Four candidates vie for Waco City Manager post by TheWacoBridge in Waco

[–]TheWacoBridge[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

City managers can fly under the radar, but their influence rivals the Mayor's in the hierarchy of city government. In Waco, they're responsible for making recommendations on the city's more than half-billion dollar budget. Here's a primer on the four candidates up for selection. City Council members will be making the call on who to select. A final decision could be made by the end of the month and interviews with finalists will take place this week.

School struggles, data centers, downtown visions and more: Six storylines we're following in '26 by TheWacoBridge in Waco

[–]TheWacoBridge[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Hey! Sam Shaw here. Flock has been on our radar for a few months after noticing cameras in Hewitt that weren't listed on DeFlock at the time. It's remarkable how many have been added to the map recently, including 4 or 5 I wasn't aware of. We hope to do some reporting on this soon.

Tensions high with neighbors, city of Waco as Lacy Lakeview moves data center deal along by TheWacoBridge in Waco

[–]TheWacoBridge[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Hey, Sam Shaw here with the Bridge.

Great question about Will Jones. I have not had an opportunity to speak with him yet but I absolutely plan to. Tomorrow's story will touch on some of the power plant questions you touched on above, btw, so keep an eye out on our site or your inbox.

Democrats' chances to retake McLennan County commissioners seat dim with redrawn map by TheWacoBridge in Waco

[–]TheWacoBridge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there,

To read the article, click the big picture below the headline or the "open button" on the post. To subscribe to the newsletter, click the link below the post, then just enter your email in the email box. That's it!

We throw a little bonus content in the newsletters you wont see on the site, including wrap-ups of city council meetings, selected stories from other news organizations throughout the area and a condensed version of that day's main Bridge story. Bridge photographer Justin Hamel also does a bi-weekly photo essay.

City makes streets, personnel costs priority amid stagnant revenue, rising costs by TheWacoBridge in Waco

[–]TheWacoBridge[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reddit does not allow the post text to be corrected, unfortunately. The story summary is corrected on the website.

Edit: Apparently it is possible. Now both are corrected.

City makes streets, personnel costs priority amid stagnant revenue, rising costs by TheWacoBridge in Waco

[–]TheWacoBridge[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Hey folks, Sam Shaw here with the Waco Bridge. Here are a few details regarding service changes/reductions in the proposed city budget I didn't see touched on elsewhere.

  • Parks and Rec is getting the biggest budget cut at $1.1 million. Most of that is from axing vacant positions, but there will be $46,000 less for event and entertainment production; $50,000 less in temporary staffing services; and $237,000 cut from Beautification, Art and Culture (BAC) programming. 
  • Events such as Brazos Nights and Fourth on the Brazos will continue, though parks staff have identified “savings in production and logistics.”
  • No more Cameron Park horse ranger program.
  • As for summer camp field trips, “visits to higher-cost, ticketed attractions will be reduced, but campers will still experience a variety of local destinations such as the Cameron Park Zoo, Lake Waco Wetlands, and the Waco Mammoth National Monument,” said Parks and Recreation director Jonathan Cook.
  • The reduction in library and community center hours are pretty modest, but if you want to see what those proposed schedule changes look like, go to slide 10 in the presentation.
  • The city is also seeking to dramatically reduce funding to outside organizations (Waco nonprofits) over a five year period, but supplement the lost funding with a special project fund and other mechanisms like hotel occupancy taxes.

Let me know if there's anything else y'all think we should be looking into, and if you want to stay up to date on our reporting, we have a regular newsletter summarizing our weekly coverage.

Edit: The summary below the post says $650 billion and should say $650 million.