From City Manager
Larry D. Groth

Some of our employees could receive an extra $428 to $4,716 by taking advantage of a tax credit known as “Earned Income Credit” when filing their income taxes this year. This is a special tax benefit for hard working families like yours.

Claiming your tax break is a simple process and there are some wonderful community volunteers willing to help those who need assistance in filing the necessary paperwork. Additionally, if you didn’t claim this credit on your 2005 or 2006 taxes you may be eligible to get even more money back.

Taxpayers who receive the tax credit could use the money to pay off credit card debt, replace major appliances or furniture in their homes, go on a family vacation or even use the money for a down payment on their first home. It’s your money, you’ve earned it. All you need to do is claim it! Some community members have teamed up to educate the community about this opportunity.

I want to warn you to avoid losing money through Refund Advance Loans. Some tax preparation centers charge hundreds of dollars for a rapid refund and then offer high interest loans.

As an alternative, free tax preparation assistance centers are set up at the Harrison Center, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Central Library, NeighborWorks Waco, R.B. Hoover Library, Providence Hospital and A.J. Moore Academy. The hours are listed in the next column on this page.

Here’s information to consider in determining whether you’ll qualify for an EITC credit:

The claim process is simple. As your City Manager, I encourage you to claim what you have already earned both this year and possibly for the tax years 2005 and 2006. You Earned It, So Claim it. Please share this information with anyone you know that may qualify.

City Staff Spotlight

New Employees

Street Services welcomes the following new employees: Alex Torres, program supervisor; and Matthew Garretson, service provider.

Solid Waste Services welcomes Glenn Juarez, service provider.

Promotions/Transfers

Fleet Services is pleased to announce that Gwendolyn Walton and Ronald Oliphant, have both been promoted from temporary to full time service technicians.

Street Services announces the following promotions and transfers: Kenneth Fickel, operation supervisor; Terry Reneau, operation coordinator; William Horton, equipment operator; and Ron LeMay, operation supervisor.

Retirement

Raymond Pena, Parks & Recreation, has retired from the City of Waco after 15 years of service. A reception was held in his honor on Dec. 21.

Joyce Southwood, program manager for Fleet and Purchasing Services, will retire on Jan. 31 after more than 12 years of service with the City of Waco.

Moving On

Bonita Schroeder, Cameron Park Zoo, is leaving the City of Waco to accept the position of advertising analyst with the Waco Tribune-Herald.

Adam Hernandez, courier with the General Services department, is leaving the City of Waco to accept a position with a local insurance company.

Congratulations

Carlotta Harris, Police Department, recently received her Master of Science degree in pastoral counseling from Regions University in Montgomery, Ala. She graduated with the cum laude distinction.

Employees at the Public Health District collected gifts for the Angel Tree program, which provides gifts to children whose parents are in prison. This year, the employees collected gifts for 62 children. The effort was coordinated by Audrey Maas.

The Waco-McLennan County Public Health District Vital Statistics office received the 2007 Five Star Service award for local registrars. The award was presented to Gladys Hand, Charlie Glynn and Jenetta Taylor Williams at the 53rd Annual Vital Statistics Conference in Austin.

Street Services selected Patricia Watts as their employee of the month for November.

Join the Get Fit Club

Make your New Year’s resolution a reality by staying active and improving your health at the City of Waco Parks and Recreation Department’s fitness and wellness rooms.

The rooms provide an affordable, private workout and feature equipment such as cardio machines, free weights and weight stack machines. Hours are 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m Saturday. Cost is $1 per session or $20 for 30 sessions.

The fitness and wellness rooms are located at the following recreation centers: Bledsoe-Miller, 300 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 254-750-8684; and Dewey, 925 N. 9th, 254-750-8677.

Poetry Chatter Workshop

The East Waco Library will sponsor Poetry Chatter, a workshop for aspiring poets, on Jan. 12 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Feb. 16 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Those who attend will have the opportunity to write or recite a poem about an event that occurred in that particular month. For more information, call Sallie Biles at 750-8620.