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Friday, November 26, 2010

Update: Commissioners pass Jacob's Well, Nicholson Ranch, Harrison Park


Toward involvement, anyone wanting to get together and do some serious budget analysis with me, I'm looking for some help . . .
I'd like to submit a citizens budget to the County, and generate some public conversation about it

Note: Just a quick one to say the RoundUp has a generally favorable view of the county's long range habitat conservation plan. If bonafide wildlife habitat is identified and not purchased at inflated prices, it could have a double good effect: Preserving land for endangered songbird species and taking land out of the market that if otherwise developed in the conventional method could wind up costing taxpayers a whole lot more to support – higher appraisals, roads and schools.

Send your comments and news tips to
roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Mr. Brannon at sam_brannon@hotmail.com or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

By Sam Brannon
Special Report

This was a big week at the Hays County Commissioners Court meeting. There was lots of spending on the agenda. In a lame-duck session two days before Thanksgiving, that spells trouble.

For those of us with "less taxes and less spending" on our minds, Tuesday was a pretty rough day. And a long one, too, twelve hours gavel-to-gavel, ending at 9pm.


I and others spoke against the
$5,000,000 Nicholson Ranch contract that was signed last week. We asked that the County allow the deal to die quietly and forfeit the $100,000 earnest money contract, and pocket a $4.9 MM savings. I have continued to speak against Nicholson because it's a really bad use of taxpayer dollars.

Unfortunately, the deal may have closed even before the Thanksgiving holiday officially began. I don't like it for many reasons, including the price, the lack of necessity and the fact that it serves no real purpose for the People of Hays County. It's classified under conservation, but the real conservation value is suspect as far as I can tell. It allows the bulldozing of endangered species habitat in one area if you buy "credits" from land that's already being conserved by conservation landholders. Conceptually, I file that under "maybe kinda works," if you do it just right. In real life that "just right" rarely happens in the hands of government.

A few years ago, counties began implementing the habitat mitigation banking programs, similar to the "cap and trade" model. The 1,000-acre Nicholson Ranch purchase is Hays County's first step into the habitat purchase plan outlined in the Hays County Habitat Conservation Plan (HCHCP), which has yet to receive final approval from U.S. Fish and Wildlife. To put this in perspective, let's say that Hays County has 200,000 people. $5,000,000 is a $25 tax requirement for every man, woman and child in this county, plus interest on the bond. And that's just the first 1,000 acres.

The goal is 32,000 acres (50 square miles), or 7.4% of Hays County. They will be limited or no public access to these areas, so they are "parks" that you can't play in. All that for over $800 dollars in tax from every man, woman and child, or $3,200 for a family of four.

My biggest objection to the County-run habitat mitigation plan (and to the Nicholson Ranch deal) is that this is not essential County business. Roads, law enforcement and elections are County business. Not land purchases with taxpayer dollars. There are many other ways that local governments can participate in and guide the process, but using taxpayer dollars will substantially hurt most Hays County residents. According the the HCHCP, Hays County can expect "moderate adverse financial effects" by implementing the plan that is proposed.

I love the outdoors, appreciate a good hike, and am more than a little disappointed that I couldn't make my hike today at Purgatory with a very good guide - I love that place. There are obvious reasons to take conservation of habitat and water seriously, but we'd be well-served to be very conscious about it, rather than to jump behind anything labeled "green" or "sustainable." The price for not paying attention is too high.

The next few years promise to be difficult years financially for the County, and for the people who call Hays County home. There's enough fluff in the budget to meet all of our obligations, and still find room for some nice tax cuts for 2012. Most of the people I know want less taxes from their cities and school districts, too. Whether or not we get this tax relief is not up to President Obama, or even our County Commissioners. It will be up to us.

The
Jacob's Well project passed with a 4-1 vote. Jacob's Well is a treasure, and needs to be preserved, no doubt. But the fact that this item was discussed for 7-plus hours Tuesday should tell you there was some complexity and resistance to the deal, and I feel that resistance was warranted. In the end the momentum on the court won and the deal was approved, but there were some very concerning questions left unanswered. One attendee suggested to the commissioners that "you're stepping into water, and you don't know how deep it is."

The Harrison Ranch Park (City of Dripping Springs, sponsored by Pct. 4 Commissioner Karen Ford) passed 5-0, the only new project to get funding that day. The rest of the Parks Bond money has already begun to be negotiated.

