Category: Governance

The Burglar Bar Issue That Got Overlooked

.Reading time 10 minutes.

It’s tragic. A person dies in a house fire because they couldn’t get out the window that had intractable burglar bars on it. The newspaper is all over it. I wait for this story to pop up someone in Texas ever so often, at least once every 5-10 years. I’ve written about an aspect of this story several times over the years.

The public is outraged. Elected officials go on high alert. Got to do something. And fast. Between the event and literally the next council meeting a good MPA student intern can research, find and adapt an ordinance from another city in days to meet the agenda deadline. Standard operating procedure – make it illegal to have intractable burglar bars. Require a permit. And inspect to make sure it is installed properly.

Done! Leadership in action. Conscience cleared. Maybe even an attaboy or attagirl from the public and press.

Hold on a second. You blew past the part that always concerns me. When budget time rolls around and there is a request for more inspectors to monitor and enforce the program created on a few pages of an ordinance, what is going to be the response from the governing body? The Tea Party will be there to say, OMG here comes some more bloated bureaucracy. You, reckless council, YOU must be ‘fer Big Gov-ment. What unpatriotic scum you are!

Why do public safety, public works and other staffers usually sit in attendance at council meetings even if they have nothing on the agenda? It is to watch out for well meaning initiatives to come from the elected body that is going to cost a ton of money and place a big workload on them. Oh, it is not the workload. It is the expectations that everything can be done without additional resources.

It is possible that they have worried about burglar bars way before it blew up in a newspaper story. Yes. They worry all the time about loss of life and property that could have been prevented. And themselves being thrown under the bus by the council or public wanting to find someone to blame. But they think it through. Who is going to pay for the purchase and installation of a higher quality, escape-capable set of burglar bars on, say 8-15 windows per house? When installed, how much time is it going to take to check that they work? Do you leave it at that or make sure that every house member knows how to use the release mechanisms?

And what about the ongoing monitoring? If this particular house in question had internal breakaway burglar bars installed 20 years ago, what would be their condition today? Rusty or weathered non-functioning burglar bars today would be the same as no burglar bars. Not to mention repairs required after an inspection means a re-inspection.

To just play with numbers, if the City of Dallas has a population of 1.3 million people at 3 per household, that would be 433,333 living units. Many of those are multi-family, but let’s just say there are only 2.5% with burglar bars. That would be over 10,000 potential units with burglar bars. Or 70,000 windows averaging 7 windows per unit. Pick your own numbers. I’m trying trying to push people to think through the practical realities of potentially huge workloads produced by few words in an ordinance.

At 2 minutes per window and an 1,800 hour work year for a standard employee, that would be just under 40 employees needed to do annual inspections. At a full-loaded cost of $50,000 per year, that’s a potential $2 million of new costs. Yes, I know. I could cut that in half by reducing the frequency of the inspections. I could also triple it if the real time spent is 6 minutes per window due to getting to the actual window to inspect, fighting off the pitbull in the backyard and dealing with a Tea Party property rights tenant or occupant who wants to shoot anybody not invited to stand on their front porch.

Argue with my numbers if you want, but please don’t miss my point. Was there any kind of fiscal analysis done? Or did a current council not want to know? Do-gooders love to spend money the next council has to raise. By the way, $2,000,000 of costs divided by 10,000 living units would be $200 per year. Anybody going to pay those levels of fees? Nope! Coming out of taxes.

Also, what is the administrative and billing mechanism that is going to be required to keep track of all this? Who is going to make anybody take out a permit or to go after somebody who didn’t pay? Take a look at unpaid traffic fines, ambulance billings and high-weed mowing liens! There is an entire cottage industry of lawyers we have created billing for things almost impossible to collect.

Not to mention the risk factor. Is there a potential lawsuit when the city requires a permit and an inspection – and then lets something slip through the cracks? Do you really think 10,000 houses with burglar bars are going to be added to a staff’s workload and nothing fall through the cracks? A few years go by, and a fire-related death is due to burglar bars that were not inspected – or at least a record can’t be found. Now get ready to write the really big check that comes out of the taxpayers’ pockets.

Here’s the deal. Call in key city officials and use the burglar bar example to set the stage for the meeting. And then ask this question: how many potentially similar “burglar bar” events do you think about every day that might occur once every year or two? They WILL eventually happen over a decade, perhaps. What keeps you awake at night? Where are we exposed and won’t realize it until the news media makes us look like uncaring, reckless city workers?

You will be disturbed by the answer. You will not rest well for many days. I promise.

Or another way to put this particular issue into perspective, how many burglar bar fire related deaths have there been for these 10,000 living units over the past decade? Things do happen. We have had 100-year floods three years in a row. There will be spikes in the crime rate that has little to do with anything the police department controls.

