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Rose’s bill authorizes the new (Driftwood) developer district to impose a sales tax, an ad valorem tax, an excise tax and a hotel occupancy tax, and the developer is the only voter qualified to cast a vote on the November 3rd ballot issueSend your comments and news tips to online.editor@valleyspringcomm.net, to codell@austin.rr.com, or click on the "comments" button below the story
Editor's Note: It looks like what we have here is a classic case of 'do what I say, not what I do.' We hope that in Mr. Rose's upcoming campaign for re-election for a fifth term (any term limiters out there?) many alert voters will ask him what exactly he stands for in groundwater management/conservation/development controls for counties, and taxation – and pin him down for some straight 'n honest answers. Politicians in Hays County are used to getting a free pass on their good ol' boy spin and pulling the wool over the eyes of uninformed voters. We all should do our utmost to ensure that political duplicity is no longer the rule but rather the rare exception. We appreciate Mr. O'Dell's tenacious reporting and for continuing to hold our elected officials' feet to the fire.
By Charles O'Dell
RoundUp Contributor
State Representative Patrick Rose has a perverted, if not inconsistent manner of matching his words with his deeds.When asked to introduce legislation that would give the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District the Water Code Chapter 36 authority it needed just to ask voters for a small tax so the financially hamstrung District could go about it’s mission of protecting their water wells in western Hays County, Rose said, “I do not believe that during these difficult economic times homeowners should be asked to pay more taxes on their home and property.”
Then in a fit of amnesia Rose authored HB 4725, creating the Caldwell County Municipal Utility District No. 1 with authority to impose a tax, issue bonds and granting it power of eminent domain. Remember, the Trinity Groundwater Conservation District was just asking Rose for authority to ask the voters for a small tax, not to impose any tax.
Rose wouldn’t introduce legislation giving our Groundwater Conservation District authority to protect our wells, but he would author H.B. 2441 and HJR 83, both amending Section 49.4645 (a), of the same Water Code, and authorizing certain conservation and reclamation districts in Hays County to issue bonds supported by ad valorem taxes to fund the development and maintenance of recreational facilities.
And as if to thump the noses of well owners, Rose announced that he had secured a one-million dollar appropriation for the Rivers Systems Institute at Texas State University to conduct a San Marcos River Observing System project. "I am pleased to partner with Texas State in support of research that will further the environmental quality and economic security of our region," said Mr. Rose.
Rivers are his thing, but what
about protecting our groundwater?
about protecting our groundwater?
Apparently Rose doesn’t support those in Hays County who depend on their wells for environmental quality, economic security and for their drinking water. No one at the Institute was able to describe just what the research project was, but they had a million tax dollars to spend, thanks to Rose.Rose wasn’t through with his public generosity of using other folks’ money for his friends in high places. He introduced HB 714, a bill that authorized the Texas State University System board of regents to issue $52 million in revenue bonds that could be paid off with student tuition charges. What one hand giveth, the other hand taketh away.
Ok, so no one can claim that Rose doesn’t take care of his friends or know where his bread is buttered. His HB 3940 was written to provide assistance for certain employees of the legislative branch in repaying their student loans. All students are equal according to Rose, except that some students are more equal than others.
Driftwood – saving the best for last
But Rose saved his best for last. When his hometown friends and a huge campaign contributor came calling for a favor, Rose delivered with HB 4825 in the final hours of the 2009 Legislative session. That bill created the Driftwood Economic Development Municipal Management District, a special developer district that is designed to convert the Salt Lick Restaurant and 500 adjoining acres into a haven for those who can afford it.
Rose’s bill authorizes the new developer district to impose a sales tax, an ad valorem tax, an excise tax and a hotel occupancy tax, and the developer is the only voter qualified to cast a vote on the November 3rd ballot issue.
Here is where the Rose saga takes another perverted turn. Several months before, the Hays County Emergency Services District No. 6 board of commissioners had already decided to ask voters for approval of a one percent sales tax in its 281 square mile District, excluding the City of Dripping Springs. These additional funds would be used for additional fire fighters and equipment to serve everyone in ESD #6, including those living in Dripping Springs and in the new developer district.
