An Open Letter to
Subject: Your Jobs, Your City
& Your Future
From: Ron C. West, Citizen
Over the
past couple of years, I have become involved in the local politics of our
city. I am not now, nor do I plan to be
a candidate for any office in the city in the future. I have been called almost every name
imaginable by our City Leadership and painted as some kind of nut or extremist. Last night, I appeared before our City
Council with comments relating to the upcoming city budget. I was allowed 3 minutes to address any issues
I felt the council needed to consider in the planned $79 Million plus
budget. I noted that many city employees
were in the audience last night probably because of anticipated “attacks on the
budget” that might threaten them.
Prior to
this meeting, I had submitted a list of possible cuts in what I consider to be
a very extravagant city budget. Please
note, that none of my possible cuts would have cut a single city job or reduced
the pay of a single city employee. To
the contrary, the suggestions I have submitted would allow the city to retain
the Police employees that they plan to cut, would allow the immediate staffing of
the needed third ambulance and would allow the Animal Shelter to remain
operating at current hours.
Please
understand that the folks like me, that have decided to stand up to the
corruption and arrogance of the existing city leadership are not fighting
against all the loyal and professional city employees, police officers and
firefighters. I believe that you deserve
recognition and pay commensurate with the contributions you make daily to the
city. My fight is with the city
leadership and the old City Council Members that have taken our tax dollars and
threaten the citizens by penalizing the very services that are so important to
us. I am not for cutting any city
employees, line police officers or firefighters. I am not for cutting your pay.
My fight
is against the very waste and corruption that denies you and our city the real
benefits of the wealth of the city. As
of March 31, 2004, our city had over $75 Million in cash and other financial
instruments on deposit. About ˝ of this
is “unencumbered”. When I mentioned this
before our City Council, high level staff members tried to blow off the
magnitude of the numbers by talking about “restricted” funds. The two words have different meanings. The city reserves are for use in the case of
necessity (as defined by the current council and the City Manager). Unencumbered means that
they haven’t identified what they will spend the reserves for. Restricted means that such
funds do have designated uses. In
the new budget before the city, I have found that the city plans to use nearly
$500,000 to increase these already adequate reserves. This $500,000 could be used to retain the
records people in the police department.
The cities tactic of “obfuscation”, deception or confusion has long been
a tactic of the current leadership.
The long
tirade by the Mayor proclaiming the councils dedication to providing critical
services was very similar to a campaign speech. To me, it seems unfair that the City Council
can berate citizens without time limits – whenever they disagree with the
citizens. The citizens cannot refute or
rebut any of the comments of this privileged club of masters. (They seem to forget that they are supposed
to be public servants.)
I know
that your time does not permit the careful examination of the City’s proposed
budget and that you probably depend on the city leadership to talk honestly
with you about funds availability as it affects you. I do not believe that the information being
presented to city employees is either accurate or factual.
For
example, an item that showed up in the budget last evening was $1,000,000 for
“street and signal improvements” for North Hills Mall. This is a privately owned enterprise that has
multiple problems. The city’s answer
appears to be to take money from the “street and sidewalk fund” and effectively
give it to the current owners of the Mall.
This money belongs to the citizens of NRH and yet we have no say in this
payola to
friends
of the council. This money would have
staffed the new Ambulance service immediately with money left over.
Our city
leaders are crying about the poor economy but in their wisdom, the created a
Tax Increment Financing District called TIF#2 that took prime city land and
classified it as an area that would not be developed without the creation of
the TIF. This deal is taking all
property tax revenue from Hometown NRH and diverting it to the building of a
new Library, a new
For the
record, the council has seen fit to divert these funds for the next 27 years
but is fighting a tax freeze for our seniors and disabled. The effect of the tax freeze is miniscule
when compared to the near permanent diversion of the taxes on what is projected
to be a $400,000,000 development.
Another
item that might be of interest to you is the fact that they appear to be also
diverting $579,000 in funds from the General Fund to further subsidize the
development of streets in Hometown NRH.
Add to that over $500,000 for the “south library branch” and $250,000
for an Economic Development slush fund and you begin to be talking about real
money.
Many of
you live in the city as I do. All of us
have been talked to death about the benefits of increased sales tax
revenue. Between 1992 and 2002, sales
tax revenue in our city increased by 140%.
Not one dime of benefit was accrued to the citizens of NRH by this tax
windfall. Instead, our city leadership
spent it all – and they still want more.
One more
thought. Our current city administration
has a hired City Attorney that has an incentive to pursue litigation regardless
of risk to the city. He has no incentive
to try to settle or avoid litigation at all because the more the city is sued,
the more money he and his firm make. In
next years budget is a $500,000 number for legal fees which will largely be
direct to Mr. George Staples. I have
suggested that our city would be better served to separate the job of City
Attorney as an advisor from the job of litigation. The City Attorney would then be in a position
to make recommendations on suits based on the best interest of the city rather
than his personal gain or loss. As this
is written the city is facing the possible loss in court of a wrongful death
lawsuit that may cost the city many millions.
If that suit is not settled and does go to trial, the loss to the city
could truly impact the city’s ability to provide all critical services.
As I
conclude this, I am actively engaged in fighting for the tax freeze for the
seniors and disabled. The so called cost
to the city (which in reality is not a cost but a denial of the right to
continually increase taxes on our seniors and disabled) is reported to be less
than 2 tenths of 1% of the budget. I
believe if you will check out all of the information in this open letter, you
will see that we all gain as citizens by real information. With a budget of $79 Million plus, we should
be taking care of our city staff . The revenues to our city are not for the
aristocracy or a private club to spend on their whims.
While I
will continue to fight against what I consider to be Runaway Spending, please
recognize that things like curved sidewalks, decorative bricks, new
(unnecessary) fire stations, a new city hall, TIF’s and similar boondoggles are the targets. It is not your pay or your jobs that I would
like to threaten. I personally am
opposed to the current Mayor, City Manager and five members of the City
Council. I am for a much, much stronger
code of ethics for our elected city officials and executives on city
staff. I do not think that elected
officials should be benefiting from their position by doing business with the
city or by cutting special deals to use public lands for private gain. I plan to continue my fight for what I
believe in and hope that perhaps a few of you will do your own research and
perhaps help in the battle ahead.
If you have read this far, thank you for doing so.
This was written only because of all the slanderous misinformation that has been and is
being directed at me personally.
My thanks to you for your service to and for the City of North
Richland Hills, Texas.
Sincerely,
Ron C.
West
Resident/
Voter – North Richland Hills.