I fully understand the “value of just one life” issue. But even if the levels of government services were raised many rungs higher than exist now, would we be able to eliminate all deaths in all circumstances where they might be classified as “preventable?” Absolutely not.

I just get tired of the news media that go out of their way to stick the ugliest of the uglies in our faces and then don’t stand ready to support paying for the most effective and efficient ways those issues can be addressed. Governments can always improve at least a little in the way they provide services to do more with less – the mantra at just about every conference I have ever attended in my career. But there comes a time when you have to pay more to get more. Or agree that you are willing to do without and risk the consequences.

Or let me turn this around in a way we can discuss this as intelligently as possible. Spend not a penny more in total, but for every $million you add, decide where you are going to subtract a $million in services elsewhere. You. Meaning the news media. You. Meaning the Tea Party. You are a big talker with no skin in the game. LFM

 

Top Contenders For The Worst Jobs On Earth

.Reading time 10 minutes.

The headlines are screaming. “CPS workers didn’t check on endangered child but filed records showing they did.” “Did CPS troubles allow another child to die?” “More CPS bigwigs quit, Texas House Speaker vows to make protecting abused kids a top priority.”

I don’t know all of the details, and neither do you. But here is what I do know. When I became the first County Budget Officer in Texas in 1977, it was an eye-opener. Only 30, I had just under five years of city experience under my belt. While I was at Dallas County just under two years, I fell in love with county government. Not the dirty politics, although I was treated very well.

It was the services a county provides I appreciated. I considered them the ugly services in our society. Counties administer and carry out services on behalf of the state. They generally cannot do anything unless state law allows them to do so, unlike a Home Rule City that can do just about anything they want to do unless the law specifically says they can’t. When a person dies, cannot be identified or any family member found, who takes care of the pauper burials? That would be the county.

There were 77 elected officials at the time I was at Dallas County. I assembled most of the many judges at one point to talk about the budgeting process. Apparently they didn’t assemble often back in those days, and they were anxious to talk. Not to me, but to themselves. There was a burning topic that was worrying them since it was about to have a huge impact on their workload – other than my Zero-Base Budgeting forms. The law had been changed. One little word was scaring them: “Neglected.” Laws that dealt with abused children in the legal system had been changed to say “abused and neglected.”

This was my introduction into the world of battered and abandon children. However, I had a dinky little office at first. It was square under part of the old county jail several floors up. I heard no noise, but the prisoners had a knack for stopping up the commodes. I had to move when ceiling gave way one night. But for the several months I was in that first office, I was only a few feet from one of the family law courts. There were benches outside and the typical windows in the doors.

So I got to see the daily stream of families going before the judge. It was usually a tragic picture. I didn’t dwell on it, and I don’t recall ever sitting in to listen to the hearings. I do remember sobbing coming from people on the benches outside.

Everybody pretty much understands the justice system as people are arrested and put in jail. It is also fairly easy to appreciate the actual court system where either the judge or a jury decides someone’s innocence or guilt. Even many of the aspects of the incarceration function get highlighted in Hollywood fashion.

But there is a core group of people who have the least glamorous jobs on earth. The mentally ill have to be treated and cared for. The parole officers have to keep up with those out of prison knowing that with the high recidivism rates they are likely to spend months or years monitoring people only to have them cycle right back though jail, courts and then prison before coming full circle back to the parole office.

The toughest job of them all, to me, is the Child Protective Services. They are the ones who have to respond to a police call or a judge’s order and confront the mother and take their child out of maternal arms and into a foster care system. Ugly, ugly, ugly. CPS folks have a high calling. You simply couldn’t desire their job for any kind of glory or reward many of us seek in a job.

And then comes the insult. Generally CPS folks and others like them in the state and county service system are paid nowhere close to their worth. We fret over teacher pay inequities. But nobody gives a damn about CPS workers. Most of us have never seen a CPS worker or a parole officer. Yet the pay isn’t the toughest hand dealt to the CPS worker. It’s the never-ending workload. And then cap it off with a lack of respect.

When I told the story about Gennie Egans a few blogs ago, there was something I didn’t share. The defense lawyer tried to blame the fire department, the medical examiner and police department for having mishandled some aspect of that episode. But he went out of his way to try to make the CPS workers the crown of the evil empire. When the accused mother had to turn over her other children to CPS workers, he portrayed the undoubtedly horrible scene like it was the fault of uncaring CPS workers. I didn’t understand why he did this until I got in the jury room.

The jurors were truly some of the most decent people in the world. Many didn’t want to believe a mother could kill her child. But two or three of these level-headed people let it be known they had no love for the CPS. They had seen or heard of experiences with family members. Never mind that the jurors left out the story as to why there was a CPS investigation in their family or neighborhood. They wanted to dwell on the separation scene or on the prodding of the CPS worker to look inside the house or to talk to the child.

Fortunately, the jurors were able to look beyond that particular bias. But the disdain for CPS workers and the words of the defense attorney haunted them temporarily and could have changed the outcome of the trial.

