Updated, Aug. 22: Eastern areas in Williamson County are categorized as “moderate drought” while western areas of the County are designated “abnormally dry” on the United States Drought Monitor map for Texas. The designations reflect the sustained lack of rain and temperatures above 100 degrees this month in Georgetown and Williamson County.

In the past week, water use on some days has exceeded 90 percent of capacity of water treatment plants for the City of Georgetown. Moderating water demand below recent levels will prevent the need to put further water use restrictions into place.

Earlier this month when water treatment demand exceeded 85 percent of plant capacity, the City enacted Stage 1 of the Drought Contingency Plan. During Stage 1, customers may not water their lawns between the hours of noon and 7 p.m.

“Our priority as a water utility is first to provide water for drinking and indoor domestic use, second to provide water for fire hydrants and fire protection, and third to provide water for outdoor lawn and landscape irrigation,” Georgetown Utility Director Glenn Dishong said. “To meet those priorities and expand our plants only when needed, we have asked customers to dial back their usage when we are in our peak demand as we are this month. The alternative is to pay for major plant expansions that will be used only a few days each year. And those expansions would most likely require higher water rates.”

What can you do to help reduce water use?

• Use the Seasonal Adjust setting on your irrigation controller and reduce it to 90 percent.
• Make sure you are on the two-day per week schedule. (Look it up at gus.georgetown.org/water/watering-days.)
• No watering from noon to 7 p.m.
• #NoWateringMonday since Mondays are a recharge days for our system.
• To report irrigation on Monday or not on the correct schedule, please send an email customercare@georgetown.org with the information. A utility representative will follow-up.

For help setting your irrigation controller, call Customer Care at (512) 930-3640.

For more information on the Drought Contingency Plan or your watering schedule, visit the drought information page. Go to the Drought Monitor map for Texas to see the latest on drought conditions.

A special election to fill the District 1 seat on the City Council was called by the council at its meeting yesterday. Anna Eby resigned from the council on Aug. 2 after announcing her decision to move out of District 1 and live at her nonprofit animal sanctuary north of Georgetown. The candidate elected to fill the vacancy will complete the remainder of the term ending in May 2021.

The filing period for candidates who wish to run for the District 1 seat is open through 5 p.m. on Sept. 4. Candidate information is available from the Texas Secretary of State or from the City Secretary’s Office at City Hall, 808 Martin Luther King Jr. St. The City Secretary has compiled a candidate packet available at City Hall or online at government.georgetown.org/city-secretary/elections. Completed applications for candidacy must be submitted to the City Secretary’s Office.

To see maps of council districts, go to maps.georgetown.org/council-district-maps.

Georgetown City Council members typically serve three-year terms representing one of seven single-member districts. A candidate for City Council must be 21 years of age and a citizen and qualified voter of the state of Texas and the City of Georgetown. Candidates for council district seats must be a resident of the council district the member would be representing for a period of twelve months as of the last legal date for filing.

For voters, the last day to request a mail-in ballot for the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 25. The last day to register to vote in the November election is Oct. 7.

Early in-person voting is Oct. 21-Nov. 1. In the early voting period, voters may cast ballots at any early voting location in Williamson County.

On Election Day on Nov. 5, voters may cast ballots at any vote center location in Williamson County. Polling places, dates, and times will be listed at wilco.org/elections.

The first day of classes for schools in Georgetown ISD is Thursday, Aug. 15. The Georgetown Police Department reminds drivers to slow down in school zones. As students go back to school, police will be monitoring school zones throughout the city.

“This is one of the most exciting times in the school year, and we look forward to welcoming students and families back to campuses throughout the district,” Superintendent Fred Brent said. “Reducing speeds in school zones is just one way that our community can help us ensure that students get to and from school safely.”

