What changed on the Amarillo Ledger: new storylines, events added after each news sweep, new data.https://amarilloledger.comhttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-30https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-30The City's pool-fund account registers show the $553,052 Emma renewal (December 2024, labeled "General fund revenues") paid on March 10, 2025 and the $252,489.97 renewal (September 2025, labeled ARPA) paid on November 6, 2025, both charged to the Information Technology Fund rather than the General Fund or an ARPA grant fund. The registers don't show whether money was moved into that fund to cover them.Fri, 30 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-29https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-29The Debt page now lists every bond on the City's Schedule of Debt and shows how the $538.3 million was approved: $89.8 million in bonds voters approved in November 2016 and $96.2 million in tax-backed debt the council authorized without an election, plus refunding and revenue bonds. It adds $131.9 million borrowed but not yet spent, $46.9 million borrowed since the last audit, payments due each year, and the pension and retiree health liabilities. The Revenue page adds federal and state grants by program from the single audits (including $27.7 million of ARPA money in FY2022), each year's adopted tax rate beside its no-new-revenue and voter-approval rates, General Fund budget against actual, and taxes per resident after inflation. The Spending page now separates spending with vendors ($819.8 million) from payroll deductions, benefits and payments to other governments, and leaves out $3,968,510.37 the City received that two monthly exports had listed as payments. The forensic audit storyline now notes that the FY2025 single audit marks the City a low-risk auditee, though the federal clearinghouse's record says otherwise.Thu, 29 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-28https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-28From the meeting video: NewGen's review found 99.78% of the bills it checked calculated correctly from the meter readings and attributed most of the rise in bills to the October 2025 rates, hot weather and the longer first billing period, with about 15% unexplained. The council directed staff to set up dispute protections and a relief fund and to bring back a vote keeping water rates at 2025/26 levels while the 11% sewer increase takes effect November 1. The council appointed Rodney Rhoades interim city manager at $175 an hour, and the audit committee will bring two forensic audit firms to a special meeting in November. NewGen said its work was a review and "not an audit," and the billing storyline now sets that beside how officials and news coverage described it. A new storyline follows the City's state and federal legislative priorities, and the Utilities rate table now shows water, sewer and the City's example bill separately, and a new table splits water and sewer fund sales for FY2021 to FY2025 and reconciles the City's $99.1 million with the $101.1 million in our revenue chart. New storylines cover Xcel (SPS) electric rate cases, the City fleet parts contract and leasing, and the Korn Ferry Tour event. New storylines: Legislative priorities; Xcel (SPS) rate cases; City fleet parts & leasing; Korn Ferry Tour event. Added to: High utility bills (3); Flock cameras (1); Wastewater plants & rates (1).Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-27https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-27A new Utilities page lists every water and sewer rate increase since 2016/17 with the reason the budget gives (55% compounded through 2025/26), a calculator that splits a bill into its water and sewer lines (sewer for homes is billed on the December-February winter average, not the month's use), and the smart-meter and enQuesta billing contracts with the companies behind them, including NewGen, the City's rate consultant, which is also reviewing the billing system. A new City Council page lists the five current members and their seats, the earlier holders of each seat named in City records, every mayor pro tem, each current member's roll-call record since May 2025 and the latest split votes. The Project Matador page now answers when the project will be completed. An Amarillo 311 page follows the 311 contact center from the 2016 proposal for a 3-1-1 line to the call center inside Utility Billing: calls by line, answer times (53% within three minutes in 2024/25), staffing, and the call center software contracts. It also compares the 2016-17 plan with the record and lists the City's spending on 311 software. Added to: High utility bills (6); Amarillo 311 (5).Tue, 27 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-26https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-26A new section of the Finances page sets City government spending beside the prices governments pay and the number of residents. Governmental-funds spending rose from $211.2 million in FY2016 to $377.7 million in FY2025, 78.8%. The Bureau of Economic Analysis index of state and local government prices rose 36.3% over those years and Amarillo's population 3.2%; spending per resident after inflation went from $1,448 to $1,841 in FY2025 dollars, 27.1%, most of it from FY2021 on. Consumer prices (CPI-U) rose 33.9%.Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-25https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-25Two new pages under Amarillo lay out what is planned, who is involved, permits and approvals, and what each project could change, with every projection attributed to whoever made it. Project Matador, Fermi America's planned power and data-center campus next to Pantex, is described in Fermi's filings as about 11 GW of generation; the signed Carson County agreement abates 100% of county taxes for 10 years per phase in return for payments in lieu of taxes. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's draft environmental impact statement, open for comment until November 23, 2026, estimates 9,239 new residents at the 2033 construction peak, most in Randall and Potter counties, and rates the effect on housing MODERATE and on hotels and RV parks LARGE. CRMWA II, the proposed second Roberts County water pipeline, is costed at $767.8 million (2023 prices) in the 2026 regional water plan and about $1.2 billion by CRMWA's general manager. A profile of Emma, the City website's AI digital human, sets out who built it (Dell as contractor, with UneeQ and Pryon), how it was bought and the $1,388,490.86 in council awards; no record was located of Dell owning UneeQ or Pryon. Dell's organization page lists 21 Dell awards the council approved from April 2022 to October 2025, $11.7 million in all, from network leases and police tablets to Emma, with the check-register payments that match each one. A new Organizations section gives 68 companies and agencies named in three or more events their own page, with full profiles of Fermi America and the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority. Added to: Project Matador (10); Emma digital human (4); CRMWA II pipeline (1).Sun, 25 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-24https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-24The City of Amarillo took in $475.1 million in FY2025, 40% of it from taxes, according to its audited annual financial report. The new Revenue page breaks that down by source for FY2016 to FY2025, with the property tax rate and levy, sales tax, utility charges, the proposed FY2026/27 budget, and the revenue of the AEDC, the Hospital District and other bodies whose boards the City appoints. It adds up what an average homestead pays in City charges ($198.45 a month in FY2025/26, our calculation) and lists seven places where the City's own reports disagree with each other. A new Finances overview puts revenue next to expenses ($486.0 million in FY2025), shows where a dollar goes, and tracks debt per resident and the General Fund's unassigned balance, which fell from $65.5 million to $44.7 million in FY2025.Sat, 24 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-22https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-22Minutes from 30 City boards, commissions and committees (2020-2026) were added as sources, and 18 new storylines draw on them. The Hospital District's fund pays $7.7 million a year for indigent care under an agreement that runs to 2036. The time to pay off the Firemen's Relief and Retirement Fund's unfunded liability went from 38.1 years to 5.5. A downtown wayfinding-sign contract awarded in 2021 was being terminated in 2022 with costs near $1 million and no construction payments made. The City annexed 3,134 acres on owners' petitions from 2020 to 2025 and cut its extraterritorial jurisdiction from 5 miles to 1 in 2024. The zoo was leased in March 2026 for $1 a year with $900,000 in City grants. Other new storylines cover the Venue District and the visitors bureau, the Civil Service Commission, the zoning rewrite and City Plan 2045, City-county public health funding, and the AEDC's EnterPrize Challenge and CEO performance awards. A new AEDC page brings together its funding, board, CEOs, finances and incentive commitments. Where board and council records differ, both figures are shown, such as A-7 Austin's job incentive ($300,000 vs $650,000). Six more storylines come from the arts, library, parks, downtown design and community development boards: the Mural Grant program, whose board dropped a 1% public art ordinance from its goals in 2024; the Route 66 water tower emblem; the downtown design board, which approved 18 of 19 cases; federal housing grants by agency; the 2021 parks master plan, which cited a $3.2 million a year maintenance gap; and the library's book-reconsideration process and 2025 selection policy. East Gateway TIRZ #2 minutes from 2020-2022 trace its $150,000 debt service line to utility extensions the City paid for. A new storyline follows the Amarillo Metropolitan Planning Organization's road and transit programs: the FY2027-30 program lists 88 million in highway work, all in FY2027, and 1.1 million for transit over four years, down from 2.7 million in the previous program. The October 27 council agenda lists a resolution naming an interim city manager, a NewGen Strategies & Solutions review of the utility billing system and a forensic audit update. New storylines: AEDC funding of the Amarillo EnterPrize Challenge (2021-2026); AEDC board votes on president and CEO pay (2020-2026); Amarillo Civil Service Commission: rules, promotional exams and appeals, 2020 to 2026; Hospital District fund; Firefighters' pension fund; Amarillo-Potter Events Venue District: hotel and car-rental taxes for the fairgrounds and Civic Center (2020-2025); The Amarillo Convention and Visitors Bureau: a City-created, hotel-tax-funded nonprofit (2020-2026); Downtown signs & arches; Annexations & the ETJ; Zoning code & City Plan 2045; Public health district funding; Zoo and Wonderland leases; CDBG & HOME grants; Downtown design review; Library book challenge and selection policy; Parks master plan and asset backlog; City of Amarillo public art: the Mural Grant Program, park art pads and the arts plan (2020-2026); The Route 66 emblem on the Independence water tower (2021-2023); Regional transportation plan (MPO). Added to: AEDC land & incentives (22); Downtown TIRZ #1 & LGC (21); Public improvement districts (18); East & South Gateway TIRZ (15); Public swimming pools (14); AEDC payment to The Range (10); Animal shelter (9); Dangerous-structure demolitions (7); COVID-19 health grants (3); Industrial & growth rezonings (3); ARPA recovery funds (3); Civic Center financing (3); Pet microchipping (2); Northeast Interceptor (2); City manager turnover (2); COVID-19 emergency orders (1); Property tax & voter debt (1); New City Hall (1); Wastewater plants & rates (1).Thu, 22 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-18https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-18A new Public Safety page covers police, fire, ambulance, 911 dispatch, emergency management and the Potter and Randall county jails, year by year, from state, federal and City records. A new storyline follows