But here is the irony. Everybody in the state and county system knows that CPS workers are overworked. It would be nice if they only had to deal with a family once, but many of their calls are to families who are known from the multiple instances. But just exactly what would you do when repeaters are added to the otherwise growing population? Can you appreciate what happens when a law changes and the system not only has the authority but the obligation to deal with a “neglected” child in addition to a legally defined “abused” child?

And then the tragedy of a child’s death puts the issue on the front page. Heads Up! Mr. Speaker of the House. In what other world do you live in where you give workers a charge so significant, so massive in weight and then not give them the best supervision – and the damn resources to do the job effectively? How disingenuous to act like you care now that something has blown up in your face. Where were you and your predecessors and all 131 in the State House and Senate as CPS workers and many in the ugly services have been doing their jobs as best they can on the thin resources you give them? No brass building plaques or ribbon cutting photo ops, huh? Get into the trenches first and help!

I’m glad you are going to make child abuse a priority, Mr. Speaker. I would be more impressed if you had taken the initiative before you were forced to do so to save face.

BTW, did you even know that at one time our country had no child abuse laws. When they finally got around to writing some laws for the first time in New York, do you know where they turned to find a framework? They had to turn to animal abuse laws on the books! We worried about child abuse after we worried about animals.

Those in state and county “ugly” services should get more respect than they do. LFM

 

The Stain of Collin County & The News Story That Hasn’t Happened Yet

.Reading time 25 minutes.

I am to blame. I selected the straight ticket option that helped put Ken Paxton into office. Never again.

But I’m not the only one to blame.

The Republicans and the Tea Party wing are remaining strangely silent. I can’t find a recent story where either of these parties are encouraging AG Ken Paxton to resign. Even stranger, I can’t find anything showing that either party is still supporting Paxton.

I know. I know. Wait and see. Let the legal system play out.

But here’s the deal. To me this is not a legal issue. In yesterday’s blog, the legal documents do what has to be done for a jury. They reveal the character of Ken Paxton. Discount big chunks of the legal claims and you still have a money-hungry bad guy willing to throw his clients, associates and friends under the bus so he can gain financially.

So would those powerful supporters of Ken Paxton when he ran for the Senate in 2012, and presumably for Attorney General in 2014, still vote for him today? I say “presumably” because the list I once saw on Ken Paxton’s political Web site when he was running for AG seem to have disappeared.

Where is that news story? In a secret ballot, would the people on the lists below give Paxton a thumbs up or down today? Either way, it would be revealing. Not about Paxton. His character has already been revealed. It would reveal a lot about the character of the movers and shakers below.

By the way, I know some of these people in the first list are not in office now. But most still carry some influence. Not all. But most.

If you on the lists are privately lending your support to AG Ken Paxton yet still remaining silent, why aren’t you speaking up? I have the same question if you are privately telling him to resign. However, I can’t help but wonder why Paxton would know you want him to resign and is resisting the call? I think you are hiding. I am guessing it is your silence he is translating into support.

You allowed him to use your name in these political advertisements. Would you let him use your influence today? Do something! Get public one way or another. Silence, in this case, means you’ve got your arms wrapped around this guy, and he has you wrapped around his finger. The Republicans, the Tea Party and Ken Paxton are now the laughing stock of the state. Heck, even the country. And you are, too.

Or maybe you are one of the three mystery investors that seems to have lost $840,000, along with the two that have revealed themselves, and have decided to eat your loss instead of going public to expose Paxton’s misdeeds. And your blind ignorance.

Attention Shallow News Media: here’s your big story! Awake from your slumber. LFM

Mayor and City Council Endorsements

 
 
Allen
Mayor Steve Terrell
Mayor Pro-Tem Debbie Stout
Council Member Ross Obermeyer
Council Member Gary Caplinger
Council Member Robin Sedlacek
Council Member Joey Herald
Richardson
 
Mayor Pro-Tem Laura Maczka
Council Member Mark Solomon
Council Member Scott Dunn
Council Member Steve Mitchell
Council Member Amir Omar
Frisco
Mayor Pro-Tem Pat Fallon
Council Member Scott Johnson
Council Member Bob Allen
Council Member Jeff Cheney
Council Member John Keating
Council Member Tim Nelson
Fairview
Mayor Pro-Tem Ron Kasian
Council Member Jim Cunningham
Council Member Carolyn Erickson
Council Member Henry Lessner
Council Member Mary Price
Council Member Darion Culbertson
McKinney
Mayor Brian Loughmiller
Mayor Pro-Tem Travis Ussery
Council Member Don Day
Council Member Ray Ricchi
Council Member Roger Harris
Council Member David Brooks
Parker
 
