City-County Cooperation Award WInners for 2007
Titus County and the City of Mount Pleasant
Titus County and the City of Mount Pleasant are being honored for their “Keep Titus County Moving” project to build a traffic loop around Mount Pleasant. These two local governments recognized that there were growing traffic problems with more and more vehicles moving through Mount Pleasant to Interstate 30—more than 30,000 vehicles a day. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) recognized the problem, too, and identified a loop as a priority—but it would have to be 25 to 30 years in the future, due to the long list of TxDOT needs. The county and city could not wait that long, so they teamed up and made use of a constitutional amendment that allows TxDOT to use “pass-through financing” for road projects. Under such pass-throughs, cities or counties use local bonding authority to fund transportation projects, and TxDOT may pay them back, based on projected use. A city-county task force estimated the loop would cost $168 million; Titus County agreed to build the loop and negotiate reimbursement from the state, and Mount Pleasant pledged $4 million for construction and assigned key staff to participate. In the fall of 2006, TxDOT approved the agreement and promised to reimburse Titus County $168 million over a 20-year period. By joining forces, Titus County and Mount Pleasant became the first approved rural pass-through project in the state. Construction should begin in 2009—much faster than the 25 to 30 years it would have taken the state to act.
Williamson County and the cities of Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander, and Round Rock
Williamson County and the cities of Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander, and Round Rock are being honored for “The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter.” In September 2004, Williamson County began looking for a fiscally responsible way to build an animal shelter. Several cities in the county recognized that they had a similar need, so they soon joined in the discussion about such a shelter. In November 2006, Williamson County, Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander, and Round Rock agreed to partner in accomplishing this goal. The group wanted to build an efficient, fiscally responsible facility that offered an enjoyable and safe environment for all Williamson County residents and animals while providing a high level of both customer service and animal care. As a result of the combined efforts and financial support of these entities, the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter opened in March 2007. A secondary phase is planned for future expansion, and new programs are underway to offer low-cost services to citizens. A county-wide registration program is also being considered to increase public awareness about responsible pet ownership and to help ensure the safe return of lost pets to their homes. This project benefits both the cities and the county not only by providing a higher level of service to the community and animals while saving tax dollars, but also by reducing the amount of services that would have been duplicated if each group had built and staffed its own facility.