OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Murphy City Council Regular Meeting - September 1, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
BodyIdaho Falls, Idaho
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, September 1, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 40:55

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

It was fun.

0:03

It was a fun project.

0:04

I enjoyed it.

0:09

All right.

0:09

Welcome as I call to order the September 1st, 2026, regular City Council meeting.

0:15

Time is 6 p.m.

0:16

Rise with me as I offer the invocation, leave the pledge of allegiance.

0:23

Our Heavenly Father, bless us.

0:24

We consider the agenda in front of us tonight.

0:26

Give us the wisdom to act with compassion and vision for what is best for the community.

0:30

Bless and watch over our public safety officers and the community they serve.

0:34

In your name we pray.

0:35

Amen.

0:37

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:41

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:43

One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:51

I will turn the time over to City Secretary for roll call and certification of quorum.

0:56

Mayor Scott Bradley.

0:57

Here.

0:59

Deputy Mayor Pro Tim Ken Otman.

1:01

Here.

1:02

Councilmember Place 1, Elizabeth Abraham.

1:05

Here.

1:05

Councilmember place three Debbie Nyson.

1:08

Councilmember place five Kivy Kevin Killy.

1:11

Here.

1:11

Councilmember place six, Janae Butler.

1:13

Here.

1:14

Mayor certified the president of the staff.

1:16

Thank you.

1:17

All right.

1:18

Turning over to public comments.

1:20

It's time we set aside on the agenda to allow residents to address council on an item not on the agenda this evening.

1:25

I do have one public comment for Mr.

1:27

Padia.

1:28

You want to come up and address council?

1:34

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, City Council.

1:37

I've had an eventful summer, and I trust uh your summer has been as eventful.

1:42

I want to share a quick commentary about the tax rate that's been spoken about over the last few city council meetings.

1:49

In Fort Worth, the uh Treasury Department has a printing site.

1:54

You know, they take paper and cotton inks and dyes and they create our money.

1:59

The most fascinating thing of that facility is that there's this bold yellow line.

2:04

And on one side of the yellow line is just paper, cotton inks and dies.

2:09

But when it crosses that yellow line, it's currency.

2:13

It's the real deal.

2:15

Unfortunately, my home doesn't have any such facility or yellow line.

2:20

I can't print money.

2:21

Just like yourself in your professional capacities, we have to go out into the economy and create value.

2:28

Product, service, an idea, create a new business.

2:32

We earn our wealth.

2:34

And that wealth through our social contracts and legal uh contracts is taxed at the federal, state, county, municipal governments.

2:43

That's part of the deal.

2:44

But the opposite is in order for us them to tax us, we have a voice at these levels.

2:50

Federal, state, county, municipal.

2:52

Oh, and I forgot to say uh school board.

2:56

There's many times that I don't feel I have a voice with the city council with respect to the city.

3:02

I am asking each and every one of you to look hard to dig deep to find the courage and the motivation to not adopt the highest tax rate possible, but rather adopt the no-nual revenue tax rate at 0.348240 per 100 in valuation.

3:21

That allows the city to maintain its MO maintenance and operation.

3:26

And I think another side of that coin is to cut expenses.

3:30

For instance, in my household, my home insurance just kept going up and up and up.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████46%
Fiscal Sustainability████████████████16%
Procedural██████████████14%
Planning And Zoning████████8%
Community Engagement██████6%
Public Engagement█████5%
Pending Litigation███3%
Technology and Innovation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Murphy City Council Regular Meeting - September 1, 2026

The Murphy City Council met in regular session at 6:00 p.m. on September 1, 2026, with Mayor Scott Bradley presiding. The council heard the annual economic development report, approved routine items, approved a resolution for a new investment pool and a minor-plat ordinance, and entered executive session before appointing general obligation bond committee members. The transcript identifies the city as Murphy, Texas, despite the file label referencing Idaho Falls.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Michael Padia, a Murphy resident, urged council to adopt the no-new-revenue tax rate of 0.348240 per $100 of valuation rather than the highest possible rate. He argued the city should cut expenses and said every public entity has budget "fat." He cited his own home-insurance savings of $699 and expressed concern that increases by Wiley Independent School District and the city would absorb those savings.

