Montgomery City Council members discussed various agenda items and received departmental updates during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting. All council members, with the exception of Position 4 Council Member Rebecca Huss, were present. Here are three takeaways from the Montgomery City Council meeting: 1. Public hearing scheduled for Nov. 14 to discuss sewer rate increase Council members are considering approving a 50-cent increase for sewer rates. A public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. to discuss the proposed rate of $5.25 per 1,000 gallons for in-city residents, and $5.50 per 1,000 gallons for out-of-city residents. Commercial in-city and out-of-city sewer rates will also increase by 50 cents per 1,000 gallons up to 20,000 gallons per month if the new rate is approved by council members. “The city is proposing [the rate increase] because of the expectation of a considerable expense, totaling several million dollars over the next four or five years, to maintain and upgrade our system,” Yates said. Some upgrades the city anticipates are a new sewer plant and water tank, Yates said. If the sewer rate increase is approved by council members, the new rate will go into effect Nov. 20. Residents will not see a change in their bills until January due to the billing cycle, Yates said. 2. City approves proclamation supporting April being “Fair Housing Month” Council members unanimously approved a proclamation recognizing the month of April as “Fair Housing Month.” Fair Housing Month has been nationally recognized for almost half a century since the proclamation of the Fair Housing Act on April 11, 1968, according to a news release from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Fair Housing Act is a policy ensuring that all Americans receive equal access to housing, and it is a reminder that it is illegal to discriminate in housing based on one’s race, color, sex, national origin, religion, familial status or disability. Fair Housing Month is also in remembrance of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, according to HUD. City Administrator Jack Yates said the proclamation was one of the requirements of Montgomery receiving a $350,000 grant from the Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery program to fix the damage on Buffalo Springs Drive bridge. However, since the city of Montgomery has already been abiding by the Fair Housing Act since the policy's inception, the proclamation will not change city operations, Yates said. 3. Update on funding for Buffalo Springs Drive bridge repair During the spring 2016 flooding, the bridge on Buffalo Springs Drive was severely damaged by flooding. Since then, city officials have been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to receive partial funding for the more than $1.8 million in estimated repairs to the bridge. FEMA is funding roughly $1.4 million in repairs and $350,000 will be funded by the CDBG disaster recovery program. The city anticipates the remaining $150,000 will be provided by another grant from the Texas General Land Office, Yates said. If those funds cannot be obtained, the remaining cost will come from the city's funding reserves. City Engineer Chris Roznovsky said bids for the Buffalo Springs Drive bridge repair project will be accepted on Nov. 2 and council members will vote on whether to approve the bid during the Nov. 14 meeting.