As many of you know I am against tolling the Grand Parkway. There has been some action on this issue here in Fort Bend County and statewide.
Senate Bill 792 states that market valuation means a project valuation that is based on agreed project terms and conditions, including initial toll rate and toll rate escalation methods. It takes account of the project traffic and revenue study, using agreed upon assumptions, an agreed project scope, market research, estimated costs of project finance, construction, operation and maintenance. SB 792 also allows the market valuation agreement to be waived.
In other words a market valuation is a financial-type appraisal that establishes the net monetary value of a toll project based on its expected revenues (from tolls and other sources) and its costs (financing, construction, and O&M) over the time frame established by the term of the agreement. Its an important tool to check the financial viability of toll projects.
The objective of the Market Valuation appears to be the quantification of the economic potential of a toll project. The way I read the statute, the market valuation study is the line of defense for common sense in funding these toll projects. It this requirement is waived, the Grand Parkway can be built as a tollroad whether it makes economic sense or not.
Texas stands to receive $2.25 billion in transportation funding from Washington, D.C. This funding is critical to maintain and upgrade our transportation infrastructure in Texas. It is also critical to stimulate the Texas economy. It will create jobs starting with the engineers who design these roads to the construction crews who build them.
The Texas Transportation Commission (TxDoT), appointed by Gov. Perry, has recommended that the East Region; including Beaumont, Bryan, Houston and Lufkin receive $431,516,770 for transportation projects. From this amount over 53%, or $231,000,000, will be spent on the construction of toll roads. These recommendations ignore the federal law that requires these funds to be spent in economically distressed areas and ignore the will of ordinary Texans who are opposed to our tax dollars being spent on Toll Roads and see these schemes as a type of double taxation.
Fort Bend has consistently been one of the fastest growing counties in the country for the last ten years. As a County Commissioner in Fort Bend County, I am on the front lines of mobility issues on a daily basis. Many of my constituents have a deep distrust of government and these actions by TxDoT only confirm that distrust. Since TxDoT’s recent recommendations I have been asked, ‘how is it that tax dollars will be spent on a road that will also be tolled’ and ‘aren’t roads that are paid for with tax dollars usually free?’ These are valid questions that Gov. Perry should be required to explain.
Unfortunately, Gov. Perry has taken the position that toll roads are the preferred method of financing our public roads in Texas. And many of our current mobility projects have been designed according to this policy. Tolling the Grand Parkway is a prime example of the shortsightedness of TxDoT and our regional planners. Powerful interest with goals other than mobility have been pushing this “outer-loop” for over 30 years and ignoring the other long-term mobility needs of the area. As a result, Segment E is one of the few “shovel-ready” projects in the Houston-Galveston area.
Now this shortsightedness is finally bearing fruit. If Segment E is funded from the stimulus money and finally constructed, exorbitant tolls from this segment will be used to finance and construct the remaining segments in Liberty, Montgomery, Brazoria, Chambers, and Galveston Counties. That means the citizens of Fort Bend County and North-west Harris County will be paying for those segments even though they never drive on them. From a mobility standpoint many of these remaining segments are useless. Miles and miles of the remaining pieces will cross open prairie where no one lives, will have little or no effect on traffic and are not needed. When our transportation dollars from Washington D.C. are desperately needed to get people to and from our population centers, it only seems reasonable that the federal stimulus money should be spent on actual mobility projects.
A solution to this ridiculous dilemma is for Gov. Perry to show some courage and demand that the legislature index the gasoline tax to inflation. After all, the gasoline tax is one of the fairer taxes, ‘the more you drive, the more you pay.’ Of course, if the Legislature decides to pass this tax, it must also insure that all of the tax revenue raised from gasoline taxes will be spent on roads. It can no longer be raided for other needs of the State. Gov. Perry should take a leadership role in making sure this happens. It will take courage, but it is the right thing for Texas.
In the mean time I will continue my crusade against tolling the Grand Parkway. There will be more opportunities in the future to kill this project. I thank you for your help.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
IS FORT BEND SINKING?
Subsidence is an issue on the Gulf Coast.
A subdivsion in Baytown has been turned into a park because it sunk and is now underwater.
The Fort Bend Subsidence District was created by the Texas Legislature in 1988 with the intent to study and prevent subsidence in Fort Bend. I was at the Rose/Rich Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Meeting on Wednesday morning when I saw a presentation from the Subsidence District.
The County is split into three areas.
Precinct 1 covers everything south and west of the Brazos. It also includes Sienna Plantation from the Brazos north to McKeever Road, Teal Run, Fresno and Arcola.
