During the last general election there were many rumors about our slate which made their way through city departments. I will use this page to clarify any rumors which are brought to my attention. No need to ask a co-worker, you will find first hand information on this page.

        One rumor which made its way through city departments during the last general election was that our slate would cut employees and city services if we were elected. One of these rumors was true - only the players were wrong. It was Lewis, Whitson & Welch who voted to approve the budget minus one Police Department employee. The rumor over pay was completely false. We wil not vote to cut employees, their benefits or their pay. If you are told this please ask the person doing the telling for proof.

        I believe we can control/reduce spending by eliminating some of the hidden waste within the budget. For example, on page 279 and page 350 there is $4,843,134 for two "non-departmental" funds. The money is identified for "maintenance, supplies, sundries, and salaries for non employees." This amount represents 20.7% of the total property taxes projected to be paid by the citizens of North Richland Hills for the year 2004-05. Over the past 2 years and including this year there has been $15,797,279 spent from this budgeted item. This non-department funded the $25,000 for the Goals 2010 meeting in January, which was held out of town with very little notification given to the public. I am sure there are other areas of waste.

        During a December council meeting a vote was taken to approve a raise, to be given in January, for city employees. City Manager Cunningham virtually ignored the vote and issued his own schedule of when to implement the pay increase. As soon as Councilwoman Bielik found out about this she met with Cunningham. She was irate the plan, one which employees were already counting on, would be delayed. She was the one upset, not the incumbents. Through an open records request, Larry Cunningham sited an old ordinance as the power behind being able to make this decision. If a change needed to be made - then it should have come back before council.

        Are your incumbents fighting for the fair treatment of the city employees? I will - you have my word on this. If elected, it will be of great importance to find, control and/or reduce all areas of wasteful spending so the city will benefit as a whole.

        If you have any rumors you would like for me to address on this site please contact me.

Sincerely,