and long-term financial planning during a recent budget workshop, with council members divided on whether the city should increase wages, reevaluate retirement benefits or focus on cutting costs.
A recurring theme throughout the discussion was employee retention. City Administrator Toni Kunz said Bandera continues to experience high turnover, particularly in Public Works positions, because wages are not keeping pace with the cost of living.
“I think we have a big revolving door,” Kunz said. “We’re hiring at a lower rate and we’re losing them after training them and getting them to the point where we’re a well-oiled machine and then they leave for these rates.”
Kunz proposed increasing the base pay for Public Works employees by $2 per hour and establishing salary ranges for administrative positions, including permitting, compliance and utility staff. She noted that the current permitting clerk salary is $36,420 annually, while proposed salary ranges would allow for wages between $50,000 and $70,000 depending on experience and responsibilities.
“If you want true professionals and you want to be in the game, a competitive game, and you want people to stay, you need to pay competitive wages,” Kunz said. “I’m not talking about department heads. I’m talking about the people that support this city, the utility workers and all of those.”
Council members expressed differing opinions on city compensation.
“I think our department heads are way overpaid,” Council Member Tammy Morrow said.
Council Member Jeff Flowers said department head salaries are generally appropriate at their current levels, but argued that rising housing costs, fuel prices and other living expenses continue to make it difficult for lower-paid city employees to afford to work in Bandera.
“You either pay people nothing and we have turnover all the time, or we try to find a way to increase revenue so we can afford to pay and keep people here,” he said.
Council Member Deanna McCabe cited a Texas Municipal League salary survey comparing 130 general-law cities and said Bandera ranked highly in compensation levels.
“Out of 130 cities, we are number one,” McCabe said, adding that she continues to review comparative salary data.
The city’s employee benefits package also generated extensive discussion.
Bandera currently pays 100% of employee health, dental and vision insurance premiums. Employees also receive Social Security, Medicare, Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) contributions, life insurance, workers’ compensation coverage, longevity pay and certification incentives.
Morrow questioned the overall cost of the benefits package, while Council Member Debbie Breen suggested the city should only pay for certifications directly related to an employee’s job duties.
“I definitely agree with the certifications within their jobs,” Breen said. “What I wouldn’t want to see is certifications for things that aren’t required for their job.”
Breen also called for a review of the city’s Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) retirement plan, describing it as the “Cadillac” version of the retirement system.
“I think a town of a thousand people cannot afford a Cadillac version of the retirement system,” Breen said.
Former City Secretary Jill Dickerson explained that employees contribute 7% of their pay into TMRS while the city’s matching rate is set at 14%. However, because relatively few employees have retired from the city, the city’s actual contribution rate is currently closer to 11.4%.
“In the history of the city since retirement started, I think we’ve had 12 people retire,” Dickerson said. “Right now, you have nobody eligible for retirement for 10 years.”
Mayor Denise Griffin defended the benefits package, noting that municipal governments typically provide more comprehensive benefits than private employers.
City officials also discussed plans to hire a fulltime treasurer once the budget process is complete.
The proposed position is budgeted at approximately $25 per hour, though council members questioned whether that rate would attract candidates with municipal accounting, payroll and Incode software experience.
Kunz said the city has received applications that she will review after the city’s budget is finalized.
Council members also debated garbage collection rates charged through the city’s contract with Republic Services.
Morrow criticized the city’s current markup structure, stating residential garbage rates are marked up approximately 41%.
“I called around to different cities, and they were between 10 and 15 percent on their markups,” Morrow said. “We’re at 41.”
Kunz explained that Republic Services receives a 5% annual contract increase and that smaller cities do not receive the same volume discounts available to larger municipalities.
After discussion, council members indicated support for absorbing Republic Services’ upcoming 5% increase rather than immediately passing the cost on to customers. The decision would temporarily reduce the city’s markup while officials continue evaluating a more equitable rate structure.
“We’re going to eat the 5% that it goes up for now,” Kunz said.
The workshop resulted in $53,000 in cuts, including consolidating employee appreciation expenses into a single account.
The city also continues to evaluate a permitting software package that could automate applications and potentially save an estimated 17 hours of staff time each week.
Meanwhile, council members reviewed funding for Country Christmas in the Park and Nightmare on Maple, debated the future of the Methodist Church parking lot agreement and discussed upcoming water, wastewater and infrastructure projects.
The budget is expected to be finalized on Aug. 25 at the next city council meeting.
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