non-home rule states apply the principle known as Dillon's Rule to determine the bounds of a municipal government's legal authority.”
The question at hand was if the City Council should approve a resolution opposing SB 343 and any other legislation eroding the authority of a home rule municipality. They approved the resolution unanimously, and will send a copy of the resolution to state representatives and senator to show the City of Ranger’s opposition.
Finally they announced that on March 28th at 10am the Easter Parade hosted by the Ranger Historic Preservation Society, will be held on Main Street. The Council approved a resolution which would allow the temporary closure for State Hwy. 101 (Main St.) from the swimming pool to Commerce St. for the annual Easter parade.