Two examples of local government at its "best"

Tom Kirkendall, at Houston's Clear Thinkers, is reacting to a couple of today's interesting local stories.

First, Kirkendall comments on the completed audit of Houston's Housing and Community Development Department:

[...] essentially concludes that the Authority has been run as the personal fiefdom of some of its directors for over a decade.

[snip]

Probably only the department's system for setting up directors' travel arrangements worked without a hitch.

The findings in the report are no surprise to anyone who has attempted to deal with the City of Houston Housing Department in an honest and businesslike manner. Tip to Mayor White: Clean house.

This is the same department that issued $40 million worth of loans, some for hotel redevelopment, that have not been repaid.

The second story he tackles is the call by some to end the Houston Sports Authority:

Seems as if a few local legislators are questioning whether the $3 million annual overhead for the Sports Authority is really worth it when it appears that all the Authority is doing is writing checks on bonds issued to build the stadiums.

[snip]

The sports authority has about a $3 million operating budget, about half of which is dedicated to contractual obligations and professional fees that either the city or county would have to pay even if the authority were dissolved. However, the bonds are amortized over 30 years, so saving $1.5 million a year over that period is not chump change.

Curiously, the Sports Authority is attempting to justify its existence by proposing the construction of yet another sports venue.

That would be for Major League Soccer.

The only thing I would add is the study that came out about a week ago showing that the taxes Houston adds to cars rented from Bush Intercontinental (which help pay for Houston's sports stadiums) end up leaving customers with a much higher bill, compared to a rental's base price, than any other airport in the nation:

After first revealing major discrepancies from total versus quoted rental car prices in 2003, an updated Travelocity study examining added rental car taxes (which, for the purposes of the study, include government imposed fees such as facility charges, stadium initiatives, etc.) has discovered that sticker shock on the whole has slightly worsened and that consumers can save on the amount of extra taxes they pay by renting at a local outlet rather than at the airport.

[snip]

Houston's Bush Intercontinental continues to lead not only Texas, but the nation overall in airport taxes, adding 66.1 percent to the base rate of the rental car[...]

Posted by Anne Linehan @ 04/04/05 09:35 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (0)

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