The Bellaire City Council will decide whether to send feedback to the Houston Independent School District on the reconstruction of Bellaire High School, at its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Monday,
The council held a lengthy community meeting last week, where dozens of Bellaire residents, parents of students and students commented on the district’s plans to build a new $106.7 million high school on the site of the current campus.
Plans to rebuild the 60-year old school have been a hot topic in the community for the last several months, as architects have struggled with the constraints of putting HISD’s largest high school on the district’s smallest campus, while meeting Bellaire’s zoning requirements.
Key issues have been the construction of a parking garage, the location of the school building and academic fields, and the sheer size of Bellaire, which currently has more than 3,700 students.
Many Bellaire residents told the city council last week that the school has become too large for its current location.
Before the council’s regular meeting, they will hold a second public hearing on a proposed 7.6 percent property tax increase in Bellaire, to finance the city’s $32 million 2015 fiscal year budget. The hearing, the second of two hearings on taxes, will start at 6 p.m.
Although the city council is considering a lower tax rate, recent appraisals by the Harris County Appraisal District increased property values in Bellaire by an average of 13 percent. Because of the higher property values, most Bellaire homeowners will see an average increase of about 7.6 percent in their annual property taxes.
The total appraised property value in Bellaire now stands at $4.9 billion — compared to $4.18 billion in 2013. The appraisal district last year reported that the average home value in Bellaire was $534,810, with the same home now valued at $588,131. City taxes on the average home last year would have been about $2,138 — this year’s taxes on the average home will be about $2,314.
The council also is scheduled to hear a report from Bellaire City Manager Paul Hoffman, about a recent compensation study about city employees’ pay and benefits.
Bellaire contracted with four other area cities for the compensation study by Arthur J. Gallagher and Co., which cost Bellaire $22,000. Hoffman will explain details of the study.
Hoffman is prepared to recommend an 8 percent pay increase for Bellaire’s patrol officers, as well as other raises for Bellaire city employees, to recruit and retain qualified personnel. The city of Bellaire had 9 vacancies in its Police Department during the summer. Many of those positions have since been filled.
The pay raises for Bellaire officers would take effect in January, with other employees seeing pay raises from one to 7 percent in April. Those recommendations would require council approval.
The council also is scheduled to consider awarding an annual $70,000 to ARKK Engineers for city engineering services.
The council also will consider a resolution designating next week as “Fire Safety Week” in the city of Bellaire.
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