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Regular City Council Meeting May 12, 2008 Page 5 DISABILITY HOMESTEAD; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCE OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES 1N CONFLICT HEREWITH MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTNE DATE. Kevin Carruth explained that this item was placed on the Agenda, because there had been discussion for and against a residence homestead exemption based on the tax freeze initiative petition. He said this item gave Council options if they wanted to address the initiative petition in item 18. Mr. Carruth further explained several years ago the senior and disabled tax freeze was deliberated by the Council and they decided to forgo the tax freeze in favor of increasing the senior tax exemption from $17,000.00 to $20,000.00 and in addition, they implemented a new $20,000.00 exemption for disabled persons. Mayor Freelen said that action was a benefit to everyone. Council Member Biard said he was not in favor of repealing or reducing the exemption and that they needed to first determine what they were going to do with the tax freeze. Council Member Wilson said Georgetown had a sunset clause in their ordinance that allowed for the exemption to be changed if a tax freeze passed. He said he was not recommending reducing the tax exemption, but they needed to look at the entire economic picture. Council Member Brown stated he was not in favor of reducing or repealing the tax exemption. Mr. Carruth said that Gene Anderson had estimated that the $20,000.00 tax exemption cost the City nearly $250,000.00 in revenue loss. It was a consensus that no action be taken. Kevin Carruth inquired if Council wanted staff to bring the tax exemption item back to them for consideration, should the tax freeze item come up again. It was a consensus of Council to do so. Council Member Biard said if it comes back, he wanted both issues to be considered under one agenda item so they could discuss them at the same time. 18. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, PARIS, TEXAS, PROHIBITING THE AUTHORIZATION OF THE POWER TO NEGOTIATE FOR THE SALE OF RAW WATER FROM LAKE PAT MAYSE AND/OR LAKE CROOK TO BE TRANSPORTED BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF LAMAR COUNTY, TEXAS; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY; PROVIDING FOR A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCE S OR PARTS OF ORDINANCES, MINUTE ORDERS OR RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Kent McIlyar reiterated three options outlined for Council at their meeting of April 28, 2008, as follows: 1) accept the petition ordinance as presented; 2) reject the ordinance as presented by the petitioners and allow it to go to a vote in November 2008; or 3) adopt their own ordinance in accordance with state law. Mr. McIlyar told City Council if they did not take any action within sixty days of the certification of the petition, that it would go to a vote in November 2008. He reminded Council that the City Clerk certified the petition on April 14, 2008. Mayor Freelen asked Kent