Going to the Big Show

Not only is the Tarrant Regional Water District going to the 5th Circuit appeals court in New Orleans, they are also going to the Texas Supreme Court!

Both courts have asked for the case to be expedited.  Seems there are some that still believe in actually holding elections instead of letting current board members "appoint" current board members.

Is the Fort Worth Way about to be put in the hot seat for all the world to see?

We can only hope.

Brought to you courtesy of Texans for Government Transparency.

Voters still have no say...

Is what the Fort Worth Star-Telegram could have called their article, "Voters had no say as DFW cities took on debt". 

Read what your "leaders" say about YOU.  Does it sound like they called you stupid?  Or they just know you're not paying attention?  What's it going to take before you do?  They aren't going to stop on their own.

While we commend the "news" paper on writing a "news" story, we noticed one tiny, billion dollar item was missing from the list.  The Trinity River Vision, which is completely taxpayer funded, was not listed as another one of these projects where voters have no say. 

If you are a citizen and taxpayer of the metroplex, it is YOUR duty to send this to every citizen and taxpayer in the metroplex you know.  Your kids are counting on YOU.  Then, you should read their article , "Congressional mailing privilege favors incumbents at taxpayer expense".  Duh.  They use your money to tell YOU to vote for them, to keep them in office, so they can keep spending your money.  WHO didn't know that? WHY do YOU continue to do it?  Tell us, inquiring minds want to know.

If we haven't convinced you yet, maybe some of what they said will...

In fact, none of them got to vote at all.

However, taxpayers are on the hook should funding fall short.

$52.7 million -- wasn't presented to voters.

A Haltom City official cautioned that greater disclosure would confuse people and make them more inclined to oppose something because "it's just a bunch of big numbers."

And they aren't foolproof.

One critic testified before the Legislature that such financing can result in "vampire indebtedness" -- debt that never dies.

"I think we're smart enough to know when we're in their wallets," Combs said.

And the moral to the story?  Do something.

Keller voters forced an election in 2006 and crushed the proposal while also voting out three council members who had supported it.

Please. Do something!

In Tarrant, 18 cities, including Fort Worth, borrowed at least 40 percent of their tax-supported debt from 2005 to 2011 without voter approval, according to an analysis of Texas Bond Review Board data.

Fort Worth City Treasurer James Mauldin said certificates are used in many cases to avoid the time it would take to bring a bond to voters. Such measures also save on election costs, officials said. "Usually, it's we need it before we can put another [bond] program out on the streets," he said.

"It seems some local governments are making every effort to [not put] things before voters," Venable said. But with so much focus on the national debt, she said, "few people realize that local debt is growing exponentially as well."

But official statements about the debt, on file with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, show that in recent years the borrowing funded projects such as new libraries that some see as amenities or computers and software that may be outdated before the debt is scheduled to be paid off.

North Richland Hills' 2010 official statement for a $23.7 million certificate fails to mention that uses for the money included the recreation center that opened Saturday. Yet the city says that's where they got $18.8 million for the complex.

A spokeswoman said that the information was omitted in error, that it wasn't a legal problem, and that voters were informed through a council resolution and legal notices.

Or cities may say that revenue from special tax districts or sales taxes will pay off new debt, but they don't make clear that if that revenue falls short, taxpayers may bear the burden. That's because to obtain more favorable terms, cities usually back the certificates with property taxes.

Keller serves as a cautionary tale. The city borrowed $33 million using certificates to finance a town hall and other projects, with revenue from a special tax district to pay for it. But revenue couldn't keep up, and the city, despite refinancing the debt, had to use other funds to make payments.

Taxpayers could turn to the Texas Bond Review Board for information on borrowing, but it may be unreliable. In spot-checks, the Star-Telegram found errors in the board's information. For instance, Richland Hills' per capita debt was skewed by a reported population of 338 -- the figure should have been 23 times that: 7,801 residents. The board reported the assessed property values of Weatherford at $329 million, a number off by more than $1.4 billion. Arlington's tax-supported debt was listed incorrectly as $432 million. The city says it owes $659 million.