More recently, the Driftwood EDMMD developer also decided to seek voter approval for a sales tax (only his vote was needed). State law limits the combined local sales tax to no more than 2%, and the new developer district sales tax combined with the 1% sales tax called for on the ESD ballot item would exceed 2%, voiding both tax election results if voters approved the ESD tax.
So the Emergency Services District board voted to cancel its 2009 election and make way for the developer. If the ESD holds its sales tax election next year, the developer district will be excluded along with the City of Dripping Springs which already has a sales tax.
Thanks to Rep. Patrick Rose, developers get their way in Hays County, even if at the expense of our fire safety planners and our taxpayers. So early voters living in ESD #6 will have to vote again next year at the earliest to approve increased fire and emergency protection. Of course those visiting the new developer district will continue to receive fire protection paid for by those ESD #6 taxpayers who also have fire insurance policies.
Oh, let's not forget. Rose said he fought to get our insurance costs lowered.
What to believe – what Rep. Rose says or what he does? “I do not believe that during these difficult economic times homeowners should be asked to pay more taxes on their home and property.”
24 comments:
Patrick Rose is perhaps the biggest sell-out ever to occupy a seat in the Texas House. Mr. Rose has had close to eight years (that's right --- nearly eight years)to do something for the folks in his district, but he's done nothing.
It is time to send Mr. Rose packing. How many out there are willing to vote against him? I know I am. I would vote for the devil before I'd ever vote for Rose, and I'm a Democrat.
So are you other Democrats ready to join with me to say goodbye to Mr. Rose?
You keep referring to Rose doing favors for his buddies and campaign donors but you don't mention who these people are. Please elaborate.
We could start with the owner of the Salt Lick ---- that one should be fairly obvious. Do I need to refer you to the folks connected with the MUD that is to be the site for US Foods? And let's see --- I think there is a major home builder out of Houston --- a fellow named Perry. Should I continue?
Maybe you can get a list for us. Rose has told a bunch of folks that he will take care of the groundwater district legislation problem as soon as he gets the "players to the table."
There's just one problem, when asked to reveal who the "players" are, the little prince (AKA Rose) says that he can't reveal that information. Now I don't know about you, but the thought that some "yet to be named pal of Patrick" is more important than the concerns of his constituients is a bit more than I can stand.
Sign me up for Let's Boot Him Out of Office Bandwagon.
Two years ago Pct. 4 Commissioner KAREN FORD invited numerous people to a meeting at "Thurman's Mansion", which is a plush event center owned by the Salt Lick's Scott Roberts (it's next door to his restaurant).
Ms. Ford, with her husband next to her, introduced the evening by telling the group that Roberts intended to build an entire community on 500 acres; that this would be a real asset to the area, and asked that we listen to Roberts and his 2 developer partners, who later told the group they were replicating what had "already successfully been done in California".
I do remember Roberts saying he was going to name the outdoor amphitheater "Shakespeare and Ribs".
There were allot of questions asked: "What about the increased traffic, would the current roads suffice? ; Where would the water come from, would there be enough ?; What was Driftwood going to look like with an 1,000% increase in population?; who was going to build the homes?; who was their "target market"?
There were, and still are, few answers to these questions. Someone mentioned to us that Ms. Ford was an old friend of Mr. Roberts, and another guest pointed out to us that Commissioner Ford's husband was a homebuilder.
Many in this area voted for Patrick Rose and Commissioner Karen Ford; they promised to progressively represent us- for ALL of the people- not just for a chosen few.
Patrick Rose sided with the development community in opposing the Hays Trinity Conservation group; driving a stake into the heart of Mr. Hollon and Mr. Backus and their group. Rose and Ford have made their choices; and now it's up to us- do we like this- or not?
It is very risky for a politician to stray from his/her original base of support. It is a cardinal sin in politics to do so. In this next election, I hope that party labels are forgotten. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians- it doesn't matter.
Vote for real integrity, honesty, and transparency. Vote strictly for the candidate; strictly for the issues important to us. Just give us some candidates to vote for who don't worship the almighty dollar It's high time to throw some folks out; most incumbants around here need to move on. We need a change in San Marcos and Austin.
Number 2, where do you think that quarter million dollars in campaign money to Rose (and growing) is coming from? His political opponents? Go the state ethics commission web site for Rose's campaign reports. There you will find all his buddies. The biggest consistent contributors are the ones that get the personal legislated favors. You can bank on it.
Rose is another one of those birds of a feather, flying off and forgetting a great number of those who put him in office. Anyone voting for his re-election is doing nothing more than helping him solidify his own little dynasty and enriching his developer buddies and political cronies.
It's easy to find names of people who have given to Rose but you still aren't connecting the dots. I want a name and what favor Rose has done for them. The Roberts connection is clear but is that it? And what does Rose have to do with US Foods? Facts and details please.
Anonymous #2
What a bunch of weenies. You guys would throw a complete hissy if Roberts were to sell his 500 acres to a out of town developer who would come in and decimate the beauty of the property just for profit. Roberts is proposing to do something classy, which he doesn't have to do. He is not affecting anyone's property but his with the development. He will be getting water from the LCRA, not wells, and in his plans says that he will be actually PUTTING water back into the aquifer. (Now there's a new twist - why don't some of the blithering liberal idiots think of something like that?)
So, net effect? None, more property tax for the County, eco-tourism that doesn't contribute to the school overcrowding. It will mean more traffic on the roads - but we did just pass a road bond a year ago right? Of course, if we hadn't it would have given Peter Stern something else to bellyache about on 1826 when the new traffic started showing up.
Roberts will be contributing his fair share to the financing of the ESD, which in another post some bright light happened to imply that he wasn't. (HINT: Check your tax statement, everybody in ESD # 6 contributes - businesses, citizens, everybody). All the ESD sales tax would do is to pick up the money from the people who shop in the area that don't contribute ANYTHING in the way of taxes in any other way. There is no animosity between Roberts and the District, just those who are agitators who try to conjure it up. GROW UP you panty-wastes!
Pay your taxes, support the ESD when they have fund raisers, and encourage your friends to come and shop either in Drippin', or eat at the Salt Lick, or when the ESD gets their sales tax passed next year, anywhere in the area, and their dollars will go towards supporting our firefighters. (btw - did you people happen to think that when people support the businesses such as the Salt Lick and businesses in Drippin' that the business that these folks get keeps them in business and then the businesses pay their taxes to the ESD every fall, which without business they wouldn't be contributing.
The funniest thing about this whole site is to watch the professional hand-wringers like Charles do nothing but cry and whine over nothing. Who wants to bet that Charles will be like normal and will move on to another cause within a week? HA! He is the biggest panty-waste of all.
Some of you mullet head conservatives sure know how lay on the bs pretty thick. Underneath all your claptrap it's pretty clear this is just another piece of legislation by Rose exclusively for developers, and a buddy. He's no different than some of you republicans. Money talks and nothing else matters. Count the number of MUD bills Rose has sponsored in the last 8 years. By the time he's done, all of western Hays County will be blanketed with these high dollar developments and the high taxes and maintenance they bring with them. Now count the number of bills he's ferried thru the legislature (actually signed into law) that support groundwater management and conservation, rainwater collection, preservation of our natural resources and open spaces, or help counties with more growth management tools. Pretty much zilch. His record speaks louder than his words. I believe that's the central theme of O'Dell's story. Rose has never delivered on his populist agenda like going after insurers and reducing premiums. He has delivered only for the developers and special interests. Vote him out, I say, and get someone in who will represent the interests of us working stiffs and small business owners – so long as it ain't a republican.
Let's make this simple. Let's just get the movement started. Adios, Patrick.
I would actually like to take the editor and Charles to task for daring to suggest that Charles and others "hold (-ing) our elected officials' feet to the fire". Oh that Charles and the others in the media would do the same for those in Washington. How about a straight answer out of Congress regarding the health care bill? Are they going to exempt themselves from the requirements of this bill or not? How about a straight answer on whether or not this bill will further increase the debt? How about whether or not the Fed will continue to devalue the dollar by printing more money and dumping it into circulation?
