The Levelland City Council met this past Monday and approved several resolutions and contracts, as well as taking action to propose a tax rate ceiling for FY 2026/2027.
Prior to moving into the meeting, three Levelland Police Department (LPD) officers received promotions from Police Chief Erica O’Bryon ,advancing them to rank of sergeant, including Cory Painter, Baxton Gilbreath and Raul Lopez. Painter has five years of experience; Gilbreath has been serving as a field training officer with LPD since graduating from SPC Law Enforcement Academy in 2023; and Lopez has a cumulative 20 years of law enforcement experience. The council approved proposing a tax rate ceiling for the FY 2026/2027 and will have the option to adopt a lower tax rate without any change in the required process. The tax rate ceiling does not have the option of adopting a higher rate than the proposed tax rate. City staff recommended proposing a tax rate ceiling of 0.59500 for the FY 27 budget. The city will hold two public meetings on the proposed tax rate and the FY 27 Annual Budget on Sept. 7 and Sept. 14 at city hall at 6 p.m.
In other business, the council approved the ambulance service contract with Covenant Ambulance Services. The current agreement expires in December; the new five-year term contract will begin Jan. 1, 2027. The initial fee will be $207,850 and will be split evenly between the city and Hockley County. On the anniversary date of the agreement, there will be a 2% increase over the previous year.
The council approved Resolution 2026-11 appointing Ryan Hall for a two-year term on the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority board of directors. Hall’s previous term expired at the end of July. Levelland typically has appointed two representatives on the board in the past, including Hall and Richard Ellis.
Concerning a grant application that would support the mitigation of the Levelland Police Department’s current Computer-Aided Dispatch and Records Management System (RMS/ CAD) for Levelland Public Safety Services, the council approved submission of the grant and authorized the city manager or police chief to execute the necessary documents. Mitigation to the cloud-based platform would provide both operational and financial benefits to the city, which is approximately $12,000 annually in storage-related costs in annual storage expenses, and reduce the responsibility for maintaining a local data storage infrastructure associated with the current system.
In other action, the council approved Resolution 2026-11approving an agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (Tx-DOT) regarding the closing of two blocks of state highway for the Trunk or Treat on Main Street event on Oct. 31. The event is sponsored by the Levelland Noon Lions Club in cooperation with Levelland Main Street.
Additionally, Resolution 2026-12 for an event application with TxDOT was approved for the 2026 Ladies Night Out, set for Nov. 12, as well as Resolution 2026-13 for the Levelland Festival of Lights and Christmas on the Square to be held on Dec. 3.
The council also approved Ordinance #1121 on first reading to adjust utility rates in the water, wastewater and sanitation department. The ordinance makes several amendments to the existing Code of Ordinances free schedule. Several rates within the water and wastewater tiers were rounded up due to the phasing out of the penny and for simplicity purposes. Additionally, city staff is proposing new rates for sanitation services, specifically the landfill. The most significant change will be charging non-city residents landfill disposal fees.
City manager James Fisher gave a report on upcoming events. He said the Texas Municipal League Annual Conference is schedule to be held on San Antonio on Nov. 11-13.
Other events include Thunder on the Plains on Aug. 15; Centennial City Hall Mosaic Dedication, Aug. 17 at 5:30 p.m.; and TML Small Cities Clinic, hosted by the city on Sept. 9 at the Wallace.
Fisher said the final bill for the micro surfacing project is $366.992, approved by the city; the TWDB Elevated Storage Tank grant application was filed on July 30; and the Wastewater Treatment Plant transformer and generator have been installed.
Fisher also noted several openings within the city, including an accounts payable specialist, two utility operators in training positions in the water department; one maintenance worker in sanitation; seasonal groundkeeper for the parks and cemetery department; an animal shelter technician; one TCOLE certified police officer; an Emergency 911 dispatcher; and an assistant supervisor 911 dispatch.
Fisher also said the city is continuing to spray for mosquitoes.
The next city council meeting will be held on Aug. 17 at 6 p.m.