In Fort Worth, where debt and interest top $1 billion, Mayor Betsy Price said she believes that elected officials' job is to provide full disclosure. Price said the city communicates through town hall meetings, through social media sites such as Facebook and at council meetings.

"But it's also the citizens' responsibility to read the details," she said. "Voters need to study and get engaged on those issues and ask their elected officials tough questions."

Cities aren't required to tell voters that they can block the certificates. Voters can force an election if 5 percent of them sign a petition and submit it before the certificates are approved.

One of the few instances of that took place in Keller, where voters had rejected a bond issue for a library in 1999. Nevertheless, the City Council approved plans in 2005 to borrow about $8.5 million for a library without an election.

One month before the Fort Worth tornado -

In 2000, Councilman Clyde Picht wrote a letter to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  At the time he was the only one in town advocating for emergency sirens.  The mayor, city council and Fort Worth Star-Telegram Editorial Board all were against spending money on sirens that protect people.

What was he basing his position on?  History. It tends to repeat itself. 

A month after Clyde wrote the letter, the tornado hit.  Lives were lost, just like he said. 

Currently, this mayor, council and paper disagree with what Clyde says about the Trinity River Vision.  What's the next Editorial Board going to say? 

Clyde's comment after rereading the commentary he wrote in 2000 - 

It’s too bad we had to wait for the disaster we knew was coming before we made a decision to upgrade our warning system.

Sounds familiar.  The following will too, read about Fort Worth, twelve years ago, before the tornado.

Two million for warning sirens?  A bargain at twice the price!
 
            When German bombers attacked London during the Second World War they lacked the precision guidance of today's weapons. On the other hand, the British radar showed only the general direction the bombers traveled so throughout the city air raid sirens wailed to warn the people of impending attack.

                Now, sixty years later, the National Weather Service has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in high tech equipment that can tell with a degree of precision the path a tornado will follow. The detection of severe weather is in the 21st century but the Fort Worth warning sirens are more suitable for the Battle of Britain. Our sirens will blare throughout our 250 square mile city, if they blare at all. Because of their age replacement parts are not readily available. Ten to fifteen percent of the system fails when tested, and on occasion, the whole system has been known to fail. With the rapid growth of our city some areas on the developing fringe are totally without warning sirens.

                Some things are fact. We live at the Southwest end of what weather experts call "Tornado Ally." Tornadoes have caused massive destruction and loss of life to the West, South, and East of Fort Worth. Severe weather caused major destruction in Fort Worth, pelting us with hail the size of baseballs in 1980 and 1995. Weather experts say that we will be struck by a killer tornado similar to the one that raised havoc in Moore, Oklahoma, last year. It's not a matter of whether, but when.

                In a recent commentary (2/21/00), Star-Telegram writer Jack Z. Smith reported that as a consequence of the Moore disaster that city is going to double the number of sirens. In my own conversation with Emergency Management Director, Gayland Kitch, he told me that even though the tornado occurred during rush hour, with plenty of radio and TV coverage, some residents didn't take cover until they heard the warning sirens. Smith reports Kitch said he feels that sirens help save lives and that Fort Worth would be wise to invest in them.

                Some things are fiction. According to Smith, the Mayor and some Council members feel that warnings sirens are not worth the $2-$3 million cost. They think radio, television, Internet, cell phones, E-mail and weather radios will substitute for sirens. It is not uncommon to have power outages during severe weather. With the power outages go your radio, television, Internet, and E-mail. Few computer owners are foolish enough to operate them during thunderstorms without UPS. A battery-powered radio will still work, provided the batteries are good and you have it with you. Cell phones might work if you've got them, but they don't always perform well even in good weather. First-hand reports from Oklahoma demonstrate that cell phones fail when tornadoes are near. Weather radios, like cell phones, are fine if everybody has one. Not everyone can afford or will want to buy a weather radio for $40-$80 (cost according to Smith). Most people probably wouldn't have one nearby during severe weather, in any case. Twenty-two people lost their lives when tornadoes hit Georgia in mid February. They came at night when folks were tucked safely in their beds. Or so they thought. Computers, cell phones, radios - all off. 

