Palm Trees and Fountains Galore But NO Security Cameras

Apparently we can dole out $300,000 for fountains and hundreds of thousands more for landscaping and palm trees but we just couldn't find the cash for parking lot security cameras in our $145,000,000 budget so far.

I am not confirmed on this but I am told there is not one single parking lot security camera? Any of you insiders out there feel free to confirm or disprove this one.

Nothing a little more Galveston County G.O. debt won't fix...

When ¾ Of A Million Dollars is Supplemental

I just learned that Commissioners Court has had to approve a $705,000 supplemental budget increase for insurance costs due to the new Justice Center.

For those newcomers, the justice center was originally conceived as a $77,000,000 project. By the time Judge Yarbrough had it put on the ballot it was an $85,100,000 project with a 10% contingency for a total of $93,100,000. The project has now overspent to about $145,000,000.

The worst part is that surprises like this little insurance doozy keep rolling in. As I understand it, the first round of “changes and redesigns” due to the Architects inexperience. Now these architects just happen to be among Jim Yarbrough’s LARGEST contributors.

As I have always said, I respect Jim and I believe he wants to serve the County. I just feel he has totally lost touch with working families and what it costs them to bear these incredible tax burdens. I also feel he is far too predisposed to use and allocate county resources in a way that is beneficial to himself, his party and his campaign... It’s just not right.

Don't Blame Me!

Okay before I start this post let me say this.
Don’t just read and go on, add your own 2 cents.
I'm getting plenty of hits but most people just won’t leave a comment.

So LOOK, there it is at the bottom of the post,
“click here to add your comment”.

This can be done anonymously or by name.

Your input is valuable – it’s your county!

Now... on with the post.

PLEASE don't blame me for our Republican Governor, our Republican Lt. Governor, our Republican controlled State Senate and our Republican controlled State House being able to work together to pass the LARGEST package of new taxes ever to hit the great State of Texas while FAILING to get property tax caps to protect us all from escalating appraisals. The Governor and Lt. Governor are both honorable men who believe “in principle” in smaller government... but there is some kind of disconnect.

They really don’t understand that poll numbers are falling, not because we aren’t doing enough but rather because we are acting just like Democrat leaders and officials in the way we’re spending and taxing. They are apparently getting there input from newspapers and the massive Government Spending Lobbies who understand nothing but spend, spend, spend. I guess it’s rubbing off on the Republicans.

That is NOT what THIS Republican is all about.

Republican leaders and legislatures need to wake up and get in touch with their constituents! So what do people want in order to fix school finance? Most people seem to want SCHOOLS fixed, not just “school finance”.

Here's what I'm hearing out there.

“Cut admin to the bone then get a saw! Pay teachers a large chunk of what you just saved."

"Scale back sports programs so they’re not so distracting. (Everyone knows the benefits of sports programs but when overdone they are VERY counter productive.) Absolutely NEVER pay the coaches above the upper midrange of academic teachers – NEVER, NEVER, NEVER."

"Enough with most of those “fuzzy feel good” classes too. If we didn’t have so much of that stuff there would be plenty of time for reading, writing and arithmetic. Of course a kid needs a self esteem boost at times. When I was growing up though, I got self esteem training from the teachers who had enough of it on their own to share it as they went!"

These are the basics! Let’s get back to them.

Until then, I’ll keep fighting waste and spending on the county level.

Saving Dollars, Wasting Millions (But What About The Deputies?)

I submitted the following letter to the editor today, 4/2/06, to GuidryNews.com , The Galveston Daily News and The Post. I hope they will all print it right away because the Justice Center is opening today or tomorrow. People have a right to know what kind of malfeasance is surrounding the thing. People also should be irate that we are treating our Sheriff's deputies so badly while we pour out the opulence on the elected officials.

The banter about $100,000 for jury pay raises from $7 to $40 a day was
somewhat galling. The justice center project is $50,000,000 over budget
($144,000,000 - $93,600,000 = $50,400,000). Yet Judge Yarbrough still
couldn’t find the restraint to say no to $300,000 fountains on the taxpayer’s
nickel.

Wondering where the extra $50,000,000 comes from?
Most of it is the county equivalent of living off credit cards, general
obligation (GO) debt. I have not been able to ascertain what our total GO
debt has spiraled to but, like an overextended family, no doubt it will soon
begin to affect the county’s credit rating.

The REAL raises needed
in this county are for the 400 or so Sheriff’s Deputies. They are
struggling, underpaid and underfunded, often buying equipment, decals etc. that
the county SHOULD be paying for. This $50,000,000 in overspending could
have funded $3000 dollar pay raises for these deputies for the next 50
years.

Everyone knows I didn’t campaign for the current Sheriff but
he and his deputies DESERVE the tools and pay to perform their jobs confidently!

Check my website http://www.yourtaxcut.com/ and find the spending
cuts we need to cut taxes AND give raises to the deputies.