Read Mitch's column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram concerning Fort Worth Tax abatements.
We also agree with Betsy - we'd like to know what's in the water too. Better yet, WHAT water?
Contrast those deals with the small ball that the city was playing last week. The planning department proposed tax breaks for three projects, including one pledging to bring just 60 jobs to the area -- and to fast-growing Alliance at that.
Frac Tech Services, proposing the biggest expansion, is already in Fort Worth. Do you think a fracking company would leave the fracking capital of the world over a tax break?
Mayor Betsy Price said it was all good, too: "I've talked to friends around the state who want to know what the heck you put in the water in Fort Worth that everybody's coming to Fort Worth."
Several company executives were at the pre-council meeting, yet they weren't called upon. Is it unreasonable to ask whether the tax breaks are necessary to pull off the deal?
Council members don't have to grill anybody or cause embarrassment. But they should at least feign some due diligence.
Maybe they'll be more engaged when the abatements come up for a vote next month. Last week's session was so brief and perfunctory that I longed for the days of Clyde Picht and the late Chuck Silcox. Those former members opposed almost every tax break on the principle that everyone should pay a fair share.
Even Wendy Davis, a champion of economic development, could be counted on to ask about "the gap." She's a state senator now, but when she served on the council, she pored over spreadsheets and demanded to know why a taxpayer contribution was crucial to closing a deal.
"If Oprah Winfrey were moving to Texas, would we offer her an abatement to move to Fort Worth?" Picht said.
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