After Several Years…and Looking Forward

First of all, we here in Conroe should count our blessings.  We have a great city with some outstanding employees.  We are still a prosperous and fortunate city where growth from the south 1-45 corridor continues, albeit more slowly.  Some great things have happened in our city, however, a frustrating concern has lingered - local spending has become a real problem.  We can’t do much in Conroe about the spending going on in Washington or the corruption that has become Wall Street.  However, we can get the kind of local government and fiscal policies we want, because our city voters have all the power here, and they (you) control Conroe’s future.   

On most issues, we at The Watchdog feel we have been on the right side of the argument, though at times we may have articulated it poorly or sounded too harsh in expressing a relevant point.  We too have learned along the way.  Our primary concern continues to be that our city government is and has been spending too many tax dollars on purchasing buildings and spending too much on certain projects that could have been done less expensively while involving the local community more.   These projects took much of our 4(B) “economic development” sales tax dollars and were too often approved by the majority on council without a specific plan or full due diligence.  Significant cost overruns have not helped on several projects.

We need more comprehensible ‘vision’ and city projects for citizens and taxpayers for now, not just for many years down the road.  The local and national economy has changed significantly, and the city must adapt and return the primary focus back to fundamentals.  Expensive city projects and purchases should have clear plans and due diligence completed before any financial commitments are made by council, and personal agendas should be left at the door of city hall.  It’s not about personal glory or egos.  It’s about public service.  It’s about the voters and taxpayers that city council members are elected to serve.  Always has been, but it’s getting a bit blurred. 

We continue reading hundreds of pages from open records requests regarding projects using taxpayers’ dollars the last few years, particularly 4(B) money, and we will have more specifics in our next issue.   The city has tried to get info to us timely, but it is a struggle at times and we are working through any delays, which are few.  They get many open records requests from various people every day and we appreciate the cooperation of the city attorneys and their staff in getting us the information we request as quickly as possible.  We thank them for their efforts.

There is no question – downtown Conroe looks better than it did a decade ago, and that is a good thing.  It benefits Conroe as a community.  More parking was overdue as well.  However, the lingering disappointment still remains – these projects and purchases could have been done more efficiently and at far less cost to taxpayers.  Decisions have often been rushed (why?) and some of them have unnecessarily cost taxpayers additional money.  Our city council majority has approved purchases that have not only taken these properties off the revenue producing tax rolls without specific plans for their use, but have taken out the possibility of private enterprise buying them, improving them and paying taxes on the property in the future.  That increased revenue from those potential tax dollars is gone.

We currently have plenty of buildings and projects recently bought or paid for by our local government and your tax dollars.  These hefty expenditures were initially “sold” to the public and voters largely as public/private type partnerships to share in the costs.  Where’s the private partner?  Where’s private enterprise?  We don’t need more government.  We don’t need bigger government owning more and more of Conroe.  We need quality job growth from private enterprise, and we need it now.  We need more effective incentives and infrastructure in various areas of Conroe as a priority, and we need it much more than any 99 year lease for two floors of a very old building at $3250 per month (plus all renovation costs) or other recent ‘priorities’.  We need economic development bringing quality jobs and soon.  99 year lease?  With no plan but completing an ego driven “vision”?  What is the council majority thinking?   

It’s rough out there in the real world right now, no reason our city government should not reflect what our citizens and taxpayers face every day – tough decisions while spending less than they wished – that’s unfortunately a way of life for most now.  According to the preliminary city budget, Conroe’s citizens will not get a tax cut in the new fiscal year starting in October.  That would not be so bad if annual revenues had not gone up at such a sizzling pace in the last decade.  From 1999 through 2008, Conroe’s local sales and use tax revenues basically doubled (up almost 100%), yet the Conroe property tax rate was slightly higher in 2008 than it was in ’99 (0.425 v 0.420 per $100). 

Appraisal valuations have skyrocketed, and so has the city’s budget.  Homeowners’ budgets have been squeezed, with renters affected as well.  There is no doubt the financial demands on the city have increased along with revenues, but the enormous annual sales and use tax revenue increases Conroe has enjoyed the last decade are temporarily gone, and no one knows for how long.  A unique opportunity to help Conroe’s taxpayers keep up with rising tax burdens and bills was lost.  This year there will be no Conroe tax cut at all, despite the millions in city spending projects, both recently completed and in planning.  If you pay property tax or sales tax in Conroe, you’re a taxpayer.  It’s time to refocus on what helps you here and now, in these most difficult times, as well as in the long term future.

It’s a tough job at city hall, no doubt about it.  The demands on making informed decisions are enormous, and difficult decisions must on occasion be made with the best estimates and information available at the time.  But the city and CIDC need to reevaluate their 4(B) sales tax spending priorities and be more diverse in how and what that money is spent on in the future.  The Conroe Industrial Development Corporation (CIDC) was created for economic development.  It has some outstanding people on its Board, but needs to regain its independent focus and work with city council as intended by the voters, not for it.  The list of available projects for economic development expenditures that could directly aid the taxpayers, and soon, is lengthy (check the 4(B) articles in this issue). 

We as a city have got to take care of and pay for our quality public safety workforces and infrastructure, including more water wells, as well as promote business/corporate relocation and quality job growth for all of Conroe’s benefit.  In these trying economic times, that’s no easy feat, and will require the major part of the city’s focus and our tax dollars while the local economy and our citizens struggle.

We have discovered, while reading the Development Corporation Act of 1979 and its ‘Economic Development’ handbook that with voter approval 4(B) tax money can be used to help fund a much needed surface water system for Conroe, as 4(B) money is already taken from your local (Conroe) sales tax dollars.  We urge city council to help put this initiative on the ballot next May, and let the voters decide if such an idea is a proper use of part of Conroe’s 4(B) tax dollars.  We believe voters and taxpayers should already have a more direct say on large multi million $ spending projects, and we can’t think of a better issue for the voters to decide than something as important as whether or not our 4(B) money should be available to fund, at least in part, our future surface water system needs.  We believe this issue should be presented to our citizens and given to the CIDC as an option.  If the voters approve, perhaps we can plan our future surface water needs without increasing taxes.