                A state of the art warning system has advantages that all the aforementioned devices don't have. The per capita cost is very nominal. A system will last many years and perform with high reliability. It can be used to warn residents in the path of severe weather without alarming those in safer areas. It can be localized to warn of hazardous spills on freeways and rail lines. It has a voice capability to describe circumstances that may require residents to take cover or remain in their homes and can warn children playing outside. With correct placement they are likely to be heard inside the home as well as outside.

                Lives will be lost in the event of a major tornado transiting Tarrant County. Adequate warning will save many lives, which might otherwise be lost. Ironically, the City Council was presented a proposal by the Fire Chief for the 1998 Capital Improvement Program that would have replaced the current warning system. The council turned it down and chose to use some of that money for park improvement. Pity the poor folks in the park who might be whisked away to Oz because they don't own a cell phone or weather radio, and live in a city where they are expected to take more "personal responsibility" for their safety.

                Like the unfortunate homeowner who installs a burglar alarm after the family heirlooms have been stolen, the City of Fort Worth will some day upgrade its woefully deficient disaster warning system after a major storm wreaks death and destruction. It willstill be cheap at twice the monetary price but what's the value of a life?

"Irrelevant column devoid of any understanding...

...of how an improvement district works."

That is one of the comments on the latest column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram by Mitch Schnurman.  Apparently he's on a roll.  And apparently doesn't realize the city he doesn't live in is made up of 300 miles, all of them in need of something, not just downtown, "central city", Seventh Street or his favorite boondoggle, the Trinity River Vision. 

As usual, the comments are more telling than the column.

The folks that "run" downtown and have the most to lose financially by taking downtown business over to 7th Street or the Southside don't want any part of it. They happen to be very influential and have spent many years making sure they control the political establishment in the city of Fort Worth. Don't think they are going to allow any changes until they buy up these new areas as well. And of course long term they don't want anything to impact their beloved Trinity River Vision the taxpayers are buying for them.

Downtown District

A Letter to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram makes an excellent point.  Downtown Fort Worth isn't a congressional district.  It's part of one.  Don't show up in the rest of the district asking for our money to dump into our river.  Pay attention. 

Seeking attention

The Sunday article about Rep. Kay Granger gave much information about her international activities. I wish she would do as much in her own district, which is not just Fort Worth. The Tarrant County portion of her district, before redistricting, has 14 percent of the area and 79 percent of the population.

If you go by her own claim for appropriations in 2010, 61 percent was spent in Fort Worth and 4 percent in Parker County, with the rest being national or regional. Most of the Parker County spending went to a company that does business outside the county. Wise County got nothing. I got appropriations information from her website but can no longer find that link.

Granger does come to Parker County to raise money. With 86 percent of the area and 21 percent of the population, Parker and Wise counties would like to have more than 4 percent of the attention.

-- Darrel Behrens, Aledo

More Startlegram Censorship

The Fort Worth Weekly gives you the scoop. 

Good thing there's a real paper in town.

Don't you just Love it?

The Woodshed is back in the spotlight.  Or rather, Tim Love is. 

The DFW.com article goes on and on.  While it did discuss the Tim Love restaurants that didn't survive, (New York City didn't quite love Love) it reminded us of an infomercial.  Well, Love did say he loves to be on TV. You can read it on DFW.com. 

We found a few notes of interest, other than that, more of the Fort Worth Way. 

We do love THE PEOPLE in Fort Worth, their comments are usually right on the money. 

Too many good BBQ places in FTW to be wasting your time with wanna be BBQ at the Woodshed.  The only reason why people go there is to check out the TCU hotties.  Once the hotties move on to the next new place to be seen, the Woodshed will fold.

Timeline:  2011  Star Telegram's  "Battle Of The Burgers"
Timeline:  2012  Star Telegram's  "Battle Of The Barbecue"

And take note of WHO is mentioned in the story.   WHO's money is that?