Mayor Pro-Tem Z Marshall
Council Member David Leamy
Council Member Scott Levine
Council Member Eleanor Evans
Murphy
Mayor Bret Baldwin
Council Member John Daugherty
Council Member Bernard Grant
Council Member Dave Brandon
Lucas
Mayor Rebecca Mark
Mayor Pro-Tem Kathleen Peele
Council Member Wayne Millsap
Council Member Philip Lawrence
Council Member Debbie Fisher
Sachse
Mayor Mike Felix
Mayor Pro-Tem Charles Smith
Council Member Jared Patterson
Council Member Bill Adams
Wylie
Mayor Eric Hogue
Mayor Pro-Tem Red Byboth
Council Member David Goss
Council Member Bennie Jones
Council Member Diane Culver

Paxton for Texas State Senate Endorsements
(Partial list at time of printing)

 

Hon. Bob & Teresa Allen, Frisco
Hon. Jeff & Dana Cheney, Frisco
Hon. Bob & Claude Ann Collins, Farmersville
Hon. Don & Linda Day, McKinney
Hon. Mac Hendricks, McKinney
Hon. Corbett and Sue Howard, Celina
Hon. Joe & Shelley Jaynes, McKinney
Hon. Scott & Julia Johnson, Frisco
Hon. John Keating, Frisco
Bob & Hon. Jodie Laubenberg, Parker
Hon. Brian & Donna Loughmiller, McKinney
Hon. Tim & Candice Nelson, Frisco
Hon. David & Nanci Prince, Frisco
Hon. Keith & Tracy Self, McKinney
Hon. Stan & Carol Sewell, Plano
Hon. Shep & JoeAnn Stahel, Plano
Hon. Steve & Sally Terrell, Allen

