I was reading an article on “Community Impact” regarding the city council and its members’ adoption of the tax rate, when one of the council members’ remarks caught my attention.
Council members Fred Flickinger and Amy Peck, who voted for the tax rate approval, suggested gaining voter trust before raising the tax rate. Flickinger said that by cutting expenses in other areas, such as saving $3,000 by declining to paint garbage trucks blue, the city can gain enough voter trust to be open to the idea of raising taxes in the future.
“I think the voters and the residents of Houston are willing to pay what has to be paid as long as they’re convinced that we’re doing the right thing with their money,” Peck said.
The City of Houston claims that it will be buying 50 new trucks. I will assume that the $3,000 figure above is the savings per truck. Fifty times 3,000 equals $150,000. That is a nice chunk of change, but a drop in the bucket. How often does the city buy new trucks? If the city council and mayor are serious about saving money, they need to find savings in recurring areas. That usually means getting rid of employees. So, which department or departments are overstaffed with employees who could be terminated? I don’t know, but I am sure the Mayor knows. I recall the mayor stating that he would use fewer police officers as his personal security. Has he kept that promise? If he has, I haven’t seen it in the news. John Whitmire also promised to have more police on the streets. How many more police are on the street now compared to when he got into office?
Promises are easy, and most politicians are masters at telling lies, and John Whitmire has over 50 years of practice as a politician. I am not sure if he has ever had a real job.
I appreciate the Mayor and Council for keeping property taxes low, but balancing the City’s budget is also important. Whitmire and those who voted to keep the budget as is need to put their heads together and come up with a solution; otherwise, one day soon, we may be reading about how the City of Houston had to file for bankruptcy. Then a Judge will be running the city.