There will be a public meeting on changes to the On-Site Sewage Facilities (OSSF) regulations on December 21. If you're a landowner with an interest in septic systems, you won't want to miss it.

The real bright light for me was that about 120 people attended the meeting, and it was SRO. Not bad for two days before Thanksgiving. That number included a lot of folks in support of their favored parks projects, naturally, but all in all, I was pleased with the participation from folks who want our County government to start saying "No" from time to time. I thank everyone who came out, regardless of their objective. The more involved we become in the process of government, the more likely we are to be satisfied with the results.

Toward involvement, anybody wanting to get together and do some serious budget analysis with me, I'm looking for some help. I need some folks that enjoy the detail aspects of it to help bucket up some numbers, and others with either interest or experience in County government operations and budgeting. I'd like to submit a citizens budget to the County, and generate some public conversation about it. Let me know if you can help.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank You Sam Brannon for this informative report. I’m not sure my old body and brain could have stood 12 hours of a debate mostly about how the County wishes to piss away out tax money.

This should be a wake-up call for those who vote for these feel-good park bond issues. It is always the same; our tax money goes to purchase land that gets removed from the tax rolls (causing us to makeup the difference) and we cannot even enjoy it. Three million plus for the WVWA and counting, but Jacob’s Well’s future is still in doubt.

The Nicholson Ranch deal is a waste of taxpayers money to save a couple of birds that will probably go extinct anyway. Of course we know that the birds are not what this is really about!

Justin Thyme said...

Sam,

Just wondered what your interest in the OSSF regulations is.

You have a septic system?

Own land in Hays County?

Want your neighbors to have safe and reliable septic systems?

You know, there is no quicker way to ruin your water and your land than a bad septic system.

Just wondering where you are coming from on this issue....

Anonymous said...

So, Sam, why don't you do it right and run for County Commissioner? Why diddle around the edges with a "citizen's budget"? Where were you in July when the budgeting process is really done?

Do you really understand the process of budget setting at this level? The Appraisal District gives the County the amount of value that the property in the County has, and then the County is supposed to examine their needs (as in real needs, not wants, or slush fund replenishment) and set the budget accordingly.

It is my long held personal opinion that the Comissioners and Judge go into the process with a budget in mind, wait for the Appraisal District to give them their number, and then simply set the tax rate to provide them with the money they need to meet their wish list budget.

Kudos for at least trying, but to effect real and lasting change, why not man-up and run for Commissioner?

Anonymous said...

Justin Thyme:

One speaker (a septic professional) spoke about the problems with owner-maintained aerobic septic systems. She did a great job.

The commissioners deferred the septic issue in part because of notice requirements. The commissioners also wanted to combine this with forthcoming hearings on related "subdivision regulation" issues.

Seems like moving towards these aerobic septic systems has caused nothing but more problems for the owners and the counties. Perhaps the commissioners will be willing to return to conventional septic systems to avoid the never ending problems with the aerobic systems.

Sam Brannon said...

JT... Just included the notice as part of my write up. Many don't see the standard County notices. OSSF is new to me, so I'm in a big learning curve on such things.

AnonymousII... Diddle around the edges? Thoreau would have disagreed... "Let all men make know what kind of government will earn his respect, and that will be one step toward having it." We have great influence when we choose to be involved.

Justin Thyme said...

Thanks for the response about your interest in septic system regulations.

I was just concerned you might be one of those folks who think we should all just do whatever we want no matter if it impacts our neighbors or not.

I am all for freedom and liberty, but there are a few things we need a little civic oversight on to encourage people to do the right thing.

Making sure we have reliable OSSF designs and systems that are properly maintained is one thing I would like to see our local government be involved in.

Myself, I have a nice, older design that has never given me one moment of trouble. No electricity needed and no moving parts. Just gravity.

I have a well full of clean water that appears to remain separate from anyone's septic system, including my own.

One more thing to be thankful for.

Anonymous said...

Justin Thyme, your old style conventional system actually pollutes more than you know, it just doesn't show up in your well if it was properly placed. That's the funny thing about a great many in the Hill Country who don't want anyone moving here on sewer systems, yet these same people have no clue what a septic system is or how it operates and what it takes to maintain one. A conventional style system is one that while great due to no "moving parts", just gravity, they do leach out into the aquifer through the semi-porous rocks that then filter through more rock into the various substrata that exist below; in other words, you're polluting someone's water, just not your own.