I would like to make my announcement to run for your Bonham City Council-Ward 5 on May 9, 2009.  I am a Bonham native.  I have lived in Bonham and Fannin County all my life.  I married Peggy Jo Ann Sanders of Honey Grove in 1958.  We have three children, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.  All but three of us live in Bonham.  I retired from Raytheon after forty years in the aerospace industry.  We are members of Calvary Baptist Church.

 

I have served the City of Bonham and this community in some capacity for 38 years, starting with the Bonham Volunteer Fire Department from 1963 until I retired from the department in 1990.  I served as Bonham’s representative on the board of directors of the Fannin County Appraisal District from 1982 through 2001.  I was a director of BEDCo from its creation in the late 90’s until 2001.  From 1978 until 2001 the residents of Bonham elected me to your Bonham City Council for both Ward 2 and Ward 5. During parts of that time I was also mayor of Bonham.  From 1990 through 2001, the city councils I served on accomplished great things for Bonham and Fannin County.

 

 

Some of the accomplishments and programs started or completed during my last 11 years are.

 

1.      Prisons and State Jail Facilities

 

2.      Clayton Homes

 

3.      Heritage District Projects (started)

 

4.   City street reconstruction and resurfacing program for 87 percent of all our city streets was well underway with around 50 percent completed when I left office

 

5.      The 1.6 million dollar airport expansion began with funds from grants making it possible to complete after I left office

 

6.      The City water treatment plant was rehabilitated and modernized

 

      7.   The construction of six new lighted baseball fields and two lighted softball fields

    

8.      Citizen’s drop-off site for brush, tree limbs, and construction debris located at the Bonham City maintenance garage Sam Rayburn Drive/Hwy 56

 

9.      Complete re-construction of the City’s sewer treatment plant providing three times more capacity and environmentally clean discharges

 

10.  Massive remodeling and expansion of the Bonham Public Library

 

11.  The retention and expansion of the Sam Rayburn Memorial Veteran’s Medical Center and a new domiciliary

 

12.  The construction of the Clyde Cosper Texas Veteran’s Nursing Home

 

13.  City finances changed from deficits and red ink to one of comfortable reserves and fund balances with the City gaining Triple AAA insured bond ratings 

 

In 1999 alone the City issued $13.8 million in new construction permits with $2.2 million for  new homes and $11.6 million for commercial construction representing one of Bonham’s largest construction activity of the decade.

 

I am proud and honored to have had a part in Bonham’s past improvements that mostly happened from 1990 through 2001.  This was when Bonham had a 36-percent increase in population going from 7,338 to 9,990.   Income of Bonham families grew from only $17,000 a year to around $36,000 during those 10 years.  From 2001 going forward, Bonham’s growth has gone mostly flat with only a small increase in population and family income.

 

 

I am also very proud the councils I served with during those 10 years were able to maintain a city tax rate of 55 cents from 1991 until I left office in 2001.

 

Now, I have listed the reasons I decided to run for your City Council again.

 

1.                  The City Has No Short or Long Term Economic Development Plans

      

With a new lake coming to Fannin County and even another new lake in the future, Bonham has another chance.  The Heritage District can still become the major tourist and visitor attraction as intended.  The most expensive improvements are in place.  Now its time to do the things needed to attract newcomers, visitors,  businesses, and service providers to the Heritage District and Downtown Bonham.

 

 

2.                  The Animal Shelter Needs To Be Completed

 

This project has gone on too long. The shelter has been on agendas for years.  Now the County has agreed to build, maintain and run a shelter (Good for them!).  We, the City of Bonham need to assist Fannin County in every way to get it completed.  Then we can get rid of that thing we call the “Dog Pound” forever. 

           

3.                  City Water

 

People still complain about our drinking water.  With the new $17 million water treatment plant now in operation, Bonham should not still have those problems.  We need to find out why.

 

4.                  Streets    (Need I Say More?)     

           

Those are some of my goals.  I would like to start getting them done.  I have the proven leadership and experience to take on those jobs and many more to get Bonham back on track as we did in the ‘90’s.  I see a need to change some of the leadership on the Council.  For the past several years, Bonham has lost a lot of business and industry while some of the current leadership stood by failing to keep the City going forward like we had done throughout the previous decade.

 

I could go on and on about things I want to see accomplished; however, I will close on the one thing that bothers me the most about our present City Council.

 

I attended and participated in the Bonham City Council meetings now for 30 years on a fairly regular basis.  I see our present Council being controlled by one or two members, probably just one.  A majority of five members almost always votes together.  It looks to me like just a few have already made decisions prior to the public meetings and left the others out and uninformed.  The political ad titled “Best for Bonham” being handed out and distributed confirmed it for me.  That ad may also be telling us “The Rest of the Story.”  Is he going to be the newest “Good Ole Boy”?  May Be!

 

I believe that all members of the council need to do their own homework and research prior to council meetings.  The Texas Local Government Code requires that deliberations and final decisions on city business must be made in open public meetings, not behind closed doors or in private.  If you go to the council meetings on a regular basis, you will see what I mean.  I am reporting  my own opinion and observation, but you  decide for yourself.

 

In closing, I am asking for you to vote for me, Bill Munger, on Saturday, May 9, 2009.  (Early voting is from April 27^th through May 5^th)

 

DON’T JUST TALK ABOUT IT…

BE ABOUT IT.

GO VOTE

 

For further information go to www.bill4bonham.com