Frank & Susan Abbott, Frisco
Gail Abbott, Frisco
Lance & Sarah Abbott, McKinney
Dr. Homer & Cathie Adams, Dallas
Dave & Mary Kaye Adams, Dallas
Mike & Colleen Adams, McKinney
Audi Adkins, Frisco
Sharron Albertson, Plano
Cathie Stanford Alexander, Plano
Anita Allen, McKinney
Anne Allen, Plano
Richard & Lucy Allen, Allen
Rich & Drew Allen, Prosper
Jay & Jenny Allison, Frisco
Carlos & Cindy Amaral, Plano
Jacqueline Amos, McKinney
Rebecca Anderson, Frisco
Josh & Bri Andor, McKinney
Chris & Jill Apple, Plano
Shelley Ard, Plano
Phil & Annette Armstrong, Plano
David & JoAnna Arnold, McKinney
Jud & Kristen Arrington, Allen
Rona Zafari Ata, Allen
Blair Baker, Dallas
Brett Baldwin, Plano
Jeanet Ball, Plano
Len & Connie Bara, Plano
Mike & Keely Barbour, McKinney
Bourdon & Melanie Barfield, Fairview
Doug & Traci Barnes, McKinney
Doug & Jodi Bartek, Frisco
Scott & Donna Bashrum, Frisco
Rob Bass, Frisco
David & Helen Batson, Lucas
Heather Batson, Lucas
Troy & Lynda Batson, McKinney
Jason Baxley, Plano
Stan & Pam Baxter, Frisco
Larry & Cheryl Beck, McKinney
Mike Beck, Plano
Mike & Karen Beeson, Plano
Mrs. William E. Bell, Dallas
Dan & Judy Bellue, Frisco
Erin Bellue, Frisco
Brian & Dee Dee Benjamin, Frisco
Janice Berg, Frisco
Michael & Amy Biavati, Dallas
Randall & Renee Bingham, Frisco
Bob & Deb Blencowe, Princeton
Marion Bond, Frisco
Rick & Shirley Booze, Plano
Jennifer Borchardt, Garland
Bob & Erin Botsford, Garland
James & Freida Boyle, Plano
Brian & AnMarie Bozick, McKinney
Mr. & Mrs. Cecil Bradshaw, Plano
Bob & Flora Brands, Fairview
Paul & Ruby Brands, McKinney
Lt. Col. (Ret.) & Mrs. Paul Brands, McKinney
Kevin & Judy Brannon, Allen
Brad & Leanne Brenneman, Frisco
Dr. Brett & Lynne Bridgeman, Plano
Jim Bright, Plano
David & Mendy Bristol, Prosper
Lee Brock, McKinney
Mike & Teresa Bronsky, Plano
Linda Broom, Allen
Richard & Joann Brown, McKinney
Chad Brubaker, Frisco
D. Forrest & Kay Lynn Brumbaugh, Dallas
Jay & Ellen Bruner, Plano
Mike & Joanie Buster, Prosper
Steve Buttry, Plano
Ken Byler, Allen
Eddie & Paula Caldwell, Plano
Kristina Campbell, Richardson
Bruce Carlin, Frisco
Al & Dorothy Carnes, Plano
Dr. & Mrs. Thornton C. Carpenter, Addison
Bruce W. Carr, McKinney
Lisa Carter, McKinney
Roger & Debbie Casey, Allen
Thomas & Nancy Chalin, Frisco
Suzanne & Gene Chapman, Plano
Tim & Kay Chastain, Allen
William Cherry, Richardson
Kay T. Chitty, Allen
Mike & Kathy Chrasta, Wylie
David & Zodie Christakos, Allen
Charles & Cindy Christian, Richardson
Rudy & Patti Churner, McKinney
Bob & Debby Clark, Frisco
Brad & Lisa Clark, Plano
Mark & Sandra Clark, Frisco
Jenny Clark, McKinney
Chris Clements, Frisco
Darrell & Stephanie Cline, Allen
Jonathon Cline, Allen
Tracey & Larry Cline, Allen
Michael Cline, Allen
Mark & Samantha Cobb, McKinney
Carlos & Minal Codero, Frisco
Q Coleman, Plano
Patrick & Elizabeth Collins, Frisco
Phil & Barbara Collins, Plano
Clint & Marie Cook, Plano
Brad Cooke, Plano
Doug & Denise Cooke, Plano
Brittaney Cordon, Plano
Ric & Celeste Cordon, Plano
Chris & Sara Cowman, Frisco
Chad & Cheryl Crawford, Frisco
John & Jennifer Creech, Allen
Randy & Jennifer Creech, Frisco
Bill & Betty Crenshaw, Allen
Sean & Tara Cross, Murphy
George & Angela Crumley, Allen
Tait & Joy Cruse, Frisco
Tim & Rae Curren, McKinney
Dana Dahlen, Plano
Amy Dankel, McKinney
Roger Dankel, McKinney
Darrell Day, Richardson
Steve Day, Plano
Dr. Brad & Shan Dean, Frisco
Glenn & Mary Dean, Dallas
Dr. Octavio De La Pena, Frisco
John DeMattia, Richardson
Brady Dennis, Frisco
Philip & Diedra Dennis, Allen
Todd & Penna Dexter, Plano
Bill Dierion, Frisco
Mark & Judy Dorsett, Frisco
Dorothy Douglas, Allen
Richard Dover, Frisco
Joe Dowell, McKinney
Mary Ann Dowell, McKinney
Todd & Tina Dreger, Frisco
Kent & Angie Driskill, McKinney
Brice & Diane Drogosch, Allen
Ron Dubner, Plano
Steve & Tammy Duke, Lucas
Ed Dunkle, Plano
Howard Durfee, McKinney
Dillon & Amy Durham, McKinney
Bill & Pam Dyer, Frisco
Linda Easton, Dallas
Dorinda Eaton, Allen
Ray Eckenrode, McKinney
Fred & Emily Edwards, Frisco
Greg & Cynthia Ellington, Plano
Johnson & Beth Ellis, Plano
Bill & Sarabel Epperson, Dallas
Scott & Dana Epperson, Plano
Robert Epstein, Dallas
Steve & Colleen Epstein, Plano
David & Elaine Erinakes, Murphy
Kirk & Tonya Estes, Plano
Gerald & Linda Etheridge, Wylie
Brent Everett, Plano
Jim & Kris Falvo, McKinney
Mike & Cindy Fannin, Frisco
Belinda Fantin, Plano
Jim & Karen Farley, Plano
Sharon Feagin, Fairview
Bill Feath, McKinney
Mike & Laura Fechner, Dallas
Sarah & Chuck Fink, Allen
Jeff & Mary Carl Finkelstein, Plano
Noel & Nancy Fischer, Allen
Joy & Paul Flavil, McKinney
Brian Fletcher, Frisco
Bill & Hope Fobes, Plano
