HB 3105 never made it out of calendars

I know that this is not exactly breaking news at this point, it's just that I am so happy that this happened. HB 3105 would have positively gutted our Gas Well Ordinance (stated to be one of the area's toughest by the Denton Record Chronicle).

HB 3105 - big gas interests' way to crush cities

HB 3105, Relating to the applicability of the Private Real Property Rights Preservation Act to certain governmental actions, is designed to do one thing, and one thing only - destroy local control of drilling. It is designed to take away the power and ability of cities to regulate drilling in their jurisdiction. Big Gas made its impact felt.

HB 1938 - whole body scanners - NOT IN TEXAS!

There has been a very big outcry over the use of the so called "whole body scanners", also known as backscatter scanners. Well, if this bill passed, it would be illegal to install or operate "whole body scanners" at airports in Texas. This sets up yet another showdown between the ever expanding and ever more controlling federal government and our state government.

Brace yourself, the legislature wants to take more rights away, control you more

Yes, that is right - Austin is at it again. The usual business whenever the legislature is in session - hold on to your wallets and watch out for your rights. HB 2443 wants to make it illegal for you to pull over and stop on the side of the road to get a picture of the bluebonnets.

Cinco de Mayo!

A time of Celebration in the United States of the battle of Puebla, in Mexico, against - the French. I hear there are some celebrations in Mexico, mostly in and near the city of Puebla. The big celebrations seem to be in America, and we Texans particularly enjoy celebrating it.

Why shouldn't elected official have to prove eligibility?

Apparently the Arizona legislature (both houses) passed bills that would require any person seeking to be on the presidential ballot in Arizona to provide some verification that they indeed meet the eligibility rules listed in the Constitution for the office of President. I also understand that apparently the governor of Arizona vetoed said bill(s). I also understand why she might feel that baptismal or circumcision records as a form of identification is reaching a bit.

What the Railroad Commission Really needs... besides a name change

The Railroad commission of Texas, or the Texas oil and gas commission, whatever its name finally is, needs more than just a nice name. It needs the resources to get out and inspect gas and oil wells during all phases of operation. While many other state regulatory agencies get their revenue from fees and fines from the companies being regulated, a large portion of the Railroad Commission's revenue comes from the regular funds of the state. Thus, as the entire budget is being cut, the ability of the railroad commission to actually go out and do its job is affected.

Corinth MUD #1 Update - 4/20/2011 - No its not dead!

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (the TCEQ) has stated that there is no authority for the MUD to declare itself inactive. It is active and responsible for its actions.

Texas Legislature on track to abolish the Railroad Commission....

...And replace it with a new/revised entity called the Texas Oil and Gas commission. This is Senate Bill (SB 655), "relating to the abolition of the Railroad Commission of Texas, the creation of the Texas Oil and Gas Commission, and the transfer of the powers and duties of the railroad commission to the oil and gas commission.". Basically all the powers of the Railroad Commission of Texas are transferred to this new entity, and some changes are made in the elected seats, as well as adding or refining some of its regulatory and enforcement powers.

Repeal of the Trans Texas Corridor (HB 1201) - or not

I have read and heard many remarks about the Trans Texas Corridor (TTC). As many may be aware, this was a proposal to create a new and expanded highway system entirely outside of the current set of highways that we have. A major feature of this system was going to be the heavy use of public/private funding arrangements, with the private portion picking up a very large part of the cost.

Corinth MUD #1 Update April 3

There was a Corinth Municipal Utility District # 1 board meeting held on Friday March 25, 2011. At this meeting, after signing some 2009 property tax rebate checks, and signing some more expense checks (without telling anyone what the checks were for, or who they were made out to), a letter was read into the record by the president of the board.

Gas Wells - Business as usual in Austin?

Recently I read an article in the Denton Record Chronicle that described several bills filed by State Rep. Tan Parker affecting residents in communities in the Barnett Shale (and other shale plays in the future). HB 2125 sought to direct the Rail Road Commission of Texas to place a priority on inspections of gas wells (in any phase) in urbanized counties with a large number of wells. HB 2126 would have increased the maximum fine for regulatory infractions by gas well operators in urbanized counties to $20,000. The $10,000 increase would have gone directly to the fund established for setting up and operating air monitoring in these urbanized counties.

Public/Private Funding of a Road Project

Previously I talked about the widening of I-35E from I-635 to US-380. The Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) has schematics drawn of the proposed 12 lane highway project. They propose 4 managed/toll lanes and 8 unmanaged/free lanes. The toll lanes are supposed to provide the method to pay for the project in what is known as a public/private partnership.