Look for the school zones at most of these Georgetown ISD schools:

• Carver Elementary, 4901 Scenic Lake Drive
• Cooper Elementary, 1921 NE Inner Loop
• Ford Elementary, 210 Woodlake Drive
• Frost Elementary, 711 Lakeway Drive
• McCoy Elementary, 401 Bellaire Drive
• Mitchell Elementary, 1601 Rockride Lane
• Pickett Elementary, 1100 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
• Purl Elementary, 1953 Maple St.
• Village Elementary, 400 Village Commons
• Benold Middle School, 3407 Northwest Blvd.
• Forbes Middle School, 1911 NE Inner Loop
• Tippit Middle School, 1601 Leander Road
• Wagner Middle School, 1621 Rockride Lane
• East View High School, 4490 E. University Ave.
• Georgetown High School, 2211 N. Austin Ave.
• Georgetown Alternative Program, 502 Patriot Way
• Richarte High School, 2295 N. Austin Ave.
• Williamson County Academy/Lott Juvenile Detention Center, 200 Wilco Way

School zone speed limits are in effect during the posted hours or when yellow lights are flashing. The fine for speeding in a school zone is $10 per mile over the limit, plus state court costs. This would mean a $100 fine plus $129 in state court costs for driving 30 mph in a 20 mph zone, for example.

State law prohibits the use of a wireless communication device in a school zone during the posted hours or when yellow lights are flashing.

Maintaining the safety and quality of life of our community are key themes of the proposed fiscal year 2020 budget plan for the City of Georgetown. Population growth remains an important factor, evident in Georgetown’s status this year as the seventh-fastest growing city in the U.S. with more than 50,000 residents by the U.S. Census Bureau. Georgetown has been one of the top 10 fastest-growing cities in the country each of the past five years.

Quality of life, public safety, and responding to population growth were core elements of the FY 2020 proposed budget presented to City Council yesterday by City Manager David Morgan. New initiatives in the proposed 2020 budget include:

Public safety: Two patrol officers, one community engagement officer, two emergency communications operators, and one digital forensics investigator are proposed for the Police Department to respond to growth in the city. An additional code enforcement officer and a fire protection engineer also address growth demands. The budget also includes operational costs and staffing for Fire Station 6 and Fire Station 7, scheduled to open in 2020.

Parks: New projects include the design of the third phase of the renovation of San Gabriel Park, an update to the Parks Master Plan to guide future parks development, plans for regional trail development, and upgrades to the Heritage Community Gardens near Annie Purl Elementary.

Transportation and mobility: Responding to a top priority for residents, mobility projects include widening Leander Road from Norwood Drive to Southwest Bypass, widening Southwestern Boulevard from Raintree Drive to SE Inner Loop, the next phase of sidewalk improvements, and continued funding for GoGeo transit. Construction on the Northwest Boulevard bridge over I-35 funded in 2019 will continue in 2020.

Electric utility: A new energy portfolio management contract, a new risk management policy, and a new general manager for the electric utility are all currently underway and included in the 2020 budget. New feeder and transformer improvements and other upgrades address growth in our service area.

Water utility: New major projects addressing our growing population include the expansion of the Lake Water Treatment Plant water intake, a Round Rock supply pump station and ground storage tank, the Stonewall Ranch pump station, and other line upgrades. Major wastewater projects include the next phase of the Berry Creek wastewater line, the San Gabriel wastewater line, and rehabilitation of the San Gabriel Wastewater Treatment Plant, and other lift station and line upgrades.

Other new positions funded in the budget include a new director of community services to add focus to animal services, code enforcement, and emergency management; a director of communication and public engagement; staff for the Visitors Center, purchasing, and the Georgetown Public Library; and program managers for performance management, business improvement, and staff training. The 2020 budget includes a total of 15.5 new positions compared to 30 in the 2019 budget.

No rate changes are proposed for water, wastewater, electric, or drainage utilities. A 75 cent increase in the monthly solid waste and recycling fee for residential customers is proposed to reflect increased operational costs by Texas Disposal Systems.

The proposed FY 2020 budget includes a property tax rate of 42 cents per $100 property valuation, which is the same rate as 2019. For an average home in Georgetown valued at $285,357, City taxes would increase by $30 from 2019. While the tax rate is the same as last year, the increase in valuation will increase the taxes paid for the average home.

The first public hearing on the proposed tax rate is planned for Sept. 3. Additional public hearings and meetings on the tax rate and budget are planned for Sept. 10 and Sept. 24. Fiscal year 2020 starts Oct. 1.

The full FY 2019-2020 proposed budget document is also available.