Since Charles was one of the select to be invited to the Inaugaration perhaps he can invite some answers from our Beloved Leader. I still quite honestly am not satisfied with Charles weak attempts to let Obama supporters off the hook by not reporting on this blog and making it very public the water waster on 1826 that was a major financial contributor to the Obama campaign. Charles replied on this blog that he had investigated it, and had alerted the proper authorities. Grand idea Charles. Except with your pet causes that are used to eviscerate those with whom you have a personal axe to grind you use this media and others to make salacious charges that are either baseless, or your misinterpretation of what are clear facts. Slander and libel are the name of Charles' game. Misdirect the focus from the real issues, bring to light that which is open and clear but for which there is nothing illegal. Disagreement perhaps, but illegal no. This blog continues to be an enabler for Charles' rants on all things legal and good for the County.
What a waste.
The article suggests that ALL Chapter 36 would do is allow the GCD to ask the residents for an ad valorem tax. However, Chapter 36 does far more than that AND the GCD was asking for Chapter 36 PLUS powers including transfer fees on your property, elimination of residential wells, the ability to redefine their own district boundaries, and many others.
The GCD hired a lobbyist at the expense of the district. There are many people in this district who are willing and did contact their legislators in adamant opposition to this bill. Let's also not forget the GCD's attempts to keep their draft of a bill off the radar of the residents out here for an extended period of time.
There was a GCD bill that was proposed, that cost the GCD no loss of power, and which would have brought them additional revenues. However, Backus threw a fit when he wasn't going to have the unmitigated power to enter residents property, meter their wells, eliminate their residential wells, etc. even though the GCD was initially created with the promises that the GCD wasn't going to try to take away, tax, or meter residential wells.
The county has been just as bad at demonizing residential wells and in fact that's what was used to create "new subdivision rules" which will have the sole effect of increasing high density population and water usage per person (those central water systems that are now mandated are investor owned utilities). The investor owned utilities care only about selling as much water as possible. The county also effectively mandates HOAs. The entity controlling the HOA is the same entity that will be owning the IOU. Duh.
Oh yeah, and let's not forget that the GCD always relied upon examples of one user filling a pond as the reason they needed all these powers. That was a bogus example. They didn't need all those powers, they already had sufficient authority to address the examples given as evidenced by the three hearings/citations on individuals allegedly filling ponds with groundwater AFTER the end of the legislative session. If true and if the use is deemed wasteful, then the GCD will be able to prohibit the conduct of those individuals - without chapter 36 or chapter 36 PLUS powers.
If you look at the draft legislation that the GCD previously circulated (late in the game) you'll see that the prime goal was to force EVERYONE onto permits under the control of Backus and buddies. It wouldn't be long before every real estate contract made approval of a permit a condition of sale (Backus wanted to revoke all exempt wells upon transfer of the property). They would have effectively controlled quite a bit of real estate in Hays County. In addition, the permits would require payment of production fees to HTGCD. Not surprisingly, the HTGCD Board was also seeking to be able to get salaries and retirement benefits out of those production fees. Save the groundwater my butt. This was about creating a regime for the benefit of a couple of HTGCD Board members and whoever THEIR developer buddies were going to be at the expense of all the other property owners in the district.
Many here are not going to like this, but Patrick Rose will likely be replaced by… are you ready for this… a Republican. In case you haven’t noticed, there is a paradigm shift going on right now since we have seen what the unbridled Democrats are about in the White House and US Congress. I predict a Republican landslide in both 2010 and 2012. Like it or not, this will come to pass. So all you liberals just keep slamming your guy and we Republicans will be forever grateful.
"Apparently Rose doesn’t support those in Hays County who depend on their wells for environmental quality, economic security and for their drinking water."
Apparently you didn't see the draft legislation that HTGCD Board members were trying to discreetly shove down the throat of all the residents out here.
Among other things, the bill would have prohibited any exempt wells that were not already in the ground by June 1, 2009. Of course, you wouldn't have known and the bill would not have been effective until September 1, 2009. So the point was to screw all the property owners in the district.
Second, if you depend on a well for economic security, Backus and his cohorts were trying to make your economic security their province. They tried to do this by outlawing exempt wells when you sell/transfer your property. To add insult to injury they demanded a "transfer fee" to fund their despicable operations. Why call it a "transfer fee" when you couldn't transfer what you had - a residential well.