the City's ambulance permit, held by American Medical Response since 2010. The City's account registers for the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation and the Local Government Corporation were added. The LGC's register records a $500,000 "Loan Payoff to TIRZ #1" and a $432,545.11 "Loan Payoff to COA" on September 20, 2024, after the garage retail sale. The AEDC's register dates its $13,653,467.33 Texas Tech payment to January 16, 2026 and lists incentive payouts by recipient. Where City documents give different figures, both are now shown: the water and sewer increase is 8% in the FY2026/27 budget books and 11% as the Tribune reported, and Jax Transport's incentive is $810,000 paid in the AEDC's reports and $510,000 in its registers. Project cost estimates are now tracked across four capital plan editions, the August and September proposed budgets are compared, and the spending search runs through July 2026, with the City's own utility bills from 2020 to 2024. New storylines: Amarillo's ambulance permit: American Medical Response, 2010 to the present. Added to: AEDC & the vet school (1); Downtown TIRZ #1 & LGC (1); Certificates of obligation (1); Property tax & voter debt (1).Sun, 18 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-17https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-17Fermi America reported that AMD signed a credit support agreement for the TensorWave lease at Project Matador and that its MUFG turbine loan was amended to remove a November 10 leasing deadline. The AEDC board's October 22 agenda lists a $6,440,100 repurchase of about 258 acres from International Paper. Two new storylines: Amarillo City Transit's coordinated plan and the federal grants the council adopted on October 13, and the proposed residency restrictions for registered sex offenders. The site can now be saved to a phone's home screen. New storylines: City Transit plan and grants; Sex offender residency ordinance. Added to: Public improvement districts (3); AEDC land & incentives (2); Public swimming pools (2); Project Matador (2); East & South Gateway TIRZ (1); Civic Center financing (1); Downtown TIRZ #1 & LGC (1).Sat, 17 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-16https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-16The council vote record now runs from May 2019 to August 2026, with each decision sorted by topic. Six new storylines include St. Anthony's redevelopment, the North Heights rezoning, the northeast interceptor sewer, the COVID-19 emergency orders, TIRZ #2 and #3 and the public improvement districts. The Arcade opened with four free games about water, budgets and city building. New storylines: Northeast Interceptor; North Heights rezoning; St. Anthony's redevelopment; COVID-19 emergency orders; East & South Gateway TIRZ; Public improvement districts. Added to: AEDC land & incentives (24); Property tax & voter debt (16); Wastewater plants & rates (5); Civic Center financing (4); Drainage & stormwater (2); Public swimming pools (1); High utility bills (1).Fri, 16 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-15https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-15The site was renamed the Amarillo Ledger and moved to amarilloledger.com. A new Amarillo section profiles the city from public data: where its water comes from, its people, economy, history and transportation.Thu, 15 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-14https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-14Eight storylines were updated from the October 13, 2026 council meeting. A new Votes section lists each council member's roll-call votes from the City's minutes. Thirteen new storylines include the Osage water treatment plant, AEDC land and incentive deals, the animal shelter, Proposition A (2024) and the 2024 charter election. New storylines: Pet microchipping; Emma digital human; Dangerous-structure demolitions; Industrial & growth rezonings; AEDC land & incentives; Osage treatment plant; Drainage & stormwater; Animal shelter; Alcohol sales permits; 2024 charter election; COVID-19 health grants; Grant Street property; Proposition A (2024). Added to: AEDC payment to The Range (10); New City Hall (7); Certificates of obligation (5); Downtown TIRZ #1 & LGC (5); Civic Center financing (4); Forensic audit (4); Downtown hotel & ballpark (3); City manager turnover (2); Sewer overflows & repairs (2); Property tax & voter debt (2); Wastewater plants & rates (1).Wed, 14 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-12https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-12Two new storylines: the City's Flock license-plate reader cameras, and Amarillo 311. An August 11, 2026 camera event was corrected against the council minutes. New storylines: Amarillo 311; Flock cameras.Mon, 12 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-11https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-11Two new storylines: the Canadian River Municipal Water Authority's CRMWA II project, and Project Matador, the Fermi America data center and power campus. Spending now groups payments into categories, and vendors recorded under more than one spelling were merged. New storylines: CRMWA II pipeline; Project Matador. Added to: Fermi water agreement (1).Sun, 11 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMThttps://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-10https://amarilloledger.com/updates/#u-2026-10-10The site launched with the City's check registers, debt, capital projects, officials, the City government directory and the first 19 storylines. New storylines: High utility bills; City manager turnover; AEDC payment to The Range; Downtown hotel & ballpark; Property tax & voter debt; New City Hall; Civic Center financing; Wastewater plants & rates; Red-light cameras; AEDC & the vet school; Fermi water agreement; City software transition; Certificates of obligation; Forensic audit; Public swimming pools; ARPA recovery funds; Sewer overflows & repairs; City landfill; Downtown TIRZ #1 & LGC. Added to: Project Matador (6).Sat, 10 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMT