Wylie Today

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New Trash and Recycling Service Begins September 1

More Services, Same Low Price:

• - Weekly Recyclables Collection on Trash Day
• - Call-In Brush and Bulk Item Pick-Up
• - Household Hazardous Waste Collection at
•   Clean Up Green Up Events
• - Curbside Christmas Tree Recycling
• - Excellent Customer Service
• - No Increase in Basic Fees

The City of Wylie is pleased to announce that Community Waste Disposal (CWD) has been selected as the City’s solid waste and recycling provider beginning September 1. Please continue to use the Allied Waste carts through August 29.

CWD was selected based on their reputation for excellent service; overall low cost; strong recommendations from the cities of Frisco, Allen and Little Elm; and a unanimous recommendation from the Solid Waste Citizens Advisory Committee made up of Wylie residents.

Delivery of your new grey trash cart and blue recycling cart began July 15. In order to ensure a smooth transition from Allied Waste to CWD, be sure to read the Trash and Recycling Guide attached to your new trash cart. The guide contains information on pick-up schedules, brush & bulk call-in details, pick-up guidelines and recycling guidelines.

Allied Waste will pick up your old carts after your last scheduled pick-up.

CWD is committed to providing excellent customer service. Please contact CWD, 972-392-9300, option 2, if you have questions concerning the transition or services. Additional details can also be found at CommunityWasteDisposal.com. You may also contact the City of Wylie Utility Billing Department at 972-442-8130.

As we all feel the pinch from rising gas and food prices, we are about to be squeezed a little bit more. I’m sure most of you remember passing the bonds a few years ago to pay for road improvements, a new library, a recreation center, a new fire station, park improvements and a new city hall.

Well, now it’s time to pay up.

According to current fiscal year 2008-2009 budget proposal, city taxes are going to increase 16 cents. Wylie is already burdened with one of the highest city tax rates in Collin County at a rate of 73 cents per $100 home valuation. Next year that rate will be 89 cents. The rate is going to max out at 93 or 94 cents by the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

Also keep in mind that the WISD wants to increase taxes by 12 cents next year and will also be asking voters to pass a bond package that could approach 185 million dollars.

But don’t worry, according to the long range plan, the city tax rate will hit sub 80 cent rates again in 2015.

Buckle up and start saving.

Dear Friends, Supporters and Citizens of Wylie,

I hope you and your family are having a great Summer! We have been busy at our house with planning our vacation, attending summer camps, visiting with family and friends and supporting our community. I wanted to write to you again this month and share with you some of the activities that are happening in and around our city.

I hope you all have taken advantage of the Summer Concert’s at Olde City Park , as well as movie night last Friday evening. The concerts have been great and it has been so much fun to get out and visit with our citizens at these events. These activities really help Wylie keep that “hometown” feeling. I hope you and your family are planning to attend the Wylie Independence Day program (Fireworks) at Founder’s Park this evening at 9:30pm.

I had the opportunity to attend the June Chamber of Commerce luncheon and listen to Chamber President, Mike Agnew, talk about the State of the Chamber, and all the things they are doing to support our community.

Many of our new businesses are also attending the Business Card Exchange on Wednesday mornings at Woodbridge Golf Club, and this has been a good way to connect with our small business owners and support them as they grow their business here in Wylie.

Also, as you may have noticed, dirt is beginning to be moved at the location of our new shopping center, Woodbridge Crossing. Soon you will have more shopping options available to you right here in Wylie , Texas !

This year’s high school graduation once again highlighted our outstanding Wylie students and their parents, It was an honor for Tammie and I to be able to attend that great event and represent our city.

This past month I also had the opportunity to speak at the Wylie Rotary Club luncheon and share with them our plans for the future of our city.

I have also had the opportunity to visit with Congressman Ralph Hall and Congressman Sam Johnson about our city. They are anxious to support us as we grow forward.

A lot of great things are happening in our community. In the coming weeks, you will start to see activity on the expansion of FM 1378. We will soon be holding a ground breaking ceremony for our new City Hall, Public Library and Recreation Center . Additionally in the coming month’s we will be continuing with our neighborhood revitalization program in some of our older parts of town. It is truly an exciting time to be in Wylie , Texas .

Please mark you calendars for our first Wylie Town Hall on August 11, 2008 at the Bart Peddicord Community Center at 7:00 pm. More details will be forthcoming about this event. We had hoped to schedule this sooner but with all the Summer vacations, we had to hold off until August.