Any well not in the ground by June 1, 2009 would have to seek a permit from Backus & Co. regardless of whether the well was residential or not. Also, purchasers of property that already had a residential well would now have to apply for a permit and grovel to Backus & Co. for a residential well. They would also have to pay production fees, etc. to GCD. If you think this is preserving economic security, then let's be a little more open about whose economic security. Certainly this approach was not preserving economic security for the property owner nor his successors.
Among other things, even if the buyer decided to purchase the property, he/she would have to reapply for a permit every few years and pay production fees in the meantime to HTGCD. Backus & Co wanted the power to deny those permits based upon whatever rules they then had in effect. Wake up and smell the coffee. It would only be a matter of time before your permitted water allocation would be traded by HTGCD to a developer under theories of "better for the community" and greater production fee income to HTGCD.
We don't need another corrupted/corruptable beauracracy serving the whims of a few under the pretext of "protecting" residents and property owners. I'd much rather preserve the right to protect my own property that be forced to allow a nonowner that is focused on expanding their own powerbase, a government salary, and retirement off of my property to usurp my property rights.
As for "do as I say, not as I do", Backus and all those in his subdivision have a big fat LCRA water line running in front of their subdivision. You won't see any rush for them to spend money to "preserve" groundwater - except maybe for themselves.
“You keep referring to Rose doing favors for his buddies and campaign donors but you don't mention who these people are. Please elaborate.”
Here’s how you figure out who Rep. Patrick Rose’s buddies are.
Step 1: Go to the Texas Ethics Commission web site and view and/or download Rose’s campaign financial reports (http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/php/filer.php?acct=00051280spac)
Step 2: Make a list of all his large contributors.
Step 3: Categorize the large contributors by their business affiliations. (developer, home builder, law firm, engineer, realtor, etc.) These are the folks who are either interested in good government or who hope to benefit directly from Rose’s legislation.
Step 4: Go to the Texas Legislature On Line, click on house members, Rose and Bills Authored, Bills Sponsored, Bills Coauthored, Bills Cosponsored, Amendments Authored. Do this for every legislative session since Rose was elected.
Step 5: Review each Rose bill to see its purpose and then check to see if it passed. Most of Rose’s bills are for show and don’t pass, or are just fluff, such as Rose’s Lance Armstrong resolutions. Many of his bad bills get passed.
Step 6: Connect the dots between the Rose campaign contributors and the bills Rose got passed, some who purposefully failed to pass and some that Rose refused to introduce. (This requires paying attention to matters in Rose’s District 45, e.g., reading what Rose says in public and comparing that with his legislation record.)
Step 7: File open records requests with the County, appraisal district, various municipalities, various state agencies, e.g., TWDB, TCEQ, AG, Governors Office, etc., and get behind the spin articles in the newspapers to decipher factual information. Open Record requests can get expensive.
Step 8: Attend official meetings and study minutes of those meetings to see what public officials are really doing.
Step 9: Speak with government insiders and other citizens who are really interested in good governance and are paying attention. Engage in hours of online research.
Step 10: Put it all together, carefully study your findings and share the information with the public. Then repeat the relevant steps for other public officials who are behaving badly such as Bill Burnett, Will Conley, Jeff Barton, etc..
If you have been reading the Roundup regularly then you already know who many of Rose’s buddies are and details of bad behavior of other public officials.
How long will it be before the Driftwood Economic MMD tries to expand its boundaries to include other portions of Driftwood?
The ESD folks should have stuck with their plan. So what if both taxes would be invalidate - it would have required Roberts to have to come to the table regarding those taxes. As it stands now, unless Roberts Regime is excluded from ESD #6, Roberts will get coverage without having to pay for it and have the ability to divert tax dollars that would have otherwise had to go to ESD #6 into his own pockets and those of affiliates.