Widening 35

A significant issue on the minds of North Texans is the congestion on 35E. All the way from Duncanville to north of Denton there are traffic jams and delays. In our particular neck of the woods we have a particularly nice spot, near Corinth Parkway, that tends to be jammed up most evenings, and often in the morning hours. Many would say that this is due to a lack of capacity on the two lanes northbound from Corinth Parkway. Others, me included, would say that it is the reduction from three lanes to two lanes that is major culprit. Either way it seems logical to want to increase the capacity on 35E in some fashion.

Corinth MUD #1 - no end in sight yet?

Previously the Corinth Municipal Utility District #1 (MUD #1) board had made some vague statements about being able to dissolve by January 24th. Today is March 10th, and they still have not dissolved. As of March 8th it was necessary for the City Council to call the election on the petition received by the city with respect to the ordinance that the council passed dissolving the MUD. In several meetings up to this point, some that I personally attended, it was stated by the board that they would have dissolved the district before the election. In an article written by Tim Glaze of the Lake Cities Sun (titled MUD Writes First Checks), 'Board members believe they will have dissolved the district before the city would need to call an election on the petition and incur the expense'. The Article is several weeks old - yet here we are with the election called...

Corinth MUD #1 Update

The January 24 Corinth MUD #1 board meeting has come and gone - and the board did NOT pass a resolution to dissolve the MUD. I recall that after the City Council voted to dissolve the MUD, and the MUD went out and passed around a petition to reinstate the MUD, the board suggested that if we (the council) would repeal our dissolution ordinance, they would dissolve the MUD on January 24th. They didn't.

Cut taxes, but not my benefits

That seems to be the confusing, and untenable, position of many people today. I just read an article in the NY Times and its accompanying poll that asked questions about how to cut the deficit. It seems that most people understand that you can't just keep borrowing money from the future to pay for things today. However, when asked what they are willing to give up to reduce spending, the answer is "not MY benefits".

Budget 2011 - First look

October first started the 2010-11 fiscal year, and the 2010 budget. Unfortunately there was in increase in the tax rate from .57698 to .59292 which was an increase to the effective rate. Property values declined overall in the city from $1,393,914,517 to $1,368,721,005, about 1.81%. There was also a decline in sales tax revenue at the same time, which is no surprise given how the economy was going.

The Budget - Again

It seems like we just approved the 2010-11 budget... We did - 4 months ago. So now, it is time to begin the process again to have a budget ready at the end of September 2011. The first budget meeting between the council and the city staff generally occurs around mid February, about a month away. At that time Council will receive a best guess as to what resources (taxes and fees) we will have available given current tax rates, then we will have to provide guidance to staff as to how to proceed to prepare the budget.

The budget process is both simple and complex at the same time. It is simple in that by law we cannot borrow money to pay for operations - we can't spend more than we take in. It is complex in that each resident has a possibly different priority for what we should spend money on. It is very simple and easy to grow the budget (just keep adding expenses!) - it is orders of magnitude more difficult and complex to cut the budget.

If the expenditures exceed the revenues (as occurred the last two years), then there are but two choices - reduce the expenditures, or increase the revenues. It has often seemed to me that the choice is made to increase revenues. Property taxes represent about 50% of the city's general fund revenues. Sales tax is only about 7.4%. We have little to no direct control over sales tax revenue - people's spending does that.

So when the city "needs" money to balance the budget, it just increases the amount of property taxes. This often irritates the people who have to pay those property taxes.

To be fair, people expect a certain level of services from a city - that is what the taxes are for, after all. So rather than calling to cut taxes, or cut spending, or increase taxes (or search for new sources of revenue), I propose that we determine what is the proper level of services for the city to provide. What is the required staffing to provide those services, and what is appropriate compensation for the city employees given the state of the non government (private sector) economy?

That is the complex part - every resident has a different opinion of what constitutes the proper level of services from the City. So over the next several weeks, I intend to discuss here each service and department in the city. I will greatly appreciate input about what residents expect, and what they are willing to pay for.

First Order of Business

Well, it has been a long time since my last post. A lot has happened since then. Our gas well committee wrapped up its proceedings, the council passed a new gas well ordinance, finished discussions on and passed the 2010-11 budget, a new tax rate, abolished the Corinth MUD #1 (only to have it resurrected by a voter petition), approved a zoning change for the property the old Boeing building sits on, and a myriad of other decisions.

The new gas well drilling ordinance, budget, and MUD issues were each big and somewhat draining.

And then there was the holiday, some time to spend with family. I hope everyone had the chance to spend some time with their families over the Christmas season. And now we are on to the new year - more with Corinth MUD #1, and the budget again.

Oh yeah, the Texas Legislature has just convened. Hold on to your wallets and property.