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.

Bigger in Texas

Imagine that...Fort Worth's budget is worse than the other major Texas cities.  Says the Star-Telegram.

WHY is that?  Could it be THEY are spending too much of OUR money on other things?  While they continue to cut services to the community and ignore their constituents (those who are listening and voting).

Instead, Fort Worth vows to spend millions on things like keeping Radio Shack here and the Trinity River Boondoggle.  Did YOU get a vote on either of those things? What about the millions of breaks they give to certain downtown companies?

And did the Federal government just give Fort Worth millions of dollars to do a study?  This is the same city that still can't find money they lost years ago.  They weren't looking until the citizens kept making noise.

So, keep making noise.

Something is very wrong here...

Letter to the Editor in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  Short and to the point. 

Wrong priorities


For this native, longtime resident of Fort Worth, the June 16 Star-Telegram front page was sad reading.

How did we become a city able to vote $10 million-plus to RadioShack yet unable to scrape up enough money to keep even one public swimming pool open for the benefit of average tax-paying residents?

Something is very wrong here.

-- Mary M. Hagar, Fort Worth

Maybe

Durango mentioned the three council members that voted AGAINST giving Radio Shack millions.

Are some council members wising up?  Getting braver?

If you want to remain on council, what's worse?  Pissing off the Mayor or THE PEOPLE?

We'll see in May.

Tsk, TIF

Another example of another failed TIF. WHO thinks these are a good idea?  YOUR elected officials gambling with YOUR money.  The Trinity River Vision wants a 40 year TIF.  How long was the Radio Shack TIF?

WHO will be around when YOUR kids are paying for something else that fell apart and didn't go as planned?

Read an example in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 

Two years after the civil courts building was scheduled to be demolished, Tarrant County officials say they don't have the money to raze the monument to bad 1950s architecture and give the historic courthouse some breathing room.

Another factor is the loss of funding from a tax increment financing measure connected to the former RadioShack campus, Whitley said.

"The TIF was supposed to do two things: RadioShack was going to spend $9.8 million in improvements bringing utilities over there," Maenius said. "Part of what we were to receive compensation for was to help us with the acquisition of the Technology Building from RadioShack and part of it was to generate enough money to take the old civil courts building down."

Under a new incentive package that goes before the City Council today, the TIF agreement would change to pay RadioShack $4 million more over the next five years.

What he said...

WHO?  Durango, that's who.

Down the Drain

Fort Worth can't handle their budget, but they want to give Radio Shack $10 million to stay put.  WHAT?

Didn't we already give them loads of cash to come here?

WHO's running this town? Please ask them to stop running it in the ground.

Be sure and read the comments attached to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram article. The ones from THE PEOPLE.