Both items passed 5-2, with “aye” votes coming from Mayor Scott Bradley, Deputy Mayor pro tem Ken Oltmann and Councilmembers Elizabeth Abraham, Debbie Ison and Jené Butler. 

Mayor pro tem Scott Smith and Councilmember Kevin Kelley voted “nay” on both proposals.

Read the full story in the September 24th edition. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.

Council also voted at the Tuesday, Sept. 15 meeting to spend $30,000 to repair an LED warning light on the railroad track just west of the Murphy Road crossing.

“That LED is so the train can verify that the signal at the crossing is functioning as it should,” said Public Works Director Donald Reese. “So, if the train is traveling east, there’s a blind curve there, and if that light is not flashing the X, it cannot see the crossing on Murphy. So, it’s sounding its horn until it rounds that corner and it sees that the warning is one at the crossing, and then it’ll stop blowing.”

Read the full story in the September 24th edition. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.

Courage, service and unity were the themes of Murphy’s solemn memorial commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The ceremony, organized by Murphy Fire Chief Perry Elliott and Police Chief Jeff Gibson, was held in front of City Hall.  

Flags on the three poles were at half-staff and the aerial ladder on Quint 101 displayed a large U.S. flag that fluttered in the light breeze. 

Pastor Kalyn Brassfield of Elevate Church read from Romans 8 and offered a prayer remembering the 2,977 people who lost their lives in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

“We remember husbands and wives, and fathers and mothers, and sons and daughters, brothers and sisters and friends and coworkers,” he said. at half-staff and the aerial ladder on Quint 101 displayed a large U.S. flag that fluttered in the light breeze. 

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The agreement, on the Murphy City Council’s consent agenda for the Sept. 15 meeting, would provide Atmos with $260.5 million in additional annual revenues.  

The gas company said that effective Oct. 1 the average residential customer’s monthly bill would increase by 14.15% — or $13.37 — and commercial customers will pay 9.90% more, or $44.82.

Average calculations were based on a residential customer using 40.7 Ccf  [hundred cubic feet] per month and currently paying $94.48, Atmos Mid-Tex said.   The average commercial customer consumes 372.6 Ccf and is currently paying $452.93, the company said.

The rate settlement was negotiated by the Atmos Cities Steering Committee (ACSC), of which Murphy is one of 182 members, as part of a Rate Review Mechanism (RRM) adopted in 2007.

Atmos Mid-Tex filed in April for a system-wide rate increase providing the energy company with an additional $291.1 million. 

The proposal was based on the cost of service during a test year comprising all of 2025. 

“Application of the standards set forth in the ACSC’s RRM Tariff reduces the Company’s request to $273.6 million,” said Murphy Finance Director Berna Fitzpatrick-Walker. “After reviewing the filing and conducting discovery, ACSC’s consultants concluded that the system-wide deficiency under the RRM regime should be $253.4 million.”

After several settlement meetings, the parties agreed to settle the case for $260.5 million, Fitzpatrick-Wallker said. 

The RRM by the ACSC substitutes for an interim rate adjustment under the Texas Utilities Code known as a GRIP (Gas Reliability Infrastructure Program) filing established by the Texas Legislature.

The finance director said ACSC strongly opposed the GRIP process “because it constitutes piecemeal ratemaking by ignoring declining expenses and increasing revenues while rewarding the company for increasing capital investment on an annual basis.”

She said the GRIP process does not allow any review of the reasonableness of capital investment and does not allow cities to participate in the Railroad Commission’s review of annual GRIP filings or allow recovery of Cities’ rate case expenses. 

The Railroad Commission undertakes a mere administrative review of GRIP filings (instead of a full hearing), and rate increases go into effect without any material adjustments, Fitzpatrick-Walker said. 

“In ACSC’s view, the GRIP process unfairly raises customer rates without any regulatory oversight,” she said. “In contract, the RRM process has allowed for a more comprehensive rate review and annual evaluation of expenses and revenues, as well as capital investment.” 

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Read the full story in the Sept. 24 edition. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.

Meeting Tuesday, Sept. 8, the school board formally adopted the voter-approved rate of $1.03275 per $100 valuation, down slightly from the 2025-26 rate of $1.03955 per $100 valuation.

The proposed rate is made up of $0.79540 for maintenance and operations and $0.23735 for debt service (interest & sinking) tied to voter-approved bonds. Under the proposed rate, the M&O of $0.80220 would decrease but I&S would remain the same.

Plano ISD certified property values showed a 1.91% increase from $74.36 billion to $75.77 billion with $700.5 million in new construction, according to Collin Central Appraisal District. The average value of a home in the PISD is $614,707, compared with $613,290 in 2025.

For homeowners, the district estimates taxes on the average residence would increase slightly. Based on a mean taxable home value of $368,605, taxes are projected at  $3,807 annually, an increase of $54 from the previous year.

Meeting on June 23, PISD trustees adopted a $691.6 million general operating budget for fiscal year 2026-27 that projects a $44.8 million operating shortfall, reflecting continued pressure from declining enrollment, inflation and state funding formulas that district officials say have not kept pace with rising costs. 

The spending plan anticipates $634.6 million in general fund revenue and $691.6 million in expenditures, with the deficit to be covered through existing fund balance and other financing sources.

District officials said enrollment was expected to fall to about 41,830 students, continuing a multiyear decline driven by lower birth rates, changing demographics, rising housing costs and growing competition from charter schools, private schools and homeschooling. Because state aid is largely based on average daily attendance, fewer students translate directly into lower revenue. While House Bill 2 increased state funding, Plano ISD said the additional money does not fully offset enrollment losses, inflation and growing maintenance needs for aging facilities.