In early 2000, Love ran into Star-Telegram Eats Beat columnist Bud Kennedy in Milano's, the Seventh Street pizza-and-pasta restaurant not far from Michaels. He told Kennedy that he was a chef and that he was about to open a great new restaurant. Kennedy shrugged it off as a random encounter with a stranger. Six months later, he wrote that Lonesome Dove Western Bistro might be the best of several new restaurants that opened in Fort Worth that year.

The TRVA may have provided nearly a million dollars toward building the structure, but Love points out that he still put a lot of his own money into the project and he feels confident that, in the long run, Woodshed will be seen as a trailblazer along the river.

The Pirates are Coming

Oh wait, they're already here.  They are throwing the Party in Fort Worth this year. They even put a rig with their flag on the invitation. 

The Fort Worth Promotion and Development Fund throws this party every year with a theme and a sponsor.  Radio Shack hosted the River of Dreams back in 2006, highlighting the Trinity River. Mayor Moncrief asked Chesapeake to sponsor 2012 before his reign was over. 

The purpose of this group is basically to "promote" Fort Worth to national media. Where is the group promoting the citizens?  Those who should be will be at the party.

The Fort Worth City Council will be Honorary chairs.  At up to $25,000 a table (that level does come with parking, there are other options in the thousands that do not) WHAT is that costing us?

We noticed many familiar names on the "list".  The circle of Fort Worth.

We noticed an unofficial list too, looks like Durango will be in attendance, maybe it will be THE Party in Fort Worth after all.

Texas Vs. Oklahoma

Politex quoted an Associated Press article concerning the Tarrant Regional Water District and their lawsuit against Oklahoma to take their water.

The same Tarrant Regional Water District that is committing you to a billion dollar economic development project and just voted to give themselves another year in office.

Seems THE PEOPLE in Oklahoma may get to vote on what their state does with their water.  What a concept.

And what do you know?  The Fort Worth Way doesn't work across state lines.

Ellis, who is based in water-rich Southeastern Oklahoma has been one of the most vocal opponents of water sales to Texas and said the future of Oklahoma water should not be decided in private meetings between politicians and Texans.

Read more here: http://blogs.star-telegram.com/politex/2012/01/bill-would-give-oklahomans-the-right-to-vote-on-any-texas-water-sale.html#storylink=cpy

Good Question

Possibly the best question we have ever seen in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  We're still waiting on the answer.

It's in a column about the Fort Worth retirees and their pension, but it applies to all things Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Way. The sheep have been asking this question for years, if the fox is guarding the hen house...

If most retirement fund board members are beneficiaries of the fund and the fund's executive director is writing guest columns defending their lucrative packages, who the heck is watching out for the taxpayers?

Again, we've been waiting on that answer for years.


With the recent article about the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, this partial comment on the retiree article seems both relevant and timely.

The biggest opponent to Fort Worth city employees is the FW Chamber of Commerce. The city can't give away tax breaks to lure businesses when they have to pay retirees and future retirees a decent retirement.  

The problem isn't the pension. The problem is upper-crust individuals who are "looking out for the taxpayer" want to spend taxpayer money on pork, at the expense of the city employee. 

Speaking of living outside of Tarrant County....  Look at Dallas TAD website and you'll find one of the great opponents of the pension, Mitch Schnurman, lives in Coppell in a $340k house.

Another Tarrant County "Study"

Funny thing about "studies", they usually produce the outcome those hired to produce it are looking for.  It's what you call a win/win.  Unless, of course, you're the one paying for it.

This one was done by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

It claims property taxes are part of the benefit to all the abatement's Fort Worth handed out this year.  How can that be when the TIF's in the area are struggling to meet their promises due to declining property taxes?  Remember, there were studies for those TIF's too. What are they basing these numbers on?  Apparently, whatever they could.

The overall economic impact includes company investments, salaries and what workers will spend.

It also considers salaries created or supported in new or existing firms, such as maintenance companies and service firms, and spending at stores and restaurants.

