21 October 2004
Council shelves expensive Tasers, for now
KPRC-2 reports that City Council today voted to put off a decision to purchase nearly $5 million in Taser equipment, a priority that we criticized last week.
Council member Addie Wiseman sounded a familiar theme:
"Personally, I believe we need more police officers out on the street. Here, we're being asked to spend millions of dollars. We're having to borrow money to make this purchase," said Addie Wiseman, a Houston City Councilwoman.
Onetime conservative Michael Berry, on the other hand, is disappointed that Council is reconsidering the expenditure:
"I wish we could have passed it today, but I think some people felt like they needed some more information. I've had my questions answered. I feel very comfortable with it. I'm a huge proponent of this Taser technology and I think we need to move forward with it," said Michael Berry, of the Houston City Council.
Rumor has it that that Councilman Berry also likes cotton candy and lollipops. A whole bunch!
Television reports showed that Police Chief Hurtt is still not wearing the HPD uniform.
MORE: Coverage from KTRK-13 and KHOU-11.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/21/04 12:00 AM |
20 October 2004
Fjetland says the strangest things
House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Sugar Land) surprised bloggers, media, and fellow candidates when he appeared at a candidate forum yesterday after much blogger speculaton suggested he would not.
Kristen Mack's coverage had this entertaining line:
"I didn't think he was going to be here," [independent candidate Michael ] Fjetland said. "If I had known, I would have prepared better, but I winged it. If he didn't show up, he realized he was going to look bad."
That sort of preparation must surely inspire confidence in voters.
Fjetland has been saying all sorts of entertaining things lately. In a recent blog interview with Charles Kuffner, he noted that he hoped a post-DeLay Washington would be more civil:
With DeLay gone we might be able to get back to some kind of civilized behavior in Congress.
With no apparent sense of irony, he then proceeded to call DeLay names:
My only regret will be if the bastard gets back in.
[snip]
Any replacement won't be as bad as that power drunk moron.
Fjetland practices a strange form of "civilized behavior."
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/20/04 11:28 PM |
17 October 2004
How about some cops to go with the Tasers?
Uniformless police chief Harold Hurtt has been a vocal proponent of equipping Houston police officers with Tasers in an effort to decrease the use of deadly force.
Tom Bazan alerts us to this item on City Council's weekly agenda:
15. ORDINANCE authorizing issuance of City of Houston, Texas Tax Notes, Series 2004C; prescribing the terms and form thereof; providing for the payment of the principal thereof and interest thereon; authorizing the Mayor and City Controller to accept and execute the winning bid for the Notes, approve the amounts, interest rates, prices and terms of such Notes and certain other matters related thereto; ratifying the use of a Preliminary Official Statement and Official Notice of Sale and authorizing the preparation and distribution of an Official Statement to be used in connection with the sale of the Notes; making other provisions regarding such Notes and matters incident thereto; authorizing execution and delivery of a Paying Agent/Registrar Agreement, a Co-Bond Counsel Agreement and Special Disclosure Co-Counsel Agreement; and declaring an emergency
[snip]
b. ORDINANCE approving and authorizing contract between the City of Houston and TASER INTERNATIONAL, INC and GT DISTRIBUTORS, INC for Taser Devices and Associated Equipment for Houston Police Department; providing a maximum contract amount - 5 Years - $4,679,855.55
Nothing against $5 million worth of Tasers, but wouldn't that money be better spent trying to solve HPD's manpower issues?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/17/04 03:43 PM |
Why the Astrodome Hotel is a terrible idea
We have called attention previously to the ongoing debate over what to do about the decrepit Astrodome (here and here).
A proposal that has generated some buzz is the notion of converting the Astrodome into a second convention center hotel, a proposal supported by the editors of the Chronicle if it can be done at no expense to taxpayers.
Bruce H. Walker wrote an op-ed for the Chronicle a little over a week ago that explains why the idea is terrible, whether taxpayers foot the bill or not. The problem, he argues, is that demand for convention space (and accommodations) is down nationwide, even though supply remains steady (and recently increased in Houston with Hilton Americas). The addition of more such space in the form of a refurbished Astrodome would devastate the already struggling Houston hotel industry.
Further, there's already some danger to taxpayers, even if the Astrodome Hotel idea is shelved. Tucked away in Walker's op-ed is this ominous line:
Because Hilton Americas' rate of earnings is currently about half the rate the city must pay on its bonds, the project will probably not be able to cover its bond obligations, resulting in a cash drain for Houston. Consequently, Houston hotel occupancy tax receipts will probably have to be used for the cash shortfall, resulting in little or no marketing funds left to promote Houston!
Most worrisome to hoteliers in the downtown area is that all the market gain in room nights sold has gone to the new public Hilton rather than to privately owned hotels. The promise that major new convention volume was on the way has not happened.
So, what's in store for downtown?
Even without an Astrodome hotel, a dismal 47 percent occupancy rate is expected through the first half of 2005, meaning red ink will prevail. Look for hotel closures or conversions to residential usage.
It's outside the scope of Walker's editorial, so he doesn't mention the fact that Mayor White's revamped pension deal with municipal employees involved collaterizing their pension plan with the Hilton Americas hotel (which could turn into a problem if assumptions don't pan out), nor does he mention that depressed hotel receipts could lead to additional funding issues regarding Houston's three new sports arenas.
Taxpayers should ignore developers' promises regarding the virtues of an Astrodome Hotel and insist on a fiscally responsible solution, even if that means tearing the obsolete structure down.
Incidentally, Walker is not identified in the online version of the op-ed, but he is president of Source Strategies Inc., which calls itself a hotel development consulting firm. We have reproduced his op-ed below, since the Chronicle does not archive its outlook section. We think, as William Dyer argued in a similar instance, that this use is consistent with the "fair use" doctrine of copyright law.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/17/04 12:11 PM |
12 October 2004
Area Congressional candidates debate
Charles Kuffner notes that Representative John Culberson (R) will debate challenger John Martinez (D) tonight. The event will take place at Fondren Middle School, 6333 S. Braeswood, at 7 pm. The candidates are vying for the District 7 Congressional seat.
Kuffner also notes that a candidate forum for those running for the District 22 Congressional seat will be held in one week, October 19,at North Pointe Elementary, 3200 Almond Creek, in Houston/Clear Lake, at 7pm. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R), Richard Morrison (D), Mike Fjetland (I), and Thomas Morrison (L) are all expected to participate. Candidates will be available to visit with voters beginning at 6:30 pm.
They're our representatives, folks. If you don't like what they're doing -- or if you do -- it's a great time to let them know about it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/12/04 04:50 PM |
08 October 2004
Mayor White comes out for smoking ban
Ron Nissimov reports that Mayor White has endorsed a more moderate version of the smoking ban that has been supported by council member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs:
Houston restaurants may soon be smoke-free.
Mayor Bill White announced Wednesday that he is drafting an ordinance that would ban smoking in restaurants, but not in bars.
"I have been listening to people who want a ban everywhere and the people who don't want to lose their market," White said. "I'm trying to find the middle ground."
White said his proposal would be phased in over two years to try to minimize any negative impact on restaurants.
Under Houston's current ordinance, restaurants and other public buildings are allowed to have smoking areas if they are properly ventilated. Smoking is banned within 25 feet of entrances to public buildings.
White said that under his proposal, any restaurants with bars in their establishments would be allowed to maintain smoking areas in the bars, as long as there is "real separation" from the dining areas.
Sekula-Gibbs remains hopeful this is only a first step towards her more comprehensive ban:
"I feel like it's a step in the right direction," Sekula-Gibbs said.
She pointed out that many cities that have barred smoking in public places started off with partial bans such as White's proposal.
"I think most Houstonians would support a full ban, but the mayor won't do it right now," Sekula-Gibbs said.
Sekula-Gibbs concludes with her best impression of Sheila "I can always be found when a camera is nearby" Jackson Lee:
She added that until Wednesday's proposal, she had not gotten much support from White in her efforts. Sekula-Gibbs said she believes White may have proposed the ordinance because she has pushed the issue by having two meetings in the last month with various constituency groups and community leaders.
As someone who has portrayed herself as a conservative, the doctor-councilwoman should, perhaps, just back away and let the mayor (a former Democratic state party chair) take credit for proposals that impose new burdens on business owners and seem an odd priority given Houston's many ongoing problems (ranging from HPD manpower shortages to municipal pension plans that still have liabilities that will require issuance of bonds to the HPD crime lab).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/08/04 12:13 PM |
01 October 2004
City still dealing with Lee Brown's legacy
Kristen Mack notes that last week's city council decision to cut funding for SimDesk is another example of Mayor White's trying quietly to fix some of the problems created by the last administration.
The SimDesk program, of course, was the Brown Administration's grand idea to spend millions of dollars to enable Houstonians to go into the library, manipulate documents, and save the results on a central server using proprietary software. Hardly anyone ever used the service (since homeless people rarely have the need to crunch complicated Excel spreadsheets), and it's not clear why the proprietary solution was ever preferable to simply giving away floppy disks with a library card. Well, except for the fact that certain developers and city officials seem to have benefitted from the million+ dollar boondoggle.