Instruction remained the district’s largest expenditure at about $340.8 million, followed by maintenance and operations at $55.6 million, school leadership at $32 million and guidance and counseling at $27.2 million. 

The budget also includes a 2% salary increase for eligible employees; market-rate pay adjustments and continued health care contributions to retain staff. 

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Thompson presented the city’s annual economic development report to the Sept. 2 meeting of the Murphy City Council.

She said 64% of the sales tax revenue was generated by local businesses and 36% from online transactions.

Read the full story in the September 10th edition. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.

New Secretary of State Robert Howden has rolled out an online portal that allows Texans to confirm their active voter registration, register to vote in the upcoming election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, or make changes to a voter registration certificate. 

Monday, Oct. 5, is the last day to register to vote in the November Election and early voting runs from Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30.

Requests for a ballot by mail must be received by Friday, Oct. 23. The mail ballot must be received by Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, (Election Day) at 7:00 p.m. if the carrier envelope is not postmarked, OR Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, (the next business day after Election Day) at 5:00 p.m. if the carrier envelope is postmarked by 7:00 p.m. at the location of the election on Election Day (unless overseas or military voter deadlines apply).

 The link to the Secretary of State’s voter registration portal is: https://bit.ly/4gMFjUL.

The portal, with a first build date of Aug. 18, confirms voter registration by asking for First Name, Last Name, Suffix, Date of Birth, and either ZIP Code and county, Driver’s License number or Voter ID number.

If a site visitor is not registered, a link asks in English or Spanish if the person is a U.S. Citizen and whether they will be 18 years of age on or before Election Day.

Clicking “No” on the citizenship question triggers the response: “You must be a United States citizen to proceed with this form.”

A similar message informs those under 18 that they must be at least 18 years old in order to vote.

Answering “yes” to both questions opens a form that must be completed, printed, signed and sent by U.S. Mail to the Secretary of State’s office.

The form requests a Driver’s License number, Texas ID number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. There is a box to check if a person does not have any of those documents.

The information form includes a warning that giving false information to procure voter registration is perjury and a violation under state and federal law.

“Conviction of this crime may result in imprisonment up to one year in jail, a fine  up to $4,000, or both,” the form says. “Please read all three statements to affirm before signing: I am a resident of this county and a U.S. Citizen; I have not been finally convicted of a felony, or if a felon, I have completed all of my punishment, including any term of incarceration, parole, supervision, period of probation, or I have been pardone [sic.]; and I have not been determined by a final judgment of a court exercising probate jurisdiction to be totally mentally incapacitated or partially mentally incapacitated without the right to vote.”

Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Howden on July 17 to succeed Secretary Jane Nelson, who Abbott appointed in January 2023 following her three decades in the state Senate.

A University of Texas at Austin graduate, Howden had worked in Abbott’s office as director of legislative affairs. He previously worked with Govs. Bill Clements and Rick Perry.

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You wouldn’t know it from the thermometer, but the calendar says fall begins later this month — and so do a plethora of crowd-pleasing annual events.

Based on the astronomical Autumnal Equinox, the first day of fall in the Northern Hemisphere is Tuesday, Sept. 22.

But the 2026 H-E-B | Central Market Plano Balloon Festival takes to the sky the weekend before, running from Thursday, Sept. 17, through Sunday, Sept. 20, at Oak Point Park. 2801 E. Spring Creek Parkway in East Plano. 

This marks the 47th year of ballooning in Plano and Collin County and the event features balloons, food vendors, crafts made by local artisans, the Central Market Kids Fun Zone, entertainment on the FOX4 Main Stage, RE/MAX of Texas skydiving exhibitions and nightly fireworks.

Tickets are available for purchase onsite with adult tickets priced at $10 and $5 for kids 3-12 and seniors 65 and older.

Kids under 36 inches tall are admitted for free, as are all current and retired military with valid ID.

The festival is cashless, with all sales made via credit or debit card or Apple Pay.

The following weekend, the State Fair of Texas kicks off Friday, Sept. 25, and will run through Sunday, Oct. 18, in historic Fair Park in Dallas. 

Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. but 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and this year’s theme is “Stars, Stripes and Howdies.”

Children aged 2 and under are admitted free while tickets for kids 3 through 12 are $10. All admissions are $10 after 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. 

Adult admissions (ages 13–59) are $15 Monday–Thursday and $25 Friday–Sunday. Seniors aged 60-up are admitted for $13 Monday–Wednesday, $7 Thursdays and $20 Friday–Sunday. 

Parking in official State Fair lots is $25 but DART’s Green Line serves the Fair and provides free parking in park-and-ride lots.

Celebrating 16 years of fun, Murphy’s free Maize Days Cornival is from noon until after the fireworks show at 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3, in Central Park, 550 N. Murphy Road.

Parking is free in Tom Kimbrough Stadium just to the north of the park and no shuttle will be available. VIP parking is $10 at the City Hall complex. 

Vendors accept cash but VIP parking and ride wristbands will require a credit or debit card. Wristbands are $15 before the event and $20 on the day of the festival. 

Entertainment will be on the Methodist Richardson Medical Center Main Stage and the CoServ Community Stage. The Maize Midway will have games and rides, and the Primrose Playground will be available for younger tots. Other attractions include inflatables, farm games and cornhole competition. 

Dogs are allowed but must be leashed at all times.

November brings cooler temperatures and the Murphy Family Campout from 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, to 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Central Park pond. 

Campsites for up to five campers are available for $50, with registration only for Murphy residents until Wednesday, Sept. 30. Non-residents may then sign up until Oct. 15.

The event includes dinner, breakfast, s’mores, a movie and a variety of games. 

On Saturday, Dec. 5, Murphy celebrates Christmas in the Park, a free event from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the City Hall complex.

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