Also in the planning stages is a meeting with our Home Owners Associations to get feedback from them on issues, concerns and ideas within their neighborhoods; and the Mayor’s Quarterly Breakfast. This breakfast will serve as an informal meeting with 15 to 20 citizens to come in and visit with the Mayor and staff on a quarterly basis. Citizens will be randomly selected to attend from our list of people who receive the eWylie Newsletter.

And, check out my updated web site with information about the office of the Mayor and upcoming events at www.erichogue.net

I believe in Wylie and my goal is to promote and grow our city in a positive way. When our citizens think of Wylie, I want them to think, “It’s good to be home.”

Until next time, may God bless the great city of Wylie , Texas as we continue to grow forward!

Your Mayor,

Eric Hogue

The City of Wylie invites you to attend a reception Tuesday, June 3, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Birmingham House, in honor of outgoing Mayor John Mondy.  Mayor Mondy served the City of Wylie for fifteen years as Councilmember and Mayor from May 1993 through May 2008.   The Birmingham House is located at 301 N. Ballard Street.  For more information please email citysec@wylietexas.gov or call 972-442-8126.  

Newly elected Mayor Eric Hogue was officially sworn in on Friday night, May 16th, 2008. His family stood by him as Judge Terry Douglas did the honors. Also sworn in for their second term each, Carter Porter and Rick White.

Photos courtesy and copyright 2008 Earl Newsom

The decision of who would lead Wylie as Mayor for the next three years was put into the hands of 1240 people Saturday night, May 10th. By 9:15 that evening, the totals showed that candidate Eric Hogue would be the new Mayor of Wylie, surpassing John Mondy by 160 votes.

Although he was working hard all day yesterday retrieiving signs from around Wylie, he still managed to provide a few words to share with everyone.

“Words can not express my thanks and appreciation for all the support I received during this campaign. As I watched the totals come in Saturday evening, my family and I grew more and more excited. With your help and support, we did it! I am very humbled by the honor and trust the citizens of Wylie have placed in my hands. I will not take this position lightly. I want to be a mayor who will listen to the desires and needs of our community and work to make these things a reality.

I want to thank all of the people who have supported me in this campaign, it has been a long journey, but a new chapter in our community is about to begin. I want to thank Mayor John Mondy for his phone call on Saturday night, after the final election numbers came out. He offered his congratulations and support as we begin this transition of new leadership at city hall.. I want to thank my campaign treasurer, Earl Newsom, for his support and never-ending encouragement.

I would love to list every person who helped with this campaign, but I don’t think there is enough room on this paper to list each and every name. These people made the difference in the outcome of this race with their support and encouragement by passing out flyers, talking to their friends, putting a sign in their yard, sending emails, standing near the polls, making phone calls, talking to their neighbors and most importantly, casting their vote. I also want to thank all of the young people who held up my campaign sign on election day near Ballard Street and Highway 78. They reminded people to get out and vote. It was a long day for them, but they did it without question.

I want to thank the current council members and their spouses: Rick and Alicia White, and David and Barbara Goss who supported my campaign from beginning to end. I want to thank our former mayors and council members, along with their spouses, who also supported and encouraged me during this entire race: William and Ann Martin, Jim and Lois Swartz, Earl and Carol Sue Newsom and Steve and Ruthie Wright

My campaign was about bringing people together with different ideas, beliefs and goals for our community. Everyone has something to offer and I believe when we work together, Wylie will come out as the winner!

I want to congratulate Councilman Rick White and Councilman Carter Porter on their victories. I also want to commend Bennie Jones and Chris Trout for their willingness to step up and run for office. I want to congratulate the school board members who were elected, Ralph James, Ronnie Fetzer and Lance Goff. I also want to thank those individuals who placed their name on the ballot and were willing to serve our school district; Barbara Goss, Baron Cook and Jim Griffin.

I want to especially thank my wife, Tammie, and our sons, Zach and Mason, for their never-ending support over the last 75 days. We planned and campaigned each and every night of the week, for this dream to become a reality. I could not have done it without them!

The race is over and now it’s time to get to work!”

Congratulations, Mayor Elect Eric Hogue.

City Council candidates had another filing date deadline test last Friday as the “8 Days Before Election Day Campaign Finance Report” was due. This round, all candidates filed their paperwork with the city on time.