Steve & Jamie Fort, Frisco
Dan & Karren Fortney, Plano
R.D. Foster, McKinney
Trina Foster, McKinney
Rick & Tanya Franklin, McKinney
Chris & Stacey Frantz, Carrollton
Lisa Freeman, Plano
Liesl Friesenhahn, McKinney
Sam & Elaine Fritcher, Plano
George & Maylee Fuller, McKinney
Scott & Windy Gallagher, McKinney
Brian Gallimore, Allen
Kyle & Shawn Gant, Melissa
Dale Gasser, McKinney
Alex Gelb, Plano
Beth Gibson, Plano
Stacy Gibson, Plano
Darrin & Kristin Gile, Frisco
Anthony & Bonny Glenn, McKinney
David & Ana Gomez, Allen
Kathy Letchworth Gonzales, Fairview
Clyde Goodnight, Plano
Monty & Laura Goodwyn, McKinney
Lt. Col & Mrs. Paul Gosnell, Frisco
Karen Gravley, Allen
Mike & Pam Grayson, Plano
Pat Greer, Plano
David & Judy Griffin, Plano
Ken & Tara Griffin, Plano
Dr. & Mrs. Chad Guetersloh, Prosper
Dennis & Ruth Guten, Richardson
Bruce Guthman, Frisco
Darlene Hagen, Plano
Brent Hagenbuch, Dallas
Joni Halpin, Allen
David Hamilton, Frisco
Jeff & Jenny Hamlett, McKinney
Rhonda & Mark Hamlett, Richardson
John & Tracy Hancock, Allen
Jenny Hankinson, Dallas
Sandy Harman, McKinney
Dr. Chris & Melanie Harmon, Frisco
David & Cindy Harper, Dallas
Kelly Harper, Frisco
Dr. Herman & Barbara Harrison, Plano
Brent & Sophia Harvey, Plano
James & Kelly Hayes, McKinney
Fred & Kathy Hebert, McKinney
Kendall Helfenbrein, Richardson
Jim & Dana Herblin, Prosper
Chris & Laura Hill, McKinney
Ron & Jan Hirsch, Plano
Mrs. Christine Hogan, Dallas
John “Doc” Holladay, USMC, Ret., Plano
Randy & Fran Hollingsworth, Plano
Peter & Marla Horn, Frisco
Kevin Housh, McKinney
Adam & Amy Housley, McKinney
Linda Howard, Frisco
Mark & Sandy Huffaker, Sachse
Phillip Huffines, Plano
Ray & Ann Huffines, Plano
Kerry & Pam Huffman, Frisco
Gary & Karen Hughes, Westminster
Cdr. (Ret) & Mrs. Jeff Hunt, Frisco
Cindy Hyltin, Plano
Jennifer Ingram, McKinney
Shawn Ingram, McKinney
Craig & Marilyn James, Celina
Evan Janc, McKinney
Luke Janc McKinney
Mike & Kelli Janc, McKinney
Anna H. Janis, Plano
Ron & Linda Jenkins, McKinney
Joe & Kim Jibrail, Plano
Bob & Barbara Johnson, Plano
Bob & Sheila Johnson, McKinney
Cindy Johnson, McKinney
Lauren Johnson, McKinney
Ron Johnson, McKinney
John Jones, Anna
Bill & Mary Jane Journey, Prosper
Dr. Sheffield & Shanna Kadane, Frisco
Brendan & Kasja Keane, Allen
Denny & Sandy Keelan, Richardson
John & Colleen Keene, Plano
Mike & Keara Keith, Allen
Ron Kelley, Plano
Paxton & Pam Kelso, Frisco
Colin & Susan Kimball, McKinney
Ray & Jackie King, Plano
Mike Kinsey, Allen
Wayne Kirk, Plano
Kris & Wendy Kizer, McKinney
Meredith Knox, Allen
Joan Konkel, Plano
Nicole Krasa, Frisco
Leslie Kreatschman, Frisco
Erik & Shane Krotz, Anna
Chuck Kuykendall, McKinney
Gary & Sue Kuzman, Plano
Bob & Jena Lamse, Plano
David Leopard, Richardson
Henry & Nancy Lessner, Fairview
Jeanice Barton Lewis, McKinney
Judy Lewis, Plano
Keet & Margaret Lewis, Dallas
Rick & Stacy Lewis, McKinney
Lance & Alysia Lindsay, McKinney
Tommy & Darrellene Lindsey, Plano
Jon & Gina Lineberger, Frisco
Cheryl Littrell, Murphy
Esau & Abby Liu, Plano
Mike & Kim Loftus, Allen
Charles Loper, Frisco
Chip & Nicki Loper, Frisco
Mark & Robin Lowe, Plano
Chris & Leslie Luce, Plano
Diana Lund, Allen
Laura Lutek, Allen
Trent Lutek, Allen
Mike & Leigh Anne Maack, Plano
C.G. Maclin, Frisco
Jim & Julie MacManus, McKinney
Nancy Madson, Allen
David & Carolyn Magee, Allen
Jim & Carol Maguire, Plano
Mary P. & Peter Maguire, Fairview
Aaron & Jennifer Manley, Frisco
Rosanne Manner, Plano
Bill & Tamara Mapp, Plano
Bob & Jo Raye Masengill, Plano
Jim & Kimberly Mask, McKinney
Mark & Dianne Massei, McKinney
Carroll Maxwell, McKinney
Sharron Mayer, Allen
Tom & Margie McCabe, Frisco
Alice McCaulley, McKinney
Curt & Beth McClellan, Allen
Steve & Deena McCool, Plano
Walter & Kristi McElheney, Frisco
William McElheney, Frisco
Beth McGuire, McKinney
Mike & Janean McLaughlin, Lucas
Aaron McMahon, McKinney
Mark & Wendy McMillon, Plano
Denise & Tim McNamara, Dallas
Linda McNeff, McKinney
Glendy Valdez-Medcalf & Jack Medcalf, Frisco
Steve Melton, Frisco
Brad Merkle, McKinney
Josephine Merkle, McKinney
Mark Mersman, Plano
Phil & Myra Migicovsky, Dallas
Dr. Ed & Susan Miles, McKinney
Bill & Sheryl Mills, Fairview
Doug Mills, Fairview
Chuck Molyneaux & Cindy Meyer, Parker
Joe Minchillo, Plano
Crystal & Randy Monson, Allen
Geoff & Jill Moore, Allen
Joel & Suzanne Moore, Dallas
Stefani Moreland, McKinney
Kathy Morgan, Frisco
Steve Morgan, M.D., Allen
Steve Morris, McKinney
John & Donna Mow, Frisco
Fritz & Christi Mowery, McKinney
Bernadette Mussell, Fairview
Danny & Elizabeth Muzyka, Plano
Greg & Ann Myer, Plano
John & Patty Myers, Plano
Nathan Nash, Plano
Fred Nasseri, Plano
