Are Commissioners willing to raise taxes if we cannot find enough to cut and the devaluation of property is 2 or 3%?
Editor's Note: What's the old saying: The chickens are coming home to roost. Here it means our county commissioners have been on a spending spree the last couple of years, and now find themselves in a heap of financial trouble. Not the least of the chickens is the growing debt from the sale of the '08 road bonds. Judge Sumter is showing real courage to lay it all on the table and ask for input from the citizens. Kudos to her for that. Evidently the advice and actions of her fellow commissioners, up to now, has not been very helpful. Sumter has scheduled a commissioners court workshop Tuesday, Jan. 26 to explore options moving forward. Remembering that there are 5 votes on the court, we see the workshop as a direct challenge to commissioners to wake up to the economic reality that surrounds us all. It will be an interesting dance, but they must address this challenge by reducing costs and debt if they are to avoid handing us another tax increase in next year's county budget.Send your constructive comments and news tips to online.editor@valleyspringcomm.net, to Judge Sumter at lizsumter@co.hays.tx.us, or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story
From Judge Liz Sumter
To Hays County Citizens
People all over Hays County are losing their jobs and homes. Some people have been able to keep their jobs and homes, but they’ve had to tighten their belts.Your county government should not be any different. In my view, here’s how a prudent person behaves. She thinks in terms of a family budget - what can I really afford among all the needs I have without increasing my already ballooning debt?
As your County Judge, it is my responsibility to lead the court through these uncertain economic times. To do that, I look at the county's needs, as a whole, prioritize them, and then decide what we can afford to do and what might have to wait. I look at national, state and local indicators such as unemployment, employment growth, foreclosure numbers, and sales tax revenues. I also consult with Appraisal Districts throughout the region to get an idea about where property values might go, and I take a good look at social services to see if the service demand is growing.
Here’s the reality for Hays County:
– Unemployment has risen from 3.8% in 2007 to 6.9% in the third quarter of 2009.
– Employment growth has declined from 6% in 2007 to .3% in the third quarter of 2009.
– Foreclosures are up from an average of 100 per month last year to an average of 143 per month over the past four months.
– Sales Tax Revenue has fallen from $9,758,657.29 in 2008 to $9,476,550.80 in 2009, and the decline has continued through the past five months.
– The food bank in Hays County has seen a 20% increase in people needing food in 2009, while corporate donations are down 81% and civic group donations are down 42%.
My conversations with several Appraisal District chief appraisers in the region, including our own, lead me to believe that the best we can hope for is a flat valuation of property this year but more likely a decrease in property values. That means entities that rely on property taxes to fund their services and capital projects will have less money for the same tax rate.
Here’s the challenge:
– Voters have approved roads totaling $226 million dollars ($60 million is borrowed debt).
– Voters approved park projects totaling $30 million ($20 million is borrowed debt).
– The Dacy Lane improvement totaling $8 million is on the drawing board ($8 million is borrowed debt).
– The Government Center, currently estimated at $73 million, is under consideration.
– Cost estimates are being developed for a Jail, as well as Precinct 2 and 3 Offices.
Everything on the list is necessary, but the list, taken in whole, is very expensive — particularly the road and Government Center expenditures. Accordingly, I have asked our team of experts involved in the road and Government Center projects to answer a number of questions, including:
– What are the operational costs of the new government building?
– How many new people would we need to support the building?
– Since the building is not within the budgeted tax rate can it be scaled down?
– Can we shell in some of the courtrooms and spaces?
– If we decide to eliminate a floor how easy would it be to add on in the future?
– If we need to slow down the borrowing on roads, what can be accomplished with what we have borrowed and spent so far?
In the next few weeks, I will be presenting a variety of options to the Commissioners on the Court. Each Commissioner will have to bring his/her best judgment to the table. The specific questions they will have to answer include:
– Should we wait to make a decision on borrowing until we get firm numbers from the Central Appraisal District in April/May? If we do, what does that do for the schedule of the government building?
– Should we stop borrowing on roads for awhile and shift funds to roads we can complete with the money we have on hand now?
– Apart from jail improvements that are tied to compliance issues, should we save our cash and see how much of a cushion that can provide for the next budget year?
– If we decide that building roads, parks, and government facilities is not what we cut, what services should we cut?
– Are Commissioners willing to raise taxes if we cannot find enough to cut and the devaluation of property is 2 or 3%?
My job, as County Judge, is to direct the traffic on the Court, so to speak. When the discussion about these critical issues starts, my job is to make certain that individual Commissioners have the information they need so they can make informed decisions. It is also my responsibility to keep the focus on Hays County as a whole.
I want to hear from you. I have scheduled a workshop for Commissioners on Tuesday, January 26th. The workshop will address these important issues. I hope you will find time to attend. Remember: My office is in the Courthouse, but you — the citizens — own the building.
9 comments:
Sumter finishes her letter with the comment "Remember: My office is in the Courthouse, but you — the citizens — own the building." If we own the building, then I say that since our "family" needs to cut back on expenses, we tone down on the size of our building plans -- e.g. the new county government building - or even put it on hold until our "family" budget gets back to the income growth needed to afford our building plans.
Let the county commissioners cut back on their work lifestyle rather than raise taxes. Their constituents, er, owners, have to do it, so why shouldn't they. County government seems to be running just fine without the new building. Families do it, corporations do it, so our local government must do it.
I suggest the commissioners tell us what they propose with the budget BEFORE the upcoming elections. They know what they would do now. I will probably vote for Ms. Sumter but some sham survey could very well be just a political campaign tool.
Full disclosure before the election would be a fresh sign of an honest politician.
