BANGS — The Bangs City Council voted unanimously Monday night to discontinue the city’s use of Bureau Veritas for building inspections, permitting and related services, opening the door to a possible arrangement involving inspectors from Brownwood.
The decision was presented as an effort to speed up future home construction in Bangs. City officials said fees and delays associated with the current arrangement had created concerns for builders and others seeking permits.
Council chooses 15-day cancellation option
City Administrator Stephanie Jester told the council that Bangs could terminate the Bureau Veritas contract immediately for cause or end it without cause by providing 15 days’ written notice. The council chose the 15-day notice option.
Jester said the city would not face an early-cancellation fee or a minimum time requirement to continue using the service. She also presented figures comparing Bureau Veritas with Safe Light, another property inspection company.
Jester said she wanted to gather information from additional companies before bringing a possible replacement or service arrangement back to the council.
The council tabled the question of what Bangs will do after the 15-day notice period expires. The matter is expected to return for discussion at the next council meeting, scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19.
Brownwood inspectors discussed as possible resource
Mayor Pro Temp Carrol Wells said she had spoken with Brownwood Deputy City Manager Ray Tipton about the possibility of using Brownwood personnel for Bangs inspections.
“I spoke with Ray Tipton, it’s a doable thing that’s called outside employment,” Wells said.
Wells said Brownwood has several inspectors rather than relying on only one person. Under the idea discussed, Brownwood’s human resources department would first need to agree to the arrangement. Inspectors could then be asked whether they were interested in earning additional money through outside employment.
Wells said Tipton could coordinate the work between the two cities. She said the arrangement could improve communication for builders and people seeking permits in Bangs by giving them a local person to contact about the process.
“I think we would have a lot better communication with our builders or anyone looking to get a permit from the City if they knew they could get it here and have someone to talk to about all of it,” Wells said.
No final decision was made on whether Brownwood inspectors will serve Bangs. The council is still expected to consider information from other inspection companies before selecting a path forward.
Budget cleanup planned before January audit
During the city administrator’s report, Jester told council members that Reilly McGee of McGee, Davis & Pond would be in Bangs Wednesday to begin providing fractional controller services.
McGee’s initial work will focus on cleaning up the city budget and budget amendments before a January audit by Merritt, McLane & Hamby. Jester said the city has been out of budget compliance for an extended period and that budget amendments had not been handled legally or properly in several prior audit cycles.
Jester said McGee had already spoken with the auditing firm about the amendments. The firm plans to conduct what officials called a “true up” of the amendments, with McGee, Jester and City Attorney Pat Chesser involved in the work. The goal is to complete the amendments before the audit and establish a clean starting point for the current year, depending on the discussions and action taken.
Meals program and city holidays also addressed
The council also received an update on Bangs’ Meals on Wheels program. Meals cost $6 each and are delivered three days a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday — for a total of $78 per person. The program currently has 12 members, with four additional people pending.
The city pays for meals for 10.5 people. Its monthly cost is $819, although Bangs pays Bangs Nursing and Rehab $833 for the service.
In addition, the council officially added Columbus Day, Presidents Day and Juneteenth to the city’s list of holidays. Some had been observed previously but were not formally documented. The existing list also includes New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
Mayor Pro Temp Wells and council members Eric Bishop and Danny Marney attended the meeting.