Robert & Candy Noble, Plano
Lynn Nored, McKinney
David & Amy Norton, Plano
Steve & Kim Norton, McKinney
Mark & Diane Nusbaum, Prosper
Nicholas & Melissa Nuspl, Allen
Kevin & Tricia Olson, Allen
Mike Openshaw, Plano
Bill & Carol Orender, Frisco
Jim & Elaine Orr, Celina
Frank O’Reilly, Fairview
Judy Overall, McKinney
Gary & Cathi Page, Allen
Dan & Tricia Panetti, Plano
Katherine Park, Plano
Jim Parrish, McKinney
Suzanne Parten, Allen
Lee & Kelly Passmore, Frisco
Don & Linda Pate, Allen
Ron & Jennifer Patterson, Frisco
Dr. Carey Patrick, Fairview
Faye Perdew, Fairview
Richard & Toni Perdue, Frisco
Lee & Shawnette Petrey, Sachse
Mike & Dawn Petrik, Fairview
John J. Pfister, Jr., Frisco
Dennis & Kay Pharr, McKinney
Oleta Phillips, Plano
David Pitstick, McKinney
Bill & Carolyn Pittenger, Frisco
Ron & Cindy Pittman, Fairview
Brandon & Jennifer Pogue, McKinney
Judy Pogue, McKinney
John & Lisa Primrose, Allen
Stephanie Pudik, McKinney
Michael & Sue Puhl, McKinney
Randy & Julie Pyle, Plano
Juan & Ashlea Quinonez
Dr. Suresh Radhakrishnan & Uma Suresh, McKinney
Curtis & Tracy Rath, McKinney
Trenton Rath, McKinney
Alex & Tina Rasor, McKinney
John & Gabriele Recker, Murphy
David & Holly Reed, Frisco
Dave & Renee Reese, Allen
Doug Reeves, Plano
Mark & Janis Reid, Plano
Mike & Leslie Renfro, Allen
Justin & Karla Reyes, McKinney
Carolyn Riccomi, Richardson
Wayne & Susan Richard, Plano
J.R. & Keresa Richardson, McKinney
Ty & Sharon Richardson, Frisco
Robert & Lana Richardson, Frisco
Rob & Karen Riding, McKinney
Mrs. Nan Riederer, McKinney
Dustin & Elizabeth Rimes, Celina
Andy & Amie Rittler, McKinney
Rick & Brenda Rizos, Lucas
Doug Roberts, Plano
Mike & Amy Robison, Frisco
Bob & Terri Ann Rogers, Plano
Tom & Mona Roise, McKinney
Mark Rollins, Fort Worth
Dale & Gerry Rose, McKinney
Marie B. Rosenbaum, Plano
Daniel Rudd, Plano
Derek & Amy Rude, McKinney
Cris Rude, McKinney
Kirsten Rude, McKinney
John & Kelley Rutledge, Frisco
Lisa Luby Ryan, Dallas
William Sampson, Frisco
Terry Sanchez Wade, Plano
Vinny & Emily Santanelli, Wylie
Hiram Sasser, McKinney
Karen Schalles, Frisco
Dennis G. & Patsy A. Scharp, Frisco
Ron Schoof, Plano
Chris & Mona Schultz, Plano
Andrew Scriven, Plano
John & Kathy Scriven, Plano
Maria Scriven, Addison
Steve Scriven, Plano
Patrick & Kristina Selakovich, Plano
Ken & Joan Self, Allen
Steve & Vickie Senior, Plano
Kelly & Karen Shackelford, Allen
Steve Shelley, McKinney
Wendy Shelley, McKinney
Tom & Jen Sherman, Plano
Mike & Lola Shoemake, Allen
Dave Siciliano, Dallas
Steve & Azadeh Sickman, Plano
Barbara Singleton, Plano
Beth Shumate, McKinney
Ed & Kimberly Silva, McKinney
Jared & Jennifer Smith, McKinney
Royce & Jeanine Smith, Farmersville
Steve Smith, Plano
Tom Smith, Frisco
JoAnn Snodgrass, Allen
Brian & Cathy Snow, Frisco
Marcia Snyder, Plano
Mark & April Solomon, Frisco
Dr. Rod & Kristi Sosa, Frisco
Ann Sowieja, Plano
Steve & Melissa Spence, Allen
Carla R. Springer, Allen
David & Sandra St. Martin, Frisco
Ron & Alicia Staes, Fairview
Charles & Jane Stephenson, Plano
Mark Stuertz, Dallas
Jeff & Leslie Swan, McKinney
Rajiv Suresh, McKinney
Judy Taylor, McKinney
Rene Taylor, Allen
Robbie & Kelly Taylor, McKinney
Joe & Leanne Thomasson, Frisco
Chris Thompkin, Dallas
Chris & Sheacy Thompson, Frisco
Greg & Pam Thorn, Plano
Tom & Sondra Thorne, Allen
Bill Thrailkill, Plano
Tim & May Tolson, McKinney
Don & Patsy Totusek, Richardson
Daniel & April Townsley, Richardson
Cliff & Ramona Traverse, Plano
Tim & Courtney Trylovich, Plano
James & Angela Tucker, McKinney
Paul & Terri Turner, Allen
Kevin Turner, Frisco
Lisa Turner, Frisco
Juan & Jennifer Velez, Richardson
Cindy Vella, Wylie
Fred & Amy Villa, Plano
Jessica Vittorio, Frisco
Tony & Kim Vitz, McKinney
Jan Vogt, Dallas
Tod & Candace Vogt, Plano
Karl & Kathy Voigtsberger, Richardson
Lawrence Wainer, Dallas
Gregg & Jane Watling, Allen
Vicky Webster, McKinney
Eric Weinkam, Frisco
Rod & Bonnie Wells, Richardson
Jim West, Plano
Betty Westbrook, Allen
Kurt Westenhoefer, Sachse
Phil Wheat, McKinney
Taylor & Shannon White, Frisco
David & Patti Whitehurst, Addison
Paul & Sue Whitesell, Plano
Beverly Whittington, Richardson
Jim Wiederhold, Dallas
Mark & Jennifer Wiggins, Plano
Ben Williams, Richardson
Bob & Carol Williams, Richardson
Jim & Nedra Williams, Frisco
Laura Williams, Frisco
Paul O. Williams, Frisco
Phillip & Mari Williams, Allen
Don & Sue Wills, Dallas
Michael & Karen Willis, Frisco
Fran Wilson, McKinney
Monty & Karen Wilson, Frisco
Janell Wimberly, Plano
Robert & Meredith Winninghan, Allen
Ed Wohead, Allen
Randall Woodman, Allen
Mark Yablon, McKinney
Jay & Kiley Young, Frisco
Eric & Katina Zepp, McKinney

