New City Council Members Talk Future

Two new Kimball City Council members, Jamie Murdoch and Austin Garner, are preparing to take their seats at the December meeting. The Observer asked them about their short- and long-term goals and what constituents can expect from them.

Austin Garner wrote this response to the questions:

“In order to prepare for my seat on the council, I have been studying city ordinances, the comprehensive plan, financial report and Roberts rules of order. I have also spoken with a representative of KHS Ambulance, Chief of Police, Sheriff, the City Administrator, Mayor and the new building inspector.

“I am scheduling an observation period at the Dispatch center to better understand the challenges they face. Most importantly I have been speaking with many constituents on their concerns and ideas. My goals in the first few months of council is to provide transparency to the public. I want to address the planning and funding of the Lighthouse subdivision and ensure they are following city ordinances and the funding for infrastructure doesn’t fall on the taxpayers (to whatever extent possible with the constraints implemented by decisions made prior to me assuming my position). I want to ensure the current major projects are completed per the contracts.

“Moving forward, I hope to have a proactive stance rather than reactive in forecasting future issues and needs. I would like to research the logistics, personnel and financial implications of our street department, handling street replacement internally. I want to ensure our police department is enforcing all city ordinances or revisit why we have those ordinances. I would like to help the public enroll in our tree removal and sidewalk replacement programs to get dead trees down, dangerous sidewalks replaced and improve the overall walkability and safety of our community.

“I would like to work on a solution about dogs at large and nuisance animals in our community. I am going to further investigate the fiscal ramifications of closing our garbage cell early and utilizing other locations for trash specifically, while keeping the other landfill services available. I am going to work with the building inspector on getting abandoned and significantly dangerous properties mitigated. We need to do some significant house cleaning in town to eradicate meth production, distribution and use along with the violent crime associated with that.

“I would like to see our property taxes decreased in the future through the use of sales tax, which I believe will ease the burden on people living on a fixed income and capture more from people traveling through the community that are utilizing our resources and infrastructure. I am very excited about this opportunity.

“The constituents can expect transparent communication, thoroughly researched actions, no BS and most importantly a willingness to actively listen to constituents ideas and concerns. For all of those individuals I spoke to during Farmer’s Day who are thinking about moving back, IT’S TIME TO COME HOME LONGHORNS. If you or your family are thinking about moving here, we happily welcome you as long as you come with a strong work ethic, values and want to improve the community with us.”

Jamie Murdoch responded to the Observer’s questions with this statement:

“My short-term goal as I begin my term is to first and foremost learn the expectations and

limitations of the position, along with the ordinances, policies and procedures of the

City of Kimball.

“One long-term goal as a councilperson I have is to ensure that the financial decisions

being made are the most fiscally responsible and beneficial to the greatest number of

citizens. I will also work to improve the culture and confidence between the citizens and

the council.

“I am excited to get started. The citizens of Kimball can expect that I will research and

explore multiple solutions to situations that arise in our community. Sometimes the best

answer is to do what has been done in the past, and other times the best solution is to

try something new or unconventional. They can also expect me to listen and hear their

concerns, ensuring that the votes I cast are reflective of the best interests of the

majority.”