Street maintenance tax, one contested race on Cottonwood Shores ballot
Cottonwood Shores voters will select a new Place 2 councilor and decide whether or not to re-up a sales tax allocation for city street maintenance in the May 3 election.
Three of six City Council seats are up for election, but two incumbents are running unopposed, including the mayor.
Candidates who submitted paperwork during the Jan. 15-Feb. 14 filing period were:
Mayor
- Jared Dodd (incumbent)
Dodd is wrapping up his first term in office, having been elected in May 2023. Without a challenger, he will retain his seat for a second term.
Place 2
- Gary Parsons (new candidate)
- Rick Longabaugh (new candidate)
Incumbent Place 2 Councilor Brigitte Thomas did not file for re-election, leaving her seat up for grabs in May.
Parsons is a former member of the City Council, previously serving at Place 1 from 2020-22. Longabaugh is a newcomer to Cottonwood Shores politics.
Place 4
- Laura Hankins (incumbent)
Hankins has held her Place 4 seat since 2023 and, without an opponent, will keep it in May.
STREET MAINTENANCE SALES TAX
A special election will be on the Cottonwood Shores ballot for the reauthorization of a one-fourth of a percent of city sales tax for the exclusive use of street maintenance.
According to City Administrator J.C. Hughes, the tax was first approved by residents in 2017, but, by state law, it must be reauthorized by voters every four years.
“The bulk of our maintenance budget is from that quarter (of a percent),” Hughes told DailyTrib.com. “Without that, we’d fall back on the ad valorem (property taxes).”
He explained that the quarter of a percent comes from the total 8.5 percent sales tax within city limits and brings in about $83,000 annually. The funds can only be used for the maintenance of existing streets.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU VOTE
Election Day is May 3. Early voting runs April 22-29. The last day to register to vote in the Cottonwood Shores city election is April 3. Visit the Burnet County Elections Office webpage for more information.
Cottonwood Shores city councilors serve staggered, two-year terms, and those elected in May will serve from 2025-27.
Council members represent residents in municipal matters and are responsible for setting the city’s budget, developing and amending policies and ordinances, approving or denying major development and contracts, and overseeing the work of the city administrator, who handles the day-to-day operations of Cottonwood Shores.