Suggested by Dan Johnson, written mostly by AI, guided and edited by Lewis McLain
Introduction
In Texas, city and county leaders live in the tension between plans that guide and pivots that save. Long-range blueprints for infrastructure, budgets, and land use are essential. Yet when storms overwhelm, revenues collapse, or the legislature rewrites the rules, leaders must step into the re- world: redoing assumptions, rewriting priorities, reallocating resources, reassessing risks, and reestablishing trust with citizens. Leadership is not static. It is a continual act of resilience, built on both discipline and improvisation. There is a rhythm, not quite a dance, but an orchestra conductor directing an Attacca, a performance instruction that means to go straight on without pause to the next movement.
The Discipline of Planning
Texas cities exemplify disciplined planning:
- Capital Improvement Programs (CIPs). Road expansions, water treatment plants, and fire stations are mapped years in advance.
- Water Supply Projects. Regional providers like the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) develop 50-year strategies for reservoirs, pipelines, and treatment capacity.
- Comprehensive Plans. Land use, housing, and growth corridors are charted to keep pace with booming populations.
Planning sets expectations, aligns departments, and reassures taxpayers. Without it, chaos replaces coordination. But even the most detailed plan must later be reassessed when conditions shift.
The Guadalupe River Flood: Forced to Re-Act
On July 4, 2024, relentless rains along the Guadalupe River brought flash floods that tore through Comal and Guadalupe Counties.
- Plans Overwhelmed. Drainage systems designed for “100-year storms” were outmatched. Evacuation maps had to be rewritten in real time.
- Immediate Pivot. Cities reallocated crews from parks to barricading roads, redirected budget reserves to emergency shelters, and reorganized communication channels for disaster alerts.
- Aftermath. Communities began to rebuild, reestablish housing security, and rejuvenate battered neighborhoods with state and federal aid. Drainage master plans were redone with updated floodplain models, a stark reminder that plans are only drafts in the face of Texas weather.
This was not failure of planning but proof that leaders must be able to redo and rewrite without hesitation.
Pivoting to State Legislative Changes
Just as floods force emergency pivots, state politics forces cities into the re- cycle.
- Revenue Caps (2019). When Senate Bill 2 capped property tax growth at 3.5% without voter approval, cities like Austin, Plano, and may others had to recalculate their forecasts, reallocate funds from amenities to core services, and reassess debt capacity.
- Annexation Restrictions (2017 & 2019). Cities such as San Antonio saw decades-long growth plans undone. Annexation strategies were rewritten, and economic development priorities restructured to adapt to shrinking boundaries.
- Sales Tax Rebate Reforms (SB 878, 2023). Cities like Round Rock and Coppell, which had relied on rebate agreements with corporations, had to pivot to reforecast, redefine budgets, and reestablish trust with residents when revenues suddenly tightened.
In each case, local leaders could not cling to outdated forecasts. They had to redo priorities, rewrite budgets, and reframe commitments while keeping faith with their communities.
The Source and Power of “Re-”
I think back to when I taught budgeting in the SMU MPA programs, my introduction to the subject included an emphasis on “The Re Words.” The prefix re- comes from Latin, where it carried the simple meaning of “back” or “again.” Over centuries, carried into English through Old French, it grew into one of the most versatile and powerful tools in our language. To add re- to a verb is rarely neutral; it signals renewal, restoration, or fresh possibility. Rebuild, reconnect, reform, restore, redeem, resurrect—each carries the weight of beginning again, of not being bound by failure or finality. Even in ordinary civic leadership, words like reassess, reallocate, reimagine, and rejuvenate offer not just management strategies but visions of resilience. The “re-” family of words tends toward the uplifting: they invite us to believe that what is broken can be mended, what is lost can be recovered, and what seems finished can yet be begun anew. In that sense, “re-” is not merely a prefix but a promise—one that leaders must embody when guiding people and communities through change.
The Leadership Imperative: Living in the Re- Cycle
Texas municipal leadership is now defined by agility within the re- cycle:
- Reassess: Constantly test whether assumptions still hold.
- Reallocate: Shift funds and staff quickly to where they are most needed.
- Rewrite: Adjust ordinances, plans, or budgets without waiting for the next five-year update.
- Reestablish: Rebuild legitimacy and public confidence after disruption.
- Rejuvenate: Use moments of crisis to breathe new energy into tired systems, outdated practices, or strained organizations.
These concepts do not abandon planning. It is treating plans as living documents, always subject to revision and renewal.
Conclusion: The Art of Resilience
In Texas municipal government, planning without pivoting is arrogance, and pivoting without planning is chaos. The art lies in combining the two through a constant rhythm of re- words: to redo when plans prove wrong, rewrite when policies are outdated, reallocate when funds are strained, reassess when risks emerge, reestablish when trust falters, and rejuvenate when systems tire.
Leadership is not about choosing plan or pivot once and for all. It is about repeatedly returning—to purpose, to mission, to the people—no matter how many times circumstances force change. It requires the supreme idea of agility. Some responses can’t wait hours or days. They must be well-oiled actions as if you knew an event was coming.
The July 4 flood showed that nature will undo assumptions. The Legislature’s actions showed that politics will redraw boundaries. But resilient leaders—those willing to live in the re- cycle—ensure that their cities not only survive, but renew themselves time and again. Interestingly, and sometimes strangely, the outcome will not be just a fix but rather an improvement.
The Re-Creed of Leadership
We plan with care,
yet we are ready to redo, knowing even the best blueprints must yield to reality.
We decide with courage,
yet we humbly reassess, for wisdom is found not in stubbornness but in learning anew.
We allocate with prudence,
yet we swiftly reallocate, remembering that resources serve people, not plans alone.
We write for the future,
yet we are willing to rewrite, because vision is alive and must grow with the times.
We stand for stability,
yet we daily reestablish trust, for legitimacy is not won once, but earned again and again.
We serve in the present,
yet we strive to rejuvenate tomorrow, so that what we build outlasts us and lifts generations to come.
For true leadership is not one act,
but the continual rhythm of resilience, renewal, and return.
Let's Talk About It, Lewis! 