 There were a couple of key sentences in the article:

In its efforts, the chamber's economic development division received and spent about $1 million from private and public sources in 2011.

The chamber's economic development division works closely with the city's economic development department.

As usual the best part were the comments from THE PEOPLE:

It's a great place to do business if you're looking for a tax handout, but Fort Sprawl is not a great place to live anymore.  

Roads are in terrible condition, crime is up and police response times are lousy.  City services are poor and getting worse.  Those that still exist, anyway.  Price lives in her shielded world and is not in touch with the average citizen.

The only ones who are happy with all this are the stinking corporations and developers and corrupt politicians (current and past mayors & council included) who are benefiting at citizens' expense. If you've got enough money to buy a politician or two, you can pretty much get whatever you want. That's exactly what happened with the Trinity Drainage Ditch Vision and many other pet projects... reward the developers/politicians... screw the citizens.

WHO pays WHO?

Alex Mills is the President of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.  We're not really sure what that is, but if we had to guess we'd say that was an organization similar to those like the Trinity River Vision Authority, NTTA, the NCTCOG...you get the picture.  Created, appointed and paid for by local politicians and the Tarrant Regional Water District, or in this case, the gas drilling industry.   

He also writes frequently in the Business Press about gas drilling.  Not so much writing, as defending.  In small print at the bottom it tells you his title, and that "the opinions expressed are solely of the author".

So, if the gas drillers pay him to defend them and he writes his "Opinion" for the Business Press, WHO is paying WHO?  Are the drillers paying for a half a page in the paper or is the paper paying Mr. Mills to write for THEM too? 

What's it costing YOU?

WHO's news??

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram recently claimed they were YOUR paper.

Funny, we received an email from an active Fort Worth citizen that tells a much different story.  What happens when the officials and industry are your only customers?

The Fort Worth Startlegram has blocked me from making online comments on their stories because of my prolific responses to stories about bad air quality and the negative impacts of gas drilling on ground water sources. Also, I would imagine their censorship is because I will not back down from the real jerks who post on the ST site! Sad...truly sad that if it were not for the Associated Press and the New York Times, the ST would not even report on any of this crap we are having to deal with because of corrupt elected officials and an industry that cares not for any of us. I guess advertising dollars are more important to the ST than we are!

Free parking

Yeah, right.  This is Fort Worth.

Those being affected by the parking fees have come up with alternate plans.  We love when the citizens work together.

Now, if the City will listen.

Read about it in the Fort Worth Business Press.

Some Fort Worth merchants have proposed their own parking strategy as city officials contemplate raising rates in one of Cowtown’s busiest tourist districts.

“What we’ve noticed is our patronage has dropped considerably,” said Carlo Capua, general manager of Z’s Cafe, one of several tenants at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center who are alarmed by declining numbers of customers and determined to do something about it.

And that could mean maximum parking rates as high as $8, a prospect that several businesses say would scare away customers who are already reluctant to park in the vicinity due to parking fees. Parking was free in and around the Will Rogers complex until the Western Center parking garage opened. Parking fees were implemented to help pay its debt service.

But at least one private exhibitor remains skeptical.

“The city will see an even further drop in cars dropping into the district for $8, so the plan to pay for the garage will never work,” said Jan Orr-Harter, show director with the Dolly Johnson Antique & Art Show.

Behind closed doors...

Is the Fort Worth Way.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells you how murky that can be at City Hall.

Today, the council is scheduled to receive a closed-session briefing from city attorneys about how to fill vacancies. The process, as outlined in the charter, is not all that complicated: Except under limited circumstances that don't apply right now, new members must be chosen through elections held in those districts where there are vacancies, either on the next scheduled election day (next May) or on a special date approved by the governor.

But the game of politics is never simple.

Take today's meeting, for example. The council can hold closed meetings only under certain circumstances specified in the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Today's agenda calls for an executive session to get the advice of attorneys about "pending or contemplated litigation or other matters that are exempt from public disclosure" under state bar rules or the open meetings act. There is no such pending or contemplated litigation about council vacancies, and no other reason seems to apply but bar rules that call for unfettered, privileged communication between attorneys and their clients.

