ISSUE 4 · SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2026 · LIFE BY DESIGN, NOT DEFAULT
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL This Week |
Photo: Larry D. Moore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Tuesday is the big night at City Hall. The Caldwell City Council meets Tuesday, October 20 at 5:30 p.m. at 107 S. Hill St., and the agenda is already posted. Among the items: approval of the minutes from September 15, the meeting where the budget and tax rate came up. The city’s budget page now lists the FY26-27 budget as “adopted,” but the vote and the tax rate are still not in the posted record.
New this week: the city launched a new website on October 9, so some old links no longer work. Today the library is open 1 to 5 p.m.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Liberty Watch |
Photo: City of Caldwell
Tue 10/20 city council 5:30 p.m. | 5 consent-agenda items | 3 regular-agenda items | $6.21M General Fund, FY26-27 |
The agenda is posted. The city secretary certified it posted by Wednesday, October 14. The consent agenda, which council can approve with one vote unless a member pulls an item, has five items: the minutes of the September 15 regular meeting, the city employee holiday schedule for FY26-27, Dr. Scott Chennault as City Health Officer for a year, two appointments to the Plumbing Advisory Board (Jeff McManus and Keith Barton), and changes to the procurement policy based on legislative updates.
Then three regular items: an election for the Texas Municipal League’s Region 10 director; renewing the lease with Caldwell ISD for the building at 107 S. Hill St. (the address where council meets); and renewing the agreement for the BV Area Council on Aging to reimburse operating expenses. The packet with the lease and agreement terms isn’t posted, so we can’t say what they cost or pay. Reports on sales tax, property tax, cash and the monthly financials are also listed.
The budget: posted, but not the vote. Last week we told you the FY26-27 budget and tax rate were on the September 15 agenda and the outcome wasn’t on the public record. Since then, the city’s Budget & Financial Reports page has started listing an “FY26-27 Adopted Budget.” Its General Fund total is the same $6,205,695 as the draft, but the pages of that document are still headed “DRAFT,” and it contains no tax rate and no vote. The September 15 minutes, which would show both, come up for approval Tuesday. Draft minutes are not final until approved at a later meeting, per the city. We’ll report the vote and rate once the record shows them.
Feral hogs. On October 9 the city answered residents’ hog complaints in a posted update: it can trap and remove hogs on city-owned property and work with wildlife professionals and neighboring landowners, but it says state law and local rules stop it from hunting citywide, entering private land without permission, or relocating live hogs. Options are under review; no timeline was given.
County court. Last week we flagged the Burleson County Commissioners Court agenda for October 13 (two well-site permits on Caldwell addresses, a courthouse generator contract). As of Sunday the county has not posted minutes for that meeting — the latest posted are August 24 — and no agenda for the next meeting is up, so we can’t report what the court decided.
| Your move: at Tuesday’s meeting you sign in and get three minutes, either on topics not on the agenda or on agenda items only. Questions beforehand: City Secretary Amanda Frank, 979-567-3271 ext. 106. |
Sources: Oct 20 agenda (council calendar) · Council calendar · Agendas & Minutes · Budget & Financial Reports · Feral hog update, Oct 9 · County court agendas & minutes · County agenda, Oct 13
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Mapping Our Community: Where City Hall’s Money Goes |
Last week we showed where the General Fund comes from. Here is where it goes. The FY26-27 budget the city now posts balances the General Fund at $6,205,695, up 8.3% ($477,142) from this past year’s $5,728,553.
Source: City FY26-27 budget. Contracts = contractual & govt-wide services.
29% of the General Fund goes to police | +11.8% police budget vs. last year | $1.81M police, FY26-27 |
The Police Department is the single biggest line: $1,809,083, up $190,869 from $1,618,214. Administration is next at $1,002,979 (up 11.5%), then contractual and government-wide services at $890,550, streets and drainage at $809,483, development services at $431,896 (up 30.6%) and the library and community services at $346,919. The twelve departments add up to the full $6,205,695.
The lens worth keeping: a budget is a list of choices, and the biggest check is the one worth asking about first. Tuesday’s agenda lists the sales-tax report, and the draft counts on sales taxes rising about 20% over this year’s budget. That’s the number that pays for all of this.