The next slide shows that most of the pumping of groundwater is in Area A. The Richmond/Rosenberg Subarea and Area B have remained fairly constant over the years.
The current plan is for Area A to reduce its groundwater usage 30% by 2013 (2015 for the Rich/Rose subarea) and 60% by 2025. Area B is exempt from conversion. As the Commissioner of the largest rural precinct in Fort Bend, I will represent the interest of the farmers and ranchers to make sure that Area B remains exempt.
Land subsidence is sinking of the land surface. The elevation of the land surface is lowered by compressing the many layers of clay beneath the land surface. In the greater Houston area, land subsidence is caused by the withdrawal of groundwater. When we pump large amounts of groundwater from the aquifers beneath us, we pull water out of the many layers of clay, which allows the clay to compact under the weight of everything above them.
A subdivsion in Baytown has been turned into a park because it sunk and is now underwater.
The Fort Bend Subsidence District was created by the Texas Legislature in 1988 with the intent to study and prevent subsidence in Fort Bend. I was at the Rose/Rich Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Meeting on Wednesday morning when I saw a presentation from the Subsidence District.
The County is split into three areas.
Precinct 1 covers everything south and west of the Brazos. It also includes Sienna Plantation from the Brazos north to McKeever Road, Teal Run, Fresno and Arcola.
The next slide shows that most of the pumping of groundwater is in Area A. The Richmond/Rosenberg Subarea and Area B have remained fairly constant over the years.
The current plan is for Area A to reduce its groundwater usage 30% by 2013 (2015 for the Rich/Rose subarea) and 60% by 2025. Area B is exempt from conversion. As the Commissioner of the largest rural precinct in Fort Bend, I will represent the interest of the farmers and ranchers to make sure that Area B remains exempt.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
PROGRESS FOR KENDLETON
Road and Bridge crews have been working on the extension of Wicks Road near Kendleton. County employees are shown adding material to extend this road which will connect Hilltop Road to FM 2219 just north of Kendleton's city limits. The completion of this project will provide the residents on Hilltop a safer alternative to access U.S. 59.
This is only a start. Kendleton is in the far western portion of Fort Bend County. It is one of several places in the County that have missed out on the past two decades of Fort Bend's growth. Its new Mayor, Darryl Humphrey, Sr. has a great vision for Kendleton. And since I believe that you are only as strong as your weakest link, I'm gonna do all I can to help him achieve it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
GOOD TIMES
Some pics of a successful quail hunt on the Walton Ranch. I would like to thank Sammy Pyle for inviting me and the folks at Walton Ranch for hosting. I had a great time. It is always fun to watch good dogs work.
Fried quail, biscuits, rice and white gravy is one of the best meals ever.
Fried quail, biscuits, rice and white gravy is one of the best meals ever.
Friday, January 23, 2009
The Open Meetings Act
I have been asked by many constituents how Commissioners get through the agenda in about an hour and have so little discussion about each item before we vote. I will try and explain. For more background, go here, here and here.
First, Commissioner's meetings are governed by the Texas Open Meeting Act.
The Open Meetings Act (the “Act”) was adopted to help make governmental decision-making accessible to the public. It requires meetings of governmental bodies to be open to the public, except for expressly authorized closed sessions, and to be preceded by public notice of the time, place and subject matter of the meeting. The provisions of the Act are mandatory and are to be liberally construed in favor of open government.
That's the policy. As the law is written, it is pretty simple, "every regular, special, or called meeting of a governmental body shall be open to the public,
except as provided by this chapter." That sounds easy, but the law is never as easy as it reads.
Each word in that simple sentence has a definition that is defined by the Act. You can read these definitions here. The common thread among the definitions is that there must be a quorum (3 members of the Court) present to deliberate or have a meeting.
If the Act is violated then the Court's actions could be voidable and if one conspires to circumvent the chapter then that person or persons are subject to criminal penalties.
Now, with the law out of the way comes the facts. Each Commissioner receives a separate request in draft form for each agenda item. In my office they mostly come over the fax machine. They can and do come from many departments in the County. Included with each agenda request is the back-up documentation. So far there have been no exciting agenda items. Each has been mostly mundane business of the County. One of my first requests was a request for a computer for my assistant. Hers crashed during the move and we had to have a new one. We sent out our draft to all of the Commissioners as well as the budget office and the auditor's office. We explained in our agenda request that we did not have the funds in our office to pay for the new computer and therefore it would come out of non-budgeted contingency. It was approved.
By the Monday before Court I have the draft agendas placed in a notebook where I review them to see if the backup and the request match. If I have a question about one of the items from another department I'll call that department and get them to explain it to me. At this point I'm new so I probably ask a lot of stupid questions, but mainly I'm just trying to understand what each document means.