Now WHY would that be?

The Lone Star International Film Festival is currently taking place in downtown Fort Worth.

We checked everywhere and couldn't find a listing for Up A Creek, the locally made, award winning film about downtown Fort Worth.

Ironic?

Death or taxes?

Jeers in the Fort Worth Star Telegram:

To U.S. Reps. Joe Barton and Kay Granger, who are fighting the EPA on regulations that would curb mercury and other toxic pollutants being emitted from power plants and cement kilns. They profess that any increased regulation would kill jobs, apparently not caring that those same toxins can kill people.

-- Sharon Austry, Fort Worth

Mallard Cove Update

The compressor stations on Randol Mill have been generating a lot of noise and they aren't even there yet.  People are waking up.  What happens when sheep get pissed?

The Fort Worth Weekly and the citizens that comment, give you the update.  YOU can't afford to miss it.

The Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods is urging the Fort Worth Zoning Commission to deny a rezoning request that would pave the way for an industrial site with up to 15 compressor stations near Randol Mill Road and East Loop 820. Mallard Cove residents have already been battling an adjacent sand mining operation (“Dust-Up,” July 28, 2011) and now they’re facing the prospect of living in a nightmare situation a la DISH, the little town north of Fort Worth that got so littered with compressor stations that residents began getting sick from fumes.

“I have looked at the zoning of the immediate area, and what I see is all residential [zoning] or neighborhood-friendly business [zoning] and no heavy industrial,” said homeowner Jim Ashford, adding that the zoning change “is not in the interest of the health and well-being of the neighborhood either financially or from a health and safety stand point for the citizens.”

UPDATE - Mallard Cove Zoning vote here.  

UPDATE - Mallard Cove Council Meeting December 6, 2011 here.  

Corrupt Connections

The LBJ freeway project is now headed by a former John Cornyn staffer.  How much experience do political staff members have building freeways?

Now, former Fort Worth Mayor, Kenn Barr has been appointed to head the Tollway Authority.

WHY did someone new need to be appointed?  Oh that's right, the past Chairman felt there may be conflicts of interest that weren't in the public's best interest.  Sounds like he thought maybe the chosen few getting the contracts weren't the best option.  Someone going against the Fort Worth Way?  Kudos Victor Vandergriff.  As for Clemson, who agrees with Vandergriff - the board is trying to have him removed.  Surprised?  No one else is either. 

Read about it in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  YOU can't afford to miss it, after all, it's YOUR money. 

Vandergriff has pushed the board to stop relying on a small number of engineering, legal and other consulting firms for nearly all its professional services. Those firms have been paid tens of millions of dollars during the past couple of decades, and Vandergriff and Clemson have sought to bring in fresh blood.

The issue of conflict also has swirled around discussions of tollway authority contracts.

Barr disclosed this year that his brother had been an attorney with Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, the firm that for years has handled much of the agency's legal consulting work. Barr clarified that when he joined the tollway board he sought advice from the agency's legal counsel before voting on items involving the firm.

But other board members, including Vandergriff, have sought changes in board policy that require a more public process for board members to disclose potential conflicts.

In 2009, Barr created a consulting partnership with Brian Newby of the Newby Davis legal firm in Fort Worth, records from the Texas Secretary of State's office show. In March, Barr and other tollway board members approved a legal services contract with Newby Davis in conjunction with Cantey Hanger, to provide legal services for buying right of way for the Chisholm Trail Parkway.

On Wednesday, Barr said the partnership with Newby, a limited liability company, was created for a specific business deal that never materialized. He added that no money changed hands and that he had forgotten about the arrangement until reminded of it in an interview.

Barr also entered into a partnership with David Chappell of Cantey Hanger in 2010, records show. Barr said he pays Chappell rent for office space.

WHO comes first in Fort Worth?

YOU or THE industry?

Durango knows.