| GO DEEPER The Caldwell record: budgets, tax rates, votes and who governs, every figure sourced — councilonlocalrelations.org/tx/caldwell/ Start here — the Primers: 01 The Long Flat Line (how the family changed) · 02 The Documents We Live Under (the written rules that limit power) · 03 The Household (what a household buys, priced in years of work) · all primers → From the Council: This week: Confusion Is a Form of Abandonment (The Artisan); Fewer Things, More Times (The Strategist); The Standard Is Not Completion. The Standard Is Transfer. (The Headmaster); Count What's Actually in the Pantry (The Steward); Every Dollar Is Working For You or Against You (The Treasurer). Get them by email → |
Sources: FY26-27 budget (city PDF) · Budget & Financial Reports
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL From the Council This Week |
 | MONDAY, OCT 19 · THE BUILDER On Time. In Budget. No Bullshit. |
 | TUESDAY, OCT 20 · THE MAESTRO Culture Moves Faster Than Argument |
 | WEDNESDAY, OCT 21 · THE SENTINEL Empty Rooms Are Not Consent |
 | THURSDAY, OCT 22 · THE ADVOCATE If It's Not Written, It Doesn't Exist |
 | FRIDAY, OCT 23 · THE SHEPHERD Formation Comes Before Function |
Every piece, every figure linked to its source: councilonlocalrelations.org
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Around the Block |
Photo: City of Caldwell
| Not Your Mother’s Storytime — 5:30–6:30 p.m., Harrie P. Woodson Memorial Library. A new monthly storytime for the whole family. | ||
| City Council — 5:30 p.m., 107 S. Hill St. Also at the library: GED-Foundations (10:30 a.m.–noon, Tuesdays and Thursdays) and Knot Just Knitting (2–4 p.m.). | ||
| Bookworms Storytime — 9:45 a.m., library, for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, followed by play centers. And new: Thrillers & Killers, an adult true-crime book club, 5:30–6:30 p.m. | ||
| Citizens State Bank historical marker dedication — 10 a.m.–noon in Somerville; free (Chamber calendar). |
The library is at 704 State Highway 21 W and is open today, Sunday, 1–5 p.m. Run a Caldwell event? Send it by Thursday.
Sources: City events calendar · Library · Burleson County Chamber calendar
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Prosperity Spotlight |
The Humble Life — handmade body care on Echols Street
Taylor and April Locke met in art school in Savannah, Georgia, then moved to Caldwell and opened The Humble Life in the fall of 2016. The shop sells their humblelove line of all-natural soaps, salves, magnesium cream, lip balms and sprays, which the shop says are made on-site from clean, simple ingredients. It also has a natural smoothie bar and carries artisan goods from other small makers. You can order online, too.
| The Humble Life · 100 S. Echols St., Caldwell · 979-406-0210 Mon–Fri 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Sat 9 a.m.–4 p.m., closed Sunday · thehumblelifestore.com |
Sources: The Humble Life: our story · The Humble Life online · Burleson County Chamber listing
Photo: The Humble Life, from its website. We chose this business ourselves; no one paid for the feature.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Food Scene |
Photo: Four Tines Restaurant at the Surrey Inn, from its Facebook page
Four Tines Restaurant at the Surrey Inn
Four Tines Restaurant sits inside the Surrey Inn, where Highway 21 meets Highway 36. Its own page describes a wide selection of entrees — steak, chicken, pork and seafood — for lunch and dinner, plus a daily lunch buffet. Its post for today, Sunday, lists the buffet as fried fish, chicken fried steak, meatloaf, roasted pork loin, chicken nuggets, veggies, a salad bar and dessert, with tea included, for $14.99 plus tax, open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
| Four Tines Restaurant at the Surrey Inn · 403 E. Highway 21, Caldwell · (979) 567-7235 Sunday buffet 11 a.m.–2 p.m. (posted Oct 18) · Call ahead for other hours · facebook.com/4TinesRestaurant |
Sources: Four Tines on Facebook · Burleson County restaurant listing
✦ Trivia Question |
In 1880 a railroad built its main line through Caldwell and put its depot half a mile from the courthouse square. Which railway was it? (Answer at the bottom.)
✦ Quote of the Day |
“A people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” — James Madison, 1822
✦ Secret Little Hack |
A Burleson County library card is free to county residents (bring proof of residence, such as a utility bill or Texas ID); non-residents pay $12 a year. The library also offers private 30-minute digital-literacy sessions with staff, and it is open Sunday afternoons, 1 to 5 (library page).
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Real Estate Pulse |
$265K median asking price | $225.9K median sold price | +8.7% asking price vs. a year ago | +1.5% sold price vs. a year ago |
Source: RealtyTrac, ZIP 77836
Here is the gap: sellers are asking about $39,000 more than homes are selling for. RealtyTrac’s September snapshot for the 77836 ZIP shows the median asking price up 8.7% from a year ago, to $265,000, while the median sold price rose only 1.5%, to $225,900. Listings are up too: 112 homes for sale, against 71 a year ago, while 49 sold in September, up from 36. Your move: on a street where asking prices run ahead of sales, ask your agent for the recent sold prices nearby before you make or accept an offer.
Sources: RealtyTrac — Caldwell 77836
| Looking to buy or sell? Nina Bright, Realtor — call or text 832-689-3170. Full disclosure: Nina is David’s wife. |
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Service Opportunities |
Photo: Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Serve on a city board. The city lists the Main Street Advisory Board and the Housing Authority Advisory Board under “Current Opportunities”; residents can apply as vacancies occur (boards & committees). Get city alerts: the city runs a public alert sign-up (sign up). The city’s volunteer page says volunteer opportunities are “coming soon.”