My concern about this process lies with what occurs on the Thursday before Court. Staff members of some Commissioners have a regular meeting every Thursday and discuss the draft agenda. I believe that this meeting could (and I want to emphasize could) be in conflict with the Act. I have drafted this letter to Roy Cordes, the Fort Bend County Attorney. I believe the letter speaks for itself.
I would like to see these staff meetings open to the public. I believe that would solve all of the issues.
First, Commissioner's meetings are governed by the Texas Open Meeting Act.
The Open Meetings Act (the “Act”) was adopted to help make governmental decision-making accessible to the public. It requires meetings of governmental bodies to be open to the public, except for expressly authorized closed sessions, and to be preceded by public notice of the time, place and subject matter of the meeting. The provisions of the Act are mandatory and are to be liberally construed in favor of open government.
That's the policy. As the law is written, it is pretty simple, "every regular, special, or called meeting of a governmental body shall be open to the public,
except as provided by this chapter." That sounds easy, but the law is never as easy as it reads.
Each word in that simple sentence has a definition that is defined by the Act. You can read these definitions here. The common thread among the definitions is that there must be a quorum (3 members of the Court) present to deliberate or have a meeting.
If the Act is violated then the Court's actions could be voidable and if one conspires to circumvent the chapter then that person or persons are subject to criminal penalties.
Now, with the law out of the way comes the facts. Each Commissioner receives a separate request in draft form for each agenda item. In my office they mostly come over the fax machine. They can and do come from many departments in the County. Included with each agenda request is the back-up documentation. So far there have been no exciting agenda items. Each has been mostly mundane business of the County. One of my first requests was a request for a computer for my assistant. Hers crashed during the move and we had to have a new one. We sent out our draft to all of the Commissioners as well as the budget office and the auditor's office. We explained in our agenda request that we did not have the funds in our office to pay for the new computer and therefore it would come out of non-budgeted contingency. It was approved.
By the Monday before Court I have the draft agendas placed in a notebook where I review them to see if the backup and the request match. If I have a question about one of the items from another department I'll call that department and get them to explain it to me. At this point I'm new so I probably ask a lot of stupid questions, but mainly I'm just trying to understand what each document means.
My concern about this process lies with what occurs on the Thursday before Court. Staff members of some Commissioners have a regular meeting every Thursday and discuss the draft agenda. I believe that this meeting could (and I want to emphasize could) be in conflict with the Act. I have drafted this letter to Roy Cordes, the Fort Bend County Attorney. I believe the letter speaks for itself.
I would like to see these staff meetings open to the public. I believe that would solve all of the issues.
Monday, January 12, 2009
STATE REVENUE DOWN 10%
This is not a "Commissioner" issue per se, but it affects us all.
The State Comptroller has just come out with the revenue estimate. It appears that the available general revenue for the upcoming biennium will be 10% less than the previous biennium according to the State Comptroller's Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE). The new total is $77.1 billion compared to the current biennium's $ 82.5 billion. The BRE confirms that State budget writers will not have extensive flexibility to fund new projects and initiatives.
Will our Legislators have the guts to fund our deteriorating infrastructure, lower higher education costs, restore chip funding, and rein in higher utility and insurance costs? The new speaker gives me hope.
Kuff has more.
The State Comptroller has just come out with the revenue estimate. It appears that the available general revenue for the upcoming biennium will be 10% less than the previous biennium according to the State Comptroller's Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE). The new total is $77.1 billion compared to the current biennium's $ 82.5 billion. The BRE confirms that State budget writers will not have extensive flexibility to fund new projects and initiatives.
Will our Legislators have the guts to fund our deteriorating infrastructure, lower higher education costs, restore chip funding, and rein in higher utility and insurance costs? The new speaker gives me hope.
Kuff has more.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
WHAT DOES A COUNTY COMMISSIONER DO?
I can't tell you how many people have asked me this question. The office is set by the Texas Constitution, Article 5, Section 18 b):
Richard O. Avery and Stacy Morris wrote a great one page article that tells it way better than I can.
Each county shall, in the manner provided for justice of the peace and constable precincts, be divided into four commissioners precincts in each of which there shall be elected by the qualified voters thereof one County Commissioner, who shall hold his office for four years and until his successor shall be elected and qualified. The County Commissioners so chosen, with the County Judge as presiding officer, shall compose the County Commissioners Court, which shall exercise such powers and jurisdiction over all county business, as is conferred by this Constitution and the laws of the State, or as may be hereafter prescribed.
Richard O. Avery and Stacy Morris wrote a great one page article that tells it way better than I can.
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