Mack throws in this curious clause:
The maneuvers on SimDesk and the museum technically allow White to see the projects through, protecting Brown's legacy as the city's first African-American mayor, while not obligating the city to pay more money.
Brown was the city's first African-American mayor, but it's unclear as to why that was mentioned in this discussion of two examples of his fiscal irresponsibility. SimDesk really wasn't a racial issue, despite Mayor Brown's efforts to make it one.
I wonder if Mack is responsible for that clause, or an editor added it later.
Elsewhere in the column, Mack hints that Mayor White has actually worked to torpedo capital-improvements funding for the African-American museum. That may indeed be what he's done behind the scenes, but he certainly has been a public advocate of the project, and taxpayers would be wise to keep a close eye on it and Mayor White.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/01/04 08:52 PM |
30 September 2004
Could Mayor White please explain?
The Chronicle's Ron Nissimov sounds a little exasperated over the White Administration's refusal to answer a simple question:
On Sept. 20, Mayor Bill White said an agreement had been reached to reduce an $846 million shortfall in the police pension to $535 million.
But an actuarial report presented to the Houston Police Officers' Pension System the same day said the pension shortfall already had been reduced from $846 million in July 2003 to $685 million in July 2004 because of stock market gains.
That would mean that the agreements would reduce the shortfall by $150 million, not the $311 million White claimed.
City and HPOPS officials have repeatedly told the Chronicle that they cannot explain the discrepancy. No council members have asked about the matter in public sessions.
Cannot or will not?
It's really unacceptable that no administration official will explain Mayor White's seemingly erroneous claim, that no council member will ask for an explanation, and that no journalists in town (besides Nissimov) are bothered by it.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/30/04 10:57 PM |
29 September 2004
Eckels loses on property tax proposal
Harris County Judge Robert Eckels couldn't find a second for his proposal to cut property taxes at yesterday's Commissioners' Court. Commissioners later voted to retain the same tax rate.
Afterwards, conservative and liberal members alike criticized the Eckels proposal, which was supported by Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector Paul Bettencourt, as political grandstanding.
In an interview on KSEV-700 radio earlier today, Steve Radack explained his lack of support for the proposal by contending that it simply appeared out of the blue, and hadn't even been discussed with the other members or analyzed by staff. Indeed, the proposal seems to have gotten a kickstart over the last few days from the same radio station, which has been one of the biggest advocates in the state for property tax relief.
It appears they overreached in pushing a proposal without building political support first, perhaps even antagonizing members of Commisioners' Court who generally favor their position. Taxpayers are the real losers.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/29/04 10:42 PM |
26 September 2004
Another endorsement for Proposition Two
Our friends at Chronically Biased have finally taken time from commenting on Twinkies, endangered bugs, and cancer-detecting dogs to address two competing referenda that will be on ballots within the city of Houston this fall.
The CB folks recommend a no vote on Proposition One (Mayor White's initiative, which would limit increases on property tax and water rates) and a yes vote on Proposition Two (a citizen's initiative, which would place an overall cap on municipal revenues).
Taxpayers stand to benefit if either of these proposals wins, but Mayor White's is obviously the watered-down version. Those who are serious about limiting the growth of municipal government -- and forcing local political leaders to set better priorities than the Brown Administration (which left us deteriorating infrastructure, underfunded pension plans, and a bigger, less efficient municipal government) and the current administration (which has proposed spending $2 million on an African-American museum but still hasn't adequately funded police cadet classes despite looming manpower issues) -- should indeed support Proposition Two.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/26/04 10:35 PM |
25 September 2004
The "tax man" speaks out
Paul Bettencourt is sounding the alarm on skyrocketing property taxes:
Tax Collector/Assessor Paul Bettencourt said, "The overall increase on the Houston home was worse than I expected."
Bettencourt says the average home in Harris County costs $3,100 a year in taxes on average. That’s up $1,600 since 1997.
Bettencourt says as home values have been going up, a lot of commercial values have been going down. Meaning overall, homeowners in Harris County are shouldering an ever greater tax burden.
The city of Houston did lower the tax rate this year, but with values up, taxes are actually higher.
"The public needs to remember that they need to be protesting their value whenever they get a case," Bettencourt stressed. "This reinforces that we need tax relief legislation out of Austin."
As Bettencourt points out, even though the city enacted a token rate decrease this year, appraisal creep has kept the total bill increasing steadily. Bettencourt favors lowering the cap on annual appraisal increases from the current 10 percent.
The Harris County Tax Office provides information on protesting assessed property values here.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/25/04 10:18 PM |
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