A Secret McKinney Investment Club Dons Their Hazardous Material Suits

.Reading time 9 minutes.

That which has been seen cannot be unseen. That phrase is usually used when talking about porn or a murder scene. I have an image in my head I cannot remove. It involves AG Ken Paxton. But first we must learn a new word for many of us. The word is “disgorge.” The word means to vomit, spew out, expel, spit … you get the image. In the legal world it also means to yield, to surrender. I’m thinking about the pie-eating contest in Stephen King’s Stand By Me!

How does this relate to AG Paxton? Let’s explore the latest SEC charge that includes 111 points. It lays out the events of some bad actors and how they were intertwined. Bill Mapp is one of them, and is pretty much described as a snake oil salesman. Mapp is the head guy at Servergy, a company that received $150,000 in rent subsidy from the McKinney EDC, and for which the City got nothing in return. If you were to go to the Servergy offices, which I did, and turn too quickly, you walk directly into the MEDC/MCDC offices next door.

But this story starts in 2011 with a meeting between Bill Mapp and Ken Paxton in the then- state representative’s McKinney law office. Why would a snake oil salesman even approach Paxton to help find investors’ money for a tech company? My guess is it would have to be due to Mr. Paxton’s reputation for being in the investor promotion business. Perhaps it was also due to an “investment club” of which Paxton was a member. An offer is made to Paxton to promote the company and to raise money. Paxton likes the opportunity and says “I will get to work.”

The work involves Paxton organizing and inviting seven prospective investors to Servergy’s offices for an investment pitch. Paxton was there and also introduced Mapp to five additional prospects by telephone or email that same day. So, now we have twelve recruits. Among the people Paxton recruited were his friends, business associates, law firm clients and members of an investment group to which Paxton belonged. None were told that Paxton was doing this for a commission.

Paxton is a lawyer, the profession that invented the words and concept of “due diligence.” Prospective investors were told by Paxