Modest? Ridcously Low? You be the Judge

Have you been hearing about the modest salary that President Obama’s Press Secretary has been receiving? $172,000.00 really does not seem all that modest to me. As a matter of fact that sounds pretty good from my perspective. However, I read yesterday in the Austin American Statesman that there is some concern about the Chairperson of Texas Department of Transportation making a salary capped at a “ridiculously low” amount of $192,500.00. You need to remember as well that travel, office expenses and other miscellaneous costs do not come out of the salary. Seems to me those at the top might be a little out of touch with what salaries are in the real world.

Do not get me wrong I am not against a person making a good living, but when Texas ranks as the 33^rd state in teacher salaries you have to wonder where our priorities are. Seems to me we should be more concerned about educating our future workforce and leaders than keeping the fat cats fat.

Now, if you have been listening to the national news our new 112^th Congress seems to have trouble getting started. Might be just media spin, but talk is that the cuts the new folks promised during the campaign were “theoretical”. I have a couple of good suggestions that could make a difference, and these are not theoretical.

First each member of congress should vote to cut their office budgets and salaries and benefits by 10%. 2010 salary for members of Congress is 174,000, Minority and Majority Leaders earn 193,400 and Speaker of the House earns 223,500 dollars per year. This of course does not include benefits. There are 535 members of Congress. There are 100 Senators and 435 members in the House. There is also one non-voting member in the House for the District of Columbia.

So, while this will not make a big dent in the trillion dollar plus national deficit it will make a start. It will also show their commitment to balancing the budget on everyone’s back. Not just the taxpayers. Then if they will take their medical benefits and do away with them and work to get a National Health Care Plan that will work for everyone including members of Congress we can save some more money.

At the state level there are several things that might also be considered. Like maybe cutting some of the Governor’s chairpersons salary. Exactly what is the job description for a position with a salary cap of 192,500 dollars? How about some of the other state agency top positions? What do the top administrators at Texas or Texas A&M University make? How about clipping the football coaches’ salary 10%?

While our state representatives do not make the salaries the federal guys and gals do they still have operating budgets that could be cut. It is going to be interesting to see how they meet the need of the fastest growing state in the nation with no new revenue sources.

I have to admit that we are only in the first couple of days of the 112^th Congress, but so far not much has changed. Two members have voted without being sworn in, and the D’s are pointing fingers at R’s and the TP’s seem to be lost in the same as usually action of Washington DC. We are also several days away from the start of the Texas legislative session, but there does not seem to be any real plan to relieve the state’s budget crisis. We need to wish them luck in DC and Austin, and just have to hope and pray that it is not business as usual.

A New Year and a New Day

Well here it is January 3^rd, and I am blogging again. Keeping up with that New Year’s resolution, or trying to.

Many have asked is there life after the judgeship. Well, for those that have yet to hear I started my new job today. I am working as a Deputy Clerk in the Milam County Tax Office Annex in Rockdale. I am selling license plates, working titles and collecting taxes. I applied for the job back in December and was lucky enough to be selected for the job.

In spite of what you may hear in the rumor mill I have ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION in running for the Tax Assessor Collector’s office next election. It is just a job. There are some who may tell you that there is some “plan” behind my accepting this position, and actually there is. To have a regular paycheck and that is it.

If you have questions about what you might hear in the rumor mill please feel free to contact me for the rest of the story. It all comes down to knowing the truth. Just as I have encouraged you to seek the truth as the spin doctors start their work during the upcoming legislative session do your best to stay in touch with the truth about local government as well. It will serve you well in seeing the whole picture.

Illegal County Raises...The Rest of the Story

Happy New Year to one and all. Hope it was safe and fun for everyone. 2011 will bring many new challenges to state and local government. Each and every citizen can help meet these challenges by simply making a New Year's resolution to become better informed and educated about the issues in local and state government.

One thing that more information and becoming better educated will do is allow you to understand the issues better and see through the spin that politicians will throw at you. Take the spin used by John Carter in the last campaign referring to the election of a certain party's ticket would create jobs and rebuild infrastructure in Milam County. Really?

Another recent issue brought forth by the public watchdogs in Milam County is illegal raises given by the Commissioners Court. Sometimes the media gets only one side of the story. Well, read on for the rest of the story.

The Court in fact did not give any pay raises to any county employees as stated. What the court did was to approve the budget amendment that resulted when the department head gave their employee a pay raise.

County positions are funded with a certain amount of money. If someone is hired for less than that amount the department head can later give that employee a raise since the money is already in the budget. There is no increase in the budget due to the raise. As a matter of fact it is standard procedure for new county employees to be eligible for a 1,000 dollar pay increase after a six month probation period.

Furthermore, there are many statutes and Attorney General Opinions that deal with the Commissioners Court interfering with an elected official's management of their department. Bottom-line is the court has absolutely no authority to tell them who they can or can't hire and what they can or cannot pay. If the position is budgeted and they stay within the limits of their budget it is basically up to them, not the court to give a raise.

It was also brought to my attention that the county was trying to hide from the public that only employees from two (2) precincts were getting raises. Not sure where they got their information, but in budget amendments approved on December 13^th 3 employees from the County Attorney's Office and one Dispatcher in the Sheriff's Office received raises, while the salaries for one position in the Sheriff's Office and one position in Precinct 1 actually received decreases.

On November 22^nd 27 positions across many departments including County and District Clerk, County Attorney, Tax Office received raises, and 13 positions received decreased amounts for 2011. One position that is grant funded and not directly related to the court's authority received an increase as well. I wonder why the whole story was not told and why those making allegations failed to mention the decreases approved by the court?

I am not sure whether those complaining were misled, misinformed, or just putting their own spin on the story but again the rest of the story was not told. Just one example again where the radical fanatics attempt to pull the wool over your eyes. Just like our Washington politicians. I am not sure which are really more dangerous.

Here we are December 28th and I am awaiting my transition back into the private citizen category. Certainly something that I am looking forward to.

While I have had this blog up for sometime I have been somewhat lax at staying current. Due to time constraints and certain rules that Judge's have to serve under I have been limited in time and freedom of speech. These will issues will be resolved December 31, and I am going to try to stay a bit more current with postings in the future.

Many have asked what I am going to be doing in the future. Well, Horticultural Hotline will remain on the air. That is unless they kick me off.

I plan on remaining in Milam County it is my home. I also plan on staying involved in local issues including county government. This blog will be one of the ways that I will attempt to share with readers "real" information on the issues. By "real" I mean non-partisan accurate information that will help the reader make an educated decision on an issue.

I also will be sharing information on the upcoming Legislative Session in Austin. With a 25 billion dollar shortfall facing the state there is a lot of work to be done. There is also a lot of room for misinformation during the session.

Take redistricting. Will Milam County be best served by remaining in a district with an urban county? Will a representative be able to effectively represent a district that has a super majority of the constituents in an urban county? Milam County needs to be aligned with counties with like issues.

There are lot of challenges facing our state and county and as responsible citizens we need to arm ourselves with all the information we can so that we can effect good decisions by our leaders. Seems lately the fanatical groups that are yelling and foaming at the mouth are the only ones making the news. Time the common folks spoke up.

Stay tuned and tell your friends about Inside Milam County...it's a good thing.

I'm Back

Been gone with the campaign and work and just plain busy. However, I do plan on blogging on a regular basis in the the future.

I will continue to blog on Milam County issues and news. Maybe not as deeply inside after December 31st, but still a Milam County resident and interested in all the happenings.

Stay tuned and tell your friends.

BEEN GONE TOO LONG

Well here I am again. No excuses for not blogging more often. Just busy and lots going on. Budget time for the county. I will be using this site more often to communicate with folks in Milam County that use the net.

There has been a lot in the media lately about the county budget. Some of it actually misinformation. I will try to clarify the reality of county budgeting in this and coming blogs.

One of the "foggy" rumors about the 2011 budget for Milam County is that we will be raising taxes. We are in fact lowering the county tax rate one cent to sixty cents per one hundred dollars of valuation. This coupled with the fact that most valuations decreased for 2011 results in a lower tax bill for the majority of county taxpayers.

The reason that Tax Increase Hearings are being held is that the county will be raising more revenue from ad valorem taxes than it did for the 2010 budget. Not because we are raising the tax rate, but because the Luminant Power Plant Project is now complete, and the full value of the plant is now on the tax roll. Anytime an entity receives more revenue from property taxes they are required by state law to hold Tax Increase Hearings. Even though the increase is a result of increased valuations rather than actually raising the tax rate. Perhaps a better title would be Tax Revenue Increase Hearings.

Many people actually pay a lower county tax bill in 2010. If you have questions about the county budgeting process stay tuned to this blog site, or call my office at 254-697-7000 and I will answer your questions.

Budget Woes for Texas Could Mean Unfunded Mandates for Local Government

Lots of talk going on about the financial situation for Texas. Seems as though while fairing better than most other states the recession has still had its effects on the Lone Star State. Last report has us about 18 billion short of what the state will need to operate over the next biennium.

Being an election year I am sure that Governor Rick will be taking advantage of the budget shortfall anyway he can. Note I said taking advantage not credit. Seems to me if he is requesting that all agencies cut budgets by 5% maybe he should take a look at what we taxpayers are paying for his living quarters. $8,900 per month plus utilities. Doesn't this guy have a house?

A five percent cut in his rent will only amount to 445 dollars, meaning we will still be paying 8,455 per month for his rent. A person really has to wonder about leaders that talk about cuts but seem to always find a way to avoid any cuts in their budget. Surely there are some suitable places for rent in the 1,500 to 2,000 range.

So, what about the budget shortfall? I am not real sure that five percent cuts will solve the problem. Cuts plus an increase in revenue for the state is what is needed. Austin already is using dedicated funds, such as the 911 fund, to balance the state budget. Those Stimulus Funds that Rick did not accept also helped balance the last budget.

Maybe it is time that Texas took a real long look at casino gambling. The facts are that casino gambling has helped in each and every state that has legalized the revenue source. The state currently conducts a lottery, which truly is one of the worst forms of gambling there is. Back in the days I think it was referred to as the numbers game.

Point is Texas will be needing more money to balance not only the next budget, but future budgets as well. One way that Austin has balanced budgets in the past without raising any taxes is through unfunded mandates. Texas has managed to keep schools running and take credit for not raising taxes. The truth of the matter is that they simply mandate that local government raise taxes.

Unfunded mandates currently cost local government millions of dollars each year. Instead of stepping up and accepting their responsibilities they simply passed the buck and then took credit for not raising taxes when in fact they were the only reason taxes were raised.

The next Legislative Session begins in January 2011. Redistricting will be a major battle and will detract somewhat from the state's budget woes. The reality for local government is that they must be vigilant and pull together to prevent Austin from passing the buck.