The City of Murphy Regular City Council meeting convened at 6:00 PM on October 7, 2025, with all council members present and a quorum certified. The meeting included multiple presentations, public comments, and approvals of various resolutions. The meeting adjourned at 7:41 PM.
All right. Welcome as I call to order the October 7th City of Murphy Regular City Council meeting. Time is 6 p.m. Rise with me as I offer the invitation to leave the pledge of allegiance. Our heavenly father bless us as we consider the agenda in front of us tonight. Give us the wisdom to act with compassion and vision for what is best for the community. Bless and watch over our public safety officers and the community they serve. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Mayor Scott Bradley? Here. Mayor Pro Tim Elizabeth Abraham? Here. Deputy Mayor Pro Tim Janay Butler? Here. Councilmember place to Scott Smith. Councilmember place three, Andrew Chase. Here. Councilmember place four, Ken Oldman. Here. Councilmember place five Laura Deal? Here. Mayor certify the presence of a quorum. Thank you, Susie. All right. Item four public comments is time we said candy. Keene. Oh well. Thank you. Thank you for calling that out. I appreciate it. Public comments. This is the time we set aside on the agenda to allow residents to adjust counsel on an item not on the agenda this evening. I do have a number of public comment forms. We're going to work our way through those, and if uh anyone else would like to address council, I will uh give them the opportunity at that time. Uh first uh public comment form I have is Mr. Maynard Little. Good evening. My name's Maynard Little. I reside at 1004 St. Mark Drive. At the last council meeting on September 16th, 2025, I stated that Murphy has a spending problem. The evidence is crystal clear. Year over year, 10% increases in the budget, with taxes and fees increasing 20 to 50 percent to fund it. I asked each of you to estimate how much these tax and fee increases would add annually to an average household. Initially I estimated it was resulting in an additional 500 uh dollars sent to the city, and have since revised it to 1,000 dollars. Not one of you replied with an estimate. Of course, this negative fiscal impact on residents is not just for 2026. It has been reoccurring for the last several years. During these years, the city has dedicated dictated, dictated spending on numerous non-essential projects, including millions of tax dollars on Roxford Earth medians, redundant sidewalks, the loop project, and tennis courts, all without approval from those who must pay for them.