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Adopt a Friend |
 | Meet Cami Senior · Female · Jack Russell Terrier Her listing says she is small (25 pounds or less), spayed, and good with kids, dogs and cats. Haven adopts by application, then an interview, then a meet-and-greet. See Cami’s listing → |
| Haven Animal Rescue of Texas · havenanimalrescueoftexas.com · adoptmeathart@gmail.com No walk-in hours are listed; start with an application on the rescue’s site. |
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Growth & Learning |
Illustration
Open Tuesday’s council agenda with your kids (here). Ask them to pick one item and explain who it affects. Then ask: what is a lease, and why would a city renew one? Who decides, and where can a neighbor speak? Civics gets easier when it has an address. More at unrivaledacademy.com.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Local Theory & Remnant Radio |
 | Now playing: Sovereign Ground — the latest Local Theory album (April 3, 2026 · 15 tracks). Listen · vote on the mixes. Remnant Radio streams the whole catalog 24/7 at radio.thinkandactlocally.com · Spotify. Fourteen releases. Sovereignty through sound. |
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Weather Forecast |
Sun  Sunny 73° 50° | Mon  Partly sunny 77° 54° | Tue Sunny 83° 55° | Wed Sunny 85° 56° | Thu Sunny 85° 57° | Fri Sunny 86° 59° | Sat  Mostly sunny 87° 61° |
A dry, warming week: sunny from Tuesday through Friday, with highs climbing from 77 on Monday to 87 on Saturday and lows creeping from the low 50s to the low 60s. A high near 73 today and a low near 50 tonight. No rain is in the forecast.
Sources: National Weather Service (HGX), updated Oct 18, 1:20 p.m. CT
✦ CrowdHealth |
 | David and his family left traditional health insurance for CrowdHealth — a community that funds each other’s medical bills. Bills get negotiated down first; no claims department, no denial letters. See how it works. We earn a referral if you join. CrowdHealth is not insurance. David is a paying member. |
✦ Unrivaled Travels |
 | Planning a trip worth taking? Our own travel service books the expedition, cruise, or getaway you’ll remember — at no markup. info@unrivaledtravels.com · 281-241-1994 · unrivaledtravels.com One of our own businesses. |
✦ Unrivaled Candles |
 | Hand-poured jewelry candles — every one hides a piece of jewelry inside, valued from $10 to $10,000. Burn it down and find out what’s yours. Shop Unrivaled Candles. Full disclosure: one of our own businesses. |
✦ Unrivaled Marketing Solutions |
 | You built the business — now make sure your Caldwell neighbors can find it. Book a free 15-minute call with David: we’ll look at how your business shows up online and where customers may be slipping past. If you want us to fix it, that’s paid work, and David will go over the price on the call. Book a free 15-minute call. One of our own businesses. |
✦ Sponsor Spot |
This spot is open. Sponsor this spot — reach Caldwell neighbors every Sunday, in the one inbox they actually read. Reply to book it.
✦ They Told Him He Was Crazy |
David sold his metals. Not trimmed — sold. He kept the receipts, every decision sourced, so you can decide for yourself: conviction, or crazy? Read the filing →
David’s own account; affiliate link. Support never touches coverage.
✦ Have a Question? Ask It Live |
Want to understand the framework David uses to put money to work without living in front of a screen? The team behind it runs free live calls — bring your questions, get them answered in real time. No cost to sit in and listen.
Register for a free live call →
Full disclosure: this is an affiliate link. But you know the rule — sponsors support the mission, never influence the message. David doesn't recommend anything he doesn't personally use.
We earn a referral if you join. Education, not financial advice. Options involve risk of loss.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Community Voices |
Who made Caldwell a little better this week? The librarian who ran storytime, the neighbor who watched a kid cross the street, the crew that kept the lights on. Hit reply — one or two sentences — and we’ll run the best next Sunday.
✦ Take Action |
- Read the agenda before Tuesday’s council meeting (5:30 p.m., 107 S. Hill St.): posted here.
- Speak up: sign in at the meeting for three minutes at the microphone, on or off the agenda.
- Stop by The Humble Life, 100 S. Echols St. (open Monday through Saturday).
✦ Submit Your Content |
Events, business features, volunteer calls, letters from Caldwell: david@thinkandactlocally.com. Deadline: Thursday 5 PM for Sunday.
✦ Answer to Trivia |
The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway. It built its main line through Caldwell in 1880 and put the depot half a mile from the courthouse square (Handbook of Texas).
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Keep the Herald Free |
No advertiser sets our coverage — readers keep it alive. The cheapest way to help: forward this to one neighbor who’d rather read the agenda before Tuesday than hear about it after.
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Caldwell on the record (CLR) · CLR Primers · Think and Act Locally · Unrivaled Marketing Solutions
The Herald is published by Think and Act Locally. Its facts come from the public record kept by the Council on Local Relations, which shares a founder with Think and Act Locally. Portions drafted with AI assistance and reviewed before publication. Reply anytime: david@thinkandactlocally.com.