You'll note that the HB 4725 that created Roberts Regime had a number of other interesting features. Initially, Dripping Springs wanted control by maintaining a board set on the MMD. Now why should the city of Dripping Springs have any say about an MMD? That did change but control by the developers of the MMD will undoubtedly last for decades. A district is a political subdivision of the state which is subject to various "transparency in government" requirements such as open records, open elections, etc. You should note that HB 4725 specifically exempted Robert's Regime from having to comply with any competitive bidding requirements.
The result is going to be that the people that live in that district will be "sub-citizens" and the people outside of that district will be forced to pay for governmental services to that district because of the way the money is being diverted.
Reference to the Driftwood Economic Municipal Management District should have cited HB 4825 instead.
It's amazing how petty some of you people are with your cutting remarks and name dropping of other people who aren't here to defend themselves --- not that they really have to.
Why not just stick to the topic at hand?
When you bitch about specific people you lose me and I'm sure others as well.
Stop complaining and do something about an issue instead of pointing fingers and angry remarks towards others.
O'Dell's complaint seems to be that because there is legislation that allows one district to impose a tax those of us who don't live in a district should be willing to accept a tax. What kind of logic is that?
The only folks that can really address Roberts' Regime are the impacted landowners - which is only Roberts. What standing does anyone else really have to oppose such legislation until such a time as they might own property in there?
However, for those of us living in the HTGCD jurisdiction, the fact that Roberts' will have a tax approved for his property for his benefits is hardly justification for HTGCD residents to accept a tax on their properties.
Let's also be clear - whether you like Rose or not, he did file a bill to put more money into the hands of the HTGCD. The HTGCD Board members threw a hissy fit because their was significant opposition to allowing them to run HTGCD as their personal regime. Backus refused to support the bill that was filed even though it would give more money to HTGCD. Backus was seeking the power to operate an authoritarian regime. Spending $12,000 of HTGCD resident's monies on lobbyists and demonizing all residential well owners to promote his personal empire wasn't enough to overcome the overwhelming opposition from people that weren't paid to go raise their concerns with their legislators.
HTGCD is now trying a marketing campaign which includes an updated webpage, new logo, and social network interfaces (Twitter). Such things are nice but the lipstick doesn't hide the pig.
Alright, so who are you going to get to run against Rose?
What a bunch of hooey, you can always count on Central Texas’ answer to Rev. Al Sharpton, Charles O’Dell to show up for this kind of populist dust up.
Funny thing about human nature, now that we have had rains, Onion Creek has water and Jacob’s Well is flowing (over 10cfs.), The HTGCD has lost public support. I suspect there won’t be any Chapter 36 power coming their way in the near term. Mr. O’Dell should put has drum away to beat at some later time.
I think Mr. Roberts outsmarted everyone with his development plan. Driftwood is a rather nebulous name and he will be able to do as he pleases with it. If the locals wanted to do something with it they should have spent the money and time to incorporate.
My only concern is about the highway situation. Even now, the entrance to the Salt Lick is precarious with those coming from the east and passing it up then making U turns without a thought in their heads. I have had a couple of close calls there. They are going to have to widen 1826 to 3 or 4 lanes along that stretch, maybe even 150. I would favor a traffic light at the intersection of 1826 and 150.
Remember children of O'Dell's fantasy land - MMDs, MUDs, WCIDs, etc., CANNOT expand their boundaries unless: 1) someone OUTSIDE of their service area REQUESTS FREELY service from said MMD, MUD, WCID, etc.; 2) a vote is had to ANNEX said adjacent tract of land INTO the MUD, MMD, WCID, etc., by a VOTE OF THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE AREA PROPOSED FOR ANNEXATION INTO THE DISTRICT. If they as a majority vote "no", then they cannot be annexed. If they as a majority vote "yes" they can be annexed into the District, and the District must provide them with the services that they provide (wastewater, water, etc.) for which they will applicably taxed as are all users who benefit from the service provided by the District. Grow up children and realize that everything that Charles says is b.s. The only truth that he says is "hello".
Some of you really are not clear that Patrick Rose is NOT a Democrat.
Oh, he may run under that party, but his voting record during the past 8 years shows quite clearly that he is GOP oriented.
So, the plan is to replace Rose with another Republican? Great. Go ahead.
There is no love loss with Rose. Another GOP Representative could NOT be worse for this county than Rose has been.
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