I agree with "Left the Hate behind." I'll be voting for Sumter --- her's has been a no nonsense approach ---- and I'll also be on the lookout for political surveys that are nothing but push polls.
I received one from the Rose campaign the other night. It started out like a legitimate survey but it wasn't long before I realized that it was nothing but a cheap trick by Rose to slander his opponent, Andrew Backus.
No more Rose for me. He reeks of politics as usual. He's had his four terms. Adios.
Judge Sumter:
How about this -
1. Reality: The roads per the Judge's statement amounts to $60 million of borrowed money; the Parks portion of bond projects is another $20 million borrowed; the Government Center is $73 million (and by her admission is not even within the approved tax rate which the Court sets when they are given the Appraisal District's numbers each summer). With all of the above, it says that the Jail, Pct 2 and 3's offices are being calculated for how to spend on those.
2. Reality time. The Roads and parks were approved by voters (whether or not you agree with the vote's outcome). The last item to be removed from the list should be these since the majority of the COUNTY'S voting population (or at least those who participated) decided these outcomes. The new Government Center, which was begun under the previous administration, was NOT approved by the voters (except by proxy, if you could consider the Court's decision to build it could be argued that the "voters" did decide to build it by simply electing them - the Commissioners and Judge - to office, ala "approved by proxy").
So, if the Court stopped the building of the new Government Center, the proposed construction of Pct 2 and 3 offices, and the Jail (only if compliance could be achieved any other way than constructing a new one), we should have saved between $73 million to in excess of $100 million dollars. They could still reduce, or cease for now, as the Judge suggests, the amount being borrowed on roads AND parks until the economy improves. Then take the monies borrowed (and the other source of the money for both - assuming that this was budgeted from incoming tax revenue) and distribute wisely onto projects that were prioritized the highest and for which the public would get the most "bang for our buck"; or cease borrowing altogether for now, and minimize the amount of tax dollars spent on either roads or parks except for the ones that show the greatest need (whether from a maintenance standpoint or from a pressing need for acquisition). I think that for once this becomes much more than either a right or left issue, but rather one that is "prudent" (again to quote the Judge).
So, Judge Sumter, if you read this blog, which I have to assume you do, there are my thoughts since I most likely won't be able to attend the workshop on the 26th.
Best regards,
Jon Thompson
Resident, Citizen, and Voter
Pct 4, Hays County, Texas
I appreciate Judge Sumter’s efforts and will attend the workshop. And while the questions she asks are some of the ones we need to answer, I believe we need agreement on what’s driving the bigger picture.
The statistics cited should not be a surprise to anyone. What I fear is that most politicians and citizens have their collective heads in the sand as to the world’s predicament. Not problem, p r e d i c a m e n t. Here is a link to a speech by Jeff Rubin, the former Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets, speaking at The Business of Climate Change conference. Mr. Rubin predicts $225 per barrel oil by 2012 and with it the end of globalization, a movement towards local sourcing and a need for massive scaling up of energy efficiency.. http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/01/15/jeff-rubin-at-the-business-of-climate-change/
It is 45 minutes and worth your undivided attention. Please spread the word.
I would say that most of the commissioner pushed for the road bonds and park bonds with their heads up their a$$es.
We don't need more roadways and we don't need more parks.
We need to revamp the roads and parks we already have. It would be much cheaper to do that.
The only commissioner worth anything is Judge Sumter. The rest don't really care about doing what is right for the people and community.
Those bonds are too costly to taxpayers. Many people said that since 3 years ago.
Time to get rid of greedy Barton and Conley, fence-sitting Ingalsbe and afraid to make waves Ford.
Get rid of power hungry corrupt Rose. He's a political worm who needs to go.
Too bad no one is running against deadwood Wentworth. He really needs to retire and leave us alone.
That's how I see it. Get rid of the garbage!
It would have been much more useful for Sumter to schedule a public workshop on a weekend or during the evening so more citizens could attend. Working people of this County also need a say in how the County is run. Sounds like nothing more that political grandstanding by the Judge.
I've been to evening county workshops. Not many more folks attend, those with real interest, than at regular Tuesday meetings. We live in the high-tech age. Folks can easily email their opinions. Saves on gas, for one thing. I don't see this as grandstanding either. Sumter is taking the lead. That's her job. Every one of those members of the commissioners court has had a hand in the spending spree as pointed out in the editor's note. I strongly agree. They should help get us out of the mess by suggesting cuts in their own road and capital budgets just like hard hit residents are having to do with their own budgets. I say cut back or delay sale of road bonds (and take a real hard look at true needs), delay construction of the government center, issue a cut in pay & benefits for all county employees. Not sure about the jail, but sounds important to do something there, but quit pampering the sheriff's dept. Commissioners and judge should voluntarily reduce their pay. Forget COLAs. Implement strict energy conservation measures county wide. Implement moratorium on acquiring new private road maintenance. Go to a 4-day work week. Ad infinitum, and easy. Just takes a little backbone. Do it and don't whine. A lot of businesses are hurting and cutting back drastically. County should do the same. If commissioners and judge can't agree and turn this into a political soap opera, they are all losers and should get run out of town. Stop the tax increases!
Somebody should tell Commissioner Conley to give up on his antics in trying to woo Woodcreek North and Wimberley Springs residents into inviting the county in to take over maintenance of their private roads. The cost to the county would be astronomical. Conley's game is damned if you do, damned if you don't, and we all pay for it.
And why are they are wanting to build a new office in Kyle to move the County Environmental and Subdivision Dept from San Marcos up to Kyle. That sounds like a wise use of county funds! Now any develpers or someone applying for a septic permit has to run back and forth from San Marcos to Kyle to get their business done.
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