City of Wylie Mayor John Mondy reported contributions of $7,450 and expenditures of $8,114.71. He still shows a campaign balance of almost $1,300 as of the reporting period date. The bulk of his expenses went to the USPS for postage and Woodbridge Golf Club for a golf tournament fund raiser. By looking at the 13 pages of donors chipping in $100 or more in the report, I would say that the fund raiser was a success.

Mayoral candidate Eric Hogue received $520 in contributions of $50 or less and listed expenditures of $446.50 for an ad in the Wylie News and an ad with the Wylie Rotary Club.

The other reports should contain a “May Cause Drowsiness” warning label, but that’s what you get with finance reports.

Below is the video from the Meet the Candidate Forum held on April 24th. It is separated into two parts to make sure no one passes out from excitement. The lighting is a little dark in the beginning, but that was fixed during the second question, I believe. One answer from mayoral candidate Eric Hogue was missed as I had to switch out tapes. Sorry!

I hope you enjoy the show and I hope this helps you decide for whom to cast your vote anytime this week, next week, or May 10th.

Part 1


Part 2

Have you ever visited the City of Wylie website? If you haven’t, I’d like to suggest that you do the next time you have a question about the happenings with Wylie administration. Or take a few minutes and browse the site right now. The website is very nicely put together and organized and contains a ton of information with just a few clicks.

For example, when the City Council decided to start planning for the potential railroad “quiet zones”, quite a few of my friends were upset that the city would consider spending money on a problem that wasn’t theirs. They feel that just because someone thought it was a good idea to buy a house within shoe throwing distance of the railroad, only to complain when they figured out the railway is full of failed musicians, their tax money shouldn’t be spent on other’s mistakes.

So I was curious about what percentage of tax dollars $200,000 is. I went to the City of Wylie website. I ran my mouse over the City Hall tab and clicked on the Finance link. And right there on the front of the Finance page was the following: 2007-2008 All Fund Summary adopted by City Council September 11, 2007.

The resulting page gave me my answer. It took me two minutes at the most to get this information (YMMV). Amazing by commercial standards, even more so by government standards.

End result, I decided that small of a percentage of overall tax dollars was worth it to make those groups of people who live within shoe throwing distance happy. The more happy people I run into at the store or share the road with, the better.

http://www.wylietexas.gov

First of all, I want to apologize. I took video of this event, but have run into technical difficulties getting the video downloaded. Old software, new computer. :/ I’m going to be away from the “machines” for the weekend, but I will get it resolved and get it uploaded for your viewing enjoyment. That is, if you are into an hour and eighteen minutes worth of talking.

As a quick recap slash opinion, here is what I liked about each candidate’s performance or values.

Rick White

City Councilman Rick White did a fantastic job communicating with the audience about his passion, drive, motivation and proven experience with success. He was cordial and concise and seemed very comfortable speaking to the group. His direct involvement with the Fire and Police Departments let me know that he is in tune with everything happening in the community.

Chris Trout

I like the fact that Chris Trout is a community friend and a dedicated parent. His daily interaction with people in the community is a great asset. From personal conversations, I believe he is quite the intelligent man.

Carter Porter

City Councilman Carter Porter also did an excellent job speaking to the group. He is available to the community whenever the need is present and has been open and honest about his first three years on City Council. He is an elected member to the NCTCOG and while I don’t know exactly how that has benefited us to this point, I’m sure it couldn’t hurt going forward.

Bennie Jones

Bennie Jones has a definite message and goal. I believe that he believes in what he is saying. He seems frank and honest , speaking from the heart about his vision. He spends time interacting with the teenagers in the City of Wylie, providing a positive adult presence.

John Mondy

Mayor Mondy has a certain swagger about him that makes me feel confident he can get anything done. While he did leave the military long ago, I’m not sure if the military ever left him. He is proud of his accomplishments and is confident in a future vision of Wylie that is larger than anyone could expect. I think he has put a lot of time and effort into city affairs over the last decade. His knowledge and experience is certainly valuable.

Eric Hogue

As I mentioned before, Eric Hogue is a natural public speaker. I believe in his ability to make and secure contacts at any level. His desire and enthusiasm to serve the community is unrivaled. His past tenure on the City Council is valuable in terms of experience and knowledge of city affairs.

Everyone did an excellent job last night and whenever you get a minute, you should let these guys know you appreciate what they are doing for us. Let them know you support them and what their families are enduring right now. Their email addresses can be found on the Wylie Today Voter Guide.