Presentations & Reports

  • Cameron Thompson, Assistant City Manager/Economic Development Manager, presented the 2026 Annual Economic Development Report. Key figures included:
    • City limits population estimated at 22,878; average home value about $604,000; average household income about $214,000; 66.5% of residents hold an associate degree or higher.
    • Retail trade area population approximately 211,000; average household income about $184,000; estimated retail demand about $2.7 billion in 2026, projected to grow by about $1 billion by 2030.
    • Retail occupancy decreased from 98.5% to 97.5%; net vacancy was about 49,585 square feet, including 18,000 square feet in Murphy Marketplace currently under negotiation. Murphy has about 1.91 million square feet of retail, with 63,000 square feet under construction.
    • Sales tax revenue rose about 0.65% to about $5,846,106, not including September; staff expected to exceed the 2023 peak. A business that left the city around 2023 was said to account for most of the 2023-to-2024 decline.
    • Sales tax is derived 64% from in-person transactions and 36% from online sales; 50% of retail is the source of sales tax.
    • 25 remodel/finish-out permits and 77 single-family permits were issued. Building-permit status: The Ranch, 3 of 7 lots; Crescent Hill, 36 of 37; Enclave, 62 of 64.
    • Three new construction permits were issued to HEB (car wash, fuel, grocery). Approximately $36 million in commercial improvement value; HEB added 122,187 square feet, with 63,000 additional square feet expected at Murphy Marketplace next year.
    • 11 businesses opened; recent openings included EOS Fitness, Big Guys Chicken and Rice, HEB, and Mountain Mike's. RWAT Coffee is constructing a patio under the approved Revamp Grant.
    • Social media reach: 4,300 Facebook followers, 792 Instagram followers; top posts reached 30,000-41,000 views; about 83,000 people were reached over the past year.
    • The economic development master plan, adopted March 10, 2026, organizes work into four areas: retain, recruit, redevelop, and refine. Upcoming efforts include a new "Why Murphy" website, promotional refresh, business-retention surveys, cross-corridor social media campaigns beginning in December, and a resource guide for new businesses.

Discussion Items

  • Councilmembers discussed the need to follow up with businesses that close, improve visibility for businesses in tucked-away locations, and use business retention surveys to identify obstacles. Suggestions included marketing to visitors for football and band competitions, partnering with local school districts and PSA events, and working with the Murphy Chamber of Commerce.
  • Regarding the TexStar investment resolution, staff explained this would create a second, separately operated investment-pool account alongside TexPool, yielding 3.69% compared with about 0.48% at the bank. Funds remain liquid with no withdrawal penalty; transfers require two of three designated city finance staff; council oversight is through the quarterly investment report.
  • Regarding the minor-plat ordinance, staff described it as a cleanup measure that adds state-law conditions and definitions for minor plats to the municipal code, with no operational change to current practice.

Executive Session

  • Council recessed at 6:30 p.m. under Texas Government Code Chapter 551.071 for consultation with the attorney on pending or contemplated litigation, land use and zoning, code enforcement nuisances, and litigation under Local Government Code Chapter 54. Council reconvened at 7:01 p.m.; no action was taken in executive session.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the August 18, 2026 regular council meeting minutes as presented (unanimous).
  • Approved Resolution participating in the TexStar investment pool and establishing an account in the city's name for local funds investment, authorizing city officers to execute required forms (unanimous).
  • Approved Ordinance Project No. 2026.011 amending minor-plat and definition provisions in Chapter 28 of the Murphy Code of Ordinances (unanimous).
  • Approved the nomination/election of general obligation bond committee members: Bree Hudson, Brandon Kreske, Michael Padilla, Scott Story, and Andrew Jesetis; two at-large resident seats were to be nominated and elected at a later date (unanimous).
  • Mayor requested a future work session to plan the council retreat in early 2027.

Meeting Transcript

It was fun. It was a fun project. I enjoyed it. All right. Welcome as I call to order the September 1st, 2026, regular City Council meeting. Time is 6 p.m. Rise with me as I offer the invocation, leave the pledge of allegiance. Our Heavenly Father, bless us. 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. In your name we pray. Amen. 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. I will turn the time over to City Secretary for roll call and certification of quorum. Mayor Scott Bradley. Here. Deputy Mayor Pro Tim Ken Otman. Here. Councilmember Place 1, Elizabeth Abraham. Here. Councilmember place three Debbie Nyson. Councilmember place five Kivy Kevin Killy. Here. Councilmember place six, Janae Butler. Here. Mayor certified the president of the staff. Thank you. All right. Turning over to public comments. It's time we set aside on the agenda to allow residents to address council on an item not on the agenda this evening. I do have one public comment for Mr. Padia. You want to come up and address council? Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, City Council. I've had an eventful summer, and I trust uh your summer has been as eventful. I want to share a quick commentary about the tax rate that's been spoken about over the last few city council meetings. In Fort Worth, the uh Treasury Department has a printing site. You know, they take paper and cotton inks and dyes and they create our money. The most fascinating thing of that facility is that there's this bold yellow line. And on one side of the yellow line is just paper, cotton inks and dies. But when it crosses that yellow line, it's currency. It's the real deal. Unfortunately, my home doesn't have any such facility or yellow line. I can't print money. Just like yourself in your professional capacities, we have to go out into the economy and create value. Product, service, an idea, create a new business. We earn our wealth.

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