Town plans parade, fest for 20th birthday
The Village of the Hills is gearing up to celebrate its 20th anniversary as an officially incorporated village. To commemorate the historic vote in 1997 (490 votes for incorporation, 15 against), the Village will host a Founder’s Day parade Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. and the HillsFest from 1:30 to 4 p.m.
During a community gathering and informational meeting Oct. 12 at the Hills Country Club, Mayor Eric Ovlen celebrated the gated community’s history and reminded residents that an election is coming up.
During the Nov. 7 election, voters will vote concurrently on two tax-related measures — one to abolish the village’s one-quarter of 1 percent sales tax for road maintenance, and another measure to adopt the local sales and use tax for the Village of the Hills of one quarter of 1 percent.
“That’s very common in every other community,” Village Manager Wendy Smith said during the Oct. 12 gathering. “It provides for additional uses of that revenue, for things like law enforcement, common area maintenance, park development and that sort of thing. And it still allows for street maintenance, but it broadens the number of uses for the tax.”
The Hills’ sources of revenue are a 6 cents-per-$100 property valuation ad valorem tax, which Smith pointed out is staying the same this year, and a three-quarters of a cent sales tax, half a cent of which is used just to keep property taxes down.
Ovlen also announced that the entities that operate different aspects of the Village — the city government, Hurst Creek MUD, the Hills Country Club and the Property Owner’s Association — have developed a strategic plan for the village, adopted Oct. 10, addressing things such as public safety, communication, programs and services and the budget.
“The primary thing that came out of the governance meeting is our guiding principle: ‘To enhance the quality of life and safety of our residents with a focus on the continuing improvement of the property values within the Hills at the most cost-effective value proposition,’” Ovlen read to the crowd of a hundred or so residents who attended the event at the Hills Country Club. “Citizen engagement is really what we’re trying to do this evening, so in the process we’ll be listening to you and people will be taking notes. Then we want you to get involved.”
Early voting started Monday. Residents can find more information about the election and the strategic plan on the Village website, villageofthehills.org.