CITY STATISTICS
Statistics, 2014
Date of Incorporation
1907
Adoption of the City Charter
Voted - December 7, 1926
Adopted - January 1, 1927
Form of Government
Council/Mayor
Area in Square Miles
18.89
Miles of Paved Street
Paved 189
Unpaved 0.5
Police Protection
Number of stations - 1
Number of employees (including 19 civilians) - 62
Number of calls for service - 31,518
Total arrests - 1,973
Total number of written reports - 5,196
Total number of building checks - 7,092
Total alarm response - 1,321
Total citations - 1,967
Animal Control
Number of employees - 5
Number of calls for service - 6,637
Big Spring 6,056
Howard County 509
Coahoma 59
Forsan 13
Number of dogs recovered - 1,161
Number of cats recovered - 860
Number of others recovered - 418
Number of adoptions - 308
Fire Protection
Number of stations - 5
Number of employees - 46
Number of city runs per year - 1,562
Number of non-city runs - 236
Emergency Medical Service
Number of employees - 16
Number of city runs - 4,182
Number of out-of-city runs - 478
Number of long distance transfers - 126
Retired Volunteers Program
Number of Volunteers - 207
Total Volunteer Hours (10/1/2008 - 9/30/2009) - 45,071
Dollar Value to the Community (Based on Private Sector rate) - $221,013
Building Permits (01/01/13 - 12/31/13)
Number of New Buildings
Residential - 39
Residential Valuation - $5,488,806
Commercial - 10
Commercial Valuation - $18,693,000
Number of Alterations & Additions
Residential - 65
Residential Valuation - $677,003
Commercial - 26
Commercial Valuation - $18,963,000
Number of Residential Re-Roofs
Residential - 157
Residential Valuation - $688,139
Commercial - 27
Commercial Valuation - $255,525
Code Enforcement
Number of Incidents - 3,246
Number of Unresolved Incidents - 324
Citations Issued - 164
Compliance Rate - 94%
Municipal Utility System
Number of active city accounts (annual average) - 8,495
Number of active city units (annual average) - 10,225
Number active non-city accounts (annual average) - 270
Number of active non-city accounts (annual average) - 294
Systems capacity (gallons) per day - 12,500,000
Daily average consumption (gallons) - 5,171,000
Miles of water mains - 177
Miles of sewer mains - 126
Number of fire hydrants - 723
Main Live Valves - 1,639
Manholes - 2,005
Parks and Recreation
Community Parks
Comanche Trail - 136.00 acresNeighborhood Parks
Jefferson Park - .50 acres
ABC Park - 3.15 acres
Birdwell Park - 15.04 acres
Dr. Morgan Park - 7.50 acres
Heart of the City - .80 acres
Bert Andries Park - 2 acres
Russ McEwen Aquatic Center - 600 Swimmer Capacity
Lakes
Comanche Lake located in Comanche Trail Park - 148.00 acres
Moss Lake - 640.00 acres
Baseball/Softball Fields
Cotton Mize - One softball field
Stinkcreek - One practice field
Roy Anderson Complex - 70.69 acres
Fields: 5 baseball, 4 softball, 1 practice, 1 football, 5 soccer, 1 football/soccer
National Little League - 4.60 acres
International Little League - 3.44 acres
American Little League - 3.75 acres
Golf Course
Comanche Trail - 184.75 acres (18 holes)
Street Lights
Cost per light per month (annual average) - $16.78
Total Number of Lights - 1,862
City Employees
Full Time - 259
Part Time - 7
Seasonal - 21
Employee Education
Post Graduate - 3
Bachelor's Degree - 26
Associate's Degree - 28
TAXES
Sales Tax:
State Tax | 6.25% |
City Tax | 1.5% |
EDC | 0.5% |
Total | 8.25% |
Motel Tax - 7% of total taxable receipts
Property Tax (per $100.00)
Taxing Entity | Tax Rate |
Howard County | $0.30068 |
Howard College | $0.17662 |
City of Big Spring | $0.85664 |
Big Spring Independent School District | $1.36050 |
Total | $2.69444 |
UTILITIES
Water Rates
All persons supplied with water by the City of Big spring, unless other wise stipulated under separate contract, will be billed for water service at the following monthly rates:
Meter Size | Base Rate |
5/8" | $30.00 |
1" | $35.00 |
2" | $40.00 |
3" | $90.00 |
4" | $115.00 |
6" | $165.00 |
8" | $215.00 |
10" | $265.00 |
12" | $315.00 |
Usage Rates
Water Service - Inside City Limits (Residential)
0 - 2,000 gallons | $1.50 per thousand gallons |
3,000 - 10,000 gallons | $3.75 per thousand gallons |
11,000 - 20,000 gallons | $4.25 per thousand gallons |
21,000 - 50,000 gallons | $4.50 per thousand gallons |
>50,000 gallons | $4.78 per thousand gallons |
Water Service - Inside City Limits (Commercial)
0-50,000 gallons | $3.75 per thousand gallons |
51,000 - 100,000 gallons | $4.00 per thousand gallons |
>100,000 gallons | $4.25 per thousand gallons |
Water Service - Outside City Limits (Residential)
0 - 2,000 gallons | $3.00 per thousand gallons |
3,000 - 10,000 gallons | $7.50 per thousand gallons |
11,000 - 20,000 gallons | $8.50 per thousand gallons |
21,000 - 50,000 gallons | $9.00 per thousand gallons |
>50,000 gallons | $9.50 per thousand gallons |
Water Service - Outside City Limits (Commercial)
0-50,000 gallons | $7.50 per thousand gallons |
51,000 - 100,000 gallons | $8.00 per thousand gallons |
>100,000 gallons | $8.50 per thousand gallons |
Sewer -Commercial
Base Rate | $18.00/month |
Sewer Rate | $2.00 per 1000 gallons used |
(Usage will be multiplied by 90% to calculate sewer charges) |
Sanitation - Residential
Base Rate | $19.10 per month |
Environmental Fee | $1.25 (applied to all accounts with sanitation service) |
Sanitation - Commercial
Sanitation rates for commercial accounts are based on the size of the refuse container and the frequency of collection