Canyon sets maximum allowable tax rate, agrees to move forward on quiet crossing

CANYON — The City of Canyon Commission proposed a maximum allowable tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year and decided to move forward on a plan to have repairs done at Brown Road Railroad Crossing, which has been closed for almost a year following a train crash.

By a vote of 4-1 during Monday's meeting, the commission approved a tax rate not to exceed $.39286 per $100 of property valuation. The only dissenting vote on the tax rate was Paul Lyons, commissioner for Place 3.

Canyon Mayor Gary Hinders spoke about the need to budget for additional firefighters in the city due to the growing population and to keep the city safe.

“One of the main pieces that will be going into the city’s budget is the city will be moving toward more of a paid fire department,” Hinders said. "We must go in that direction; we will have three additional firefighters this next year. We will lose our ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating if we do not start going in that direction. Insurance companies use this to decide how much to charge on homeowners’ insurance.”

ISO fire rating determines how well a local fire department can protect a community. Home insurance companies use the score to help set home insurance rates; homes deemed less prone to damage or destruction from fire receive lower insurance rates.

Hinders said that the increase in homeowners’ insurance for residents for a change in the city’s ISO rating could far outweigh the increase that they would pay in property taxes to the city due to the rate. Although lower than the previous year, the new tax rate is expected to increase the average tax bill to its residents by an average of 9%.

“If we do not go adding more personnel to our fire department, homeowners will not like what they have to pay in increased insurance premiums,” Hinders added.

The city also agreed to move forward on a measure to work with Randall County and the BNSF railroad company to get repairs done at the Brown Road railroad crossing. The crossing has been closed since August of last year when a semi-truck with a belly dump trailer got caught up on a dislodged part of the railroad crossing and was struck by a train.

The railroad company has said they will not reopen the crossing until the roadway approach is improved and repaired to accommodate vehicle passage. The city has asked BNSF and Randall County to share costs, but the railroad company wants to understand the total costs better. At the meeting to move forward, the commission spoke about BNSF paying about $170,000 of the cost to get the railroad crossing up to standard, with Randall County and the city splitting the rest of the cost,

Randall County had previously agreed in principle to share costs on repairs but, at that point, were not agreeable to the extra cost to make it a quiet crossing. The city of Canyon will have further talks with the county to come to an agreement with all parties doing their part to get the crossing open.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, many residents spoke about the safety considerations of the crossing being closed, which could impact emergency vehicles or people needing emergency care. Multiple people spoke about the disruption the train horns have to recreational activities at the sports complex while pushing to make it a quiet crossing.

The one agreement for all parties is that the crossing needs to be reopened due to its impact on residents and other issues with trucks being diverted to other railroad crossings.

“We have had 10-plus years with quiet crossings in the city of Canyon, and I really do believe they have you at a safety measure, which is the median which prevents traffic from going around when the railroad crossing arms are down. I really feel like this safety measure will make it a safer crossing,” Hinders said.

Jon Behrens, assistant city manager for Canyon, stated that if an entity chooses to change a crossing to a quiet crossing, it must be rated as safer than before the change by regulation.

While he understands citizen concerns with changing the Brown Road Railroad Crossing to a quiet crossing, Hinders felt that the change would make the crossing safer and make for a better experience for the many groups that use the Brown Road Sports Complex for recreational sports.

“We have one of the best facilities out here for kids; if you have not been out there on a Tuesday or a Thursday for kids in Canyon, those fields are probably the best in the Panhandle for recreational sports,” Hinders said. “It is tremendous what is out there and the quality of those fields. The quiet crossing will really help enhance the experience.”

.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Canyon agrees max tax rate and to move forward on quiet crossing