While low gas prices may feel great at the pump, their effects don’t feel so great at City Hall. City Manager Brad Stafford told Council this week that as of the first quarter, sales of gas to the industrial park are down by $600,000.
Stafford explained, this oil crunch has Navasota’s big businesses cutting back on production and that means less they buy less gas from the City.
And because of the crunch, he continued, the few departments that were looking at opening a few more positions have now put a freeze on any hiring. Then ending on a much more pleasant note, he also reported that revenue from local sales taxes is on the upswing.
And apparently the effects of low oil prices have also spread, to other areas of the community, according to local housing authority’s Karen Larue report to council since oil started to drop; she’s witnessed more families move into Public Housing. And following its yearly session behind doors to assess the City Manager’s performance, council also decided to keep Stafford at the City’s helm for another year, Monday night, agreeing to give him a full year’s pay, were he to be terminated without cause.