not ask our water customers to
subsidize our general fund. This
is a common practice across the
state and is a way to hide the cost
of general operations by tacking
a portion onto a water bill. This
also means that our water rates
are among the lowest in Parker
County, because we don’t ask
our water customers to subsidize
our police department or street
maintenance.
Conversely, we don’t ask our
taxpayers to subsidize our water
system, which is less common, but
happens nevertheless throughout
Parker County.
Our permit fees are higher
than other cities because we ask
our developers to pay for the full
cost of the development process
rather than having our existing
property owners subsidize new
development.
We look for creative ways
attract the right kind of
development. You can see this
in the urbanized development
style that we have been moving
toward over the past two years. By
encouraging a walkable, mixeduse
style on Oakey Trail, in the
Creekside apartments, and with
our new hotel development, we
are able to develop sustainably.
These types of developments
encourage multi-modal forms of
transportation; they encourage
community-building; they
maximize the limited space we
have for development; and they
limit the impact to our city’s
operations.
These two principles - no
property tax and no subsidies - are
only possible because we have
built up, from our roots in 1978,
a culture that values good ideas
more than who gets the credit for
them. Everyone, from the mayor
to the council to our staff to our
residents, has an opportunity to
have their voice heard. We have
open and honest debates, and the
best idea wins regardless of whose
idea it is.
In 2004, this resulted in a very
significant change to our city.
We transitioned from a strong
mayor form of government
to a council-manager form of
government. As our county began
to grow, City Council knew that
it would be vital to professionalize
our city staff. That to tackle the
challenges we would face in the
coming years, we would need
professional feedback on how to
move forward.
We hired our first city manager
in 2004 and began the process of
professionalizing our staff. Today,
Come enjoy
the City of
Hudson Oaks’
Boomin’ 4th
Celebration!
32 EAST PARKER COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | RELOCATION & BUSINESS GUIDE 2019- 2020