Bandera City Council awarded $59,295.10 in Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funds to local organizations Tuesday and voted to apply for a state grant to address road repairs within the city. However, the meeting was marked by tension between City Administrator Toni Kunz and several council members.
Although the council voted earlier this year to set an Aug. 31 deadline for all HOT applications, several businesses said there was confusion surrounding the new date.
“The deadline was always the end of September,” said Arlene Guerra, owner of TJ’s at the Old Forge. “That’s what I had on my calendar. So, I don’t know when we put it out or when we got a notice saying this is the deadline.”
After discussion, the council unanimously approved a late application from Riding on Faith.
The council awarded $21,707.75 to 11th Street Cowboy Bar, $21,707.75 to the Bandera Business Association, $6,081.55 to Bandera Pro Rodeo and $9,798.05 to Riding on Faith, for a total of $59,295.10. The current HOT policy for the city is to award businesses 25% of the request.
Council members noted that HOT funds remain available and may be used for future applicants.
Bandera City Administrator Toni Kunz and City Council Member Debbie Breen found themselves at odds over suggested budget cuts at the Sept. 29 meeting. BULLETIN PHOTO/ Veronica Rector
The application deadline for the 2027 funding cycle will be Aug. 31, 2027.
The council later discussed a proposal to remove $30,000 from the city’s 2026-27 budget, a topic that put council members Debbie Breen, Tammy Morrow and Deanna McCabe at odds with Kunz.
Breen, who requested at the Sept. 22 meeting that budget-cut amendments be placed on the agenda, objected to the resolution presented Tuesday.
“This is not my motion,” Breen said. “The motion I made was to make budget cut amendments. So, I’m not interested in this resolution.”
Kunz argued that Breen’s original request lacked specificity.
“It’s recommended that we be more specific in agenda items,” Kunz said. “I apologize if it has upset you in any way, shape or form.”
McCabe also voiced concerns, saying she believed a position was intended to be removed from the budget.
“I think we made a motion to cut a position, and that was my concern, is the position wasn’t cut with the salaries, so it’s not removing the cut,” McCabe said.
Allen Jehle, who was sworn in at the previous meeting as a temporary council member through Nov. 3, argued that the $30,000 should remain in the budget to provide flexibility for future hiring. He noted the city is already operating short-staffed.
“You have been doing a great job, and then for us to say we’re going to kneecap you and take $30,000 away,” Jehle told Kunz. “We should have stability and repeatability with Bandera, where we shouldn’t have people come and look at jobs and leave afterward.”
The council ultimately took no action on the resolution after members agreed Kunz would revise it for future consideration.
Earlier in the meeting, the council unanimously approved applying for the 2027 and 2028 Texas Community Development Block Grant Program in an effort to repair roads within the city limits.
The grant program, which city officials said is new to Texas, offers up to $750,000 and requires a $15,000 local match.
“If we got the grant for $750,000, and the match is only $15,000, that would cover year one and two of the 2025 street assessment plan,” City Secretary Jill Dickerson said.
While the council ultimately supported moving forward with the application, Breen questioned the makeup of the grant selection committee, which included Kunz, Mayor Denise Griffin and Dickerson.
“I don’t remember us discussing the people here on the committee,” Breen said.
Kunz responded that the original committee members were unable to participate.
“We are the selection committee because we did not have those people,” Kunz said.
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