Harker Heights is in danger of losing its contract with the Hill Country Transit Service, or HOP, after the City Council voted 3-2 on Tuesday to nix all funds for outside agencies.
Hill Country Transit had been scheduled to receive $50,000 for the upcoming fiscal year, prior to the council’s vote Tuesday.
HOP General Manager Raymond Suarez told the Herald on Wednesday that he is hoping to schedule a meeting with the council and city manager and ask them to reconsider.
“We want them to make the most informed decision possible,” Suarez said.
The services will continue as normal through Dec. 31, which is the last day of the current contract but will stop on Jan. 1, 2025.
“The city council is trying to figure out what is valuable to them and they made a decision last night, so we are in the process of planning for the impact if that is their final decision,” Suarez said.
According to Suarez, that service may end if no future funding is made available for Hill Country Transit services.
“The likelihood is that the service would end for the city on Jan. 1 and they would forfeit approximately $780,000 in federal state and local funds. Those funds will be redistributed to other cities that are part of the urbanized zone,” he said.
“Likely there would be a discussion on their membership in the HOP and so they would forfeit their membership and their board seat,” Suarez said. “It could be a big Impact. I think the council needs to give it further consideration if they choose to do so.”
Suarez said the HOP had asked for $65,000 because that was optimal for the service level. He explained that the federal and state money HOP receives does not cover the entire amount and those funds requires a fund match from the local cities.
“So every one dollar put in you get 80% more funds from federal and state, but you can’t use the federal and state funds without the local funds,” he said. “We have to calculate how much local match is required to get federal and state funds for the service needed.”
Regardless of the decision, Suarez said he bears no ill will toward the council.
“I believe the council is very challenged to fund so many different things and I don’t have any sort of negative feelings at all. I know their job is incredibly hard.”
The Harker Heights Chamber of Commerce and The Heart of Texas Defense Alliance (HOTDA) are also slated to lose funds after Tuesday’s vote.
The Chamber had been in line to receive $50,000 in Fiscal Year 2025, and HOTDA was scheduled to get $18,000.
Harker Heights Chamber of Commerce Board President Kelly Brown told the Herald he was surprised by the council’s decision but did not have any negative feelings toward the council.
“While I was surprised at the outcome of the decision, I appreciate the challenges that our city leaders and council face during the budget process,” Brown said. “The Harker Heights Chamber of Commerce looks forward to working with the city to promote an environment for trade and commerce through strategic partnerships and advocacy to enhance the economic growth for members and community.
Brown did not specify if the money was already allotted in the chamber’s budget but did say the chamber would “begin our budget process and working to ensure we maintain our fiscally responsible financial position.”
Heart of Texas Defense Alliance Director Keith Sledd also said there was no anger at the city council.
“We were surprised but we understand that challenges come up. We are excited to continue our partnership with the city in the future,” Sledd said.
During Tuesday’s regular council meeting, the council discussed allotted funds for outside agencies in the city’s FY 25 budget.
In a surprise move, council members voted to zero out funding to five outside agencies that had been allotted up to $133,000 in the current budget — including three that received automatic allocations.
The current cap in the proposed 2024-25 budget was $133,000, with some funds automatically allocated. The Hill Country Transit District, or HOP, was allotted $65,000, the Heart of Texas Defense Alliance (HOTDA) was allotted $18,000 and the Harker Heights Chamber was allotted $50,000 in the current budget, prior to the council’s surprise decision to zero out the funding.
Last year’s budget allotted $50,000 to Hop, gave HOTDA $18,000, and the Heights Chamber $50,000. The Greater Killeen Community Clinic received $17,000.
During the Aug. 20 workshop, council members conferred about whether to include two other options, the Greater Killeen Community Clinic and the Boys & Girls Club.
This year the clinic asked for $25,000 and the Boys & Girls Club asked for $20,000 from the proposed budget, among other requests.
The council was given five options to choose from and favored Option 4, to include all five entities while remaining at $133,000, and Option 5, to Zero out funding for all outside agencies.
Councilwomen Lynda Nash and Jennifer McCann indicated they wanted the council to move forward with Option 4, but Councilmen Shane Hodyniak and Sam Halabi, along with Mayor Pro Tem Tony Canterino wanted to move forward with Option 5.
Each council member expressed their opinion on the option and the necessity of the funds.
Canterino originally asked the staff at the city council workshop on Aug. 20 to come back with different options for the allocated funds and specifically asked for an option of zero funds to be included.
During Tuesday’s meeting, he expressed his reasoning for choosing Option 5.
Canterino said that he looked at every one of these entities and the funds they have received from the city over the last five years.
“If they don’t get funds from us, they can stand on their own. They don’t come to us and say if we don’t give them money they will have to close their doors,” Canterino said. “Everyone here loves the entities — who doesn’t want to support them. My position is that the city is a small business and we are in crisis mode, so we have to take the appropriate steps to see the city through tough times. If we were flush with cash, I would have no problem with it. This is not a permanent solution; it’s a temporary solution to get us into new year.”
The crisis mode Canterino referred to was when he asked Heights Finance Director Ayesha Lealiiee when the city would go into “crisis mode.” Lealiiee told the council she is always in crisis mode after the Legislature’s unfunded disabled veterans tax exemption started severely impacting the city in 2022.
Councilwoman Nash advocated heavily for the HOP and the Boys & Girls Club during the meeting.
“The lower income members of Harker Heights are also residents of Harker Heights. They may not pay property taxes but they do pay taxes and live here as well,” Nash said.
Nash said she visited different bus stops before the meeting and talked with residents waiting for the buses.
“I talked to people waiting at the bus stop for 30 minutes so they can get to work, doctors appointments, Walmart and so they could have a good quality of life. Our mission statement so that every member of the city has the best quality of life.”
Nash also warned her colleagues that services with the HOP could be reduced if funds are revoked.
Councilman Hodyniak said he didn’t want to ask more of the residents than they have to.
“We are taking before the people of Harker Heights a tax increase that accounts for $150,000 in revenue from where we are today and we are giving $133,000 away to organizations that provide varied quality services,” he said. “However, where do we draw the line? Can we stand as a governing body that is not going to ask the taxpayer for a little bit more? We have the opportunity to hold the line at our current rate and we do that by saying, ‘I’m sorry, outside entities, today is not the day.
Councilman Halabi surprisingly changed his decision after he originally suggested an outcome like Option 4 in the workshop but opted for Option 5 in the regular meeting.
Halabi stated he felt like giving the money to only certain entities was unfair and wanted to give the money back to citizens in the best way possible.
Councilwoman McCann shared that she thought Option 4 was the best choice of the five.
“I thought it was a great idea last time, when Halabi suggested decreasing all the funds and include the other two,” McCann said.
Later Canterino and Nash got into a heated discussion about the HOP’s services after Canterino said that if people needed to get a ride, they can use other ride shares like Uber, and that the HOP would compete against ride shares.
Before the council made its vote, Mayor Michael Blomquist also gave his opinion on the matter, saying he was in favor of Option 4.
“I don’t have a vote in the matter, but I am in support of Option 4 to spread the wealth rather than cutting everyone off.”
In the end, the council voted 3-2 to approve the budget without the allotted funds, with Nash and McCann opposed.
When the vote was cast Nash said that she thinks they are making a big mistake and McCann agreed.
The $133,000 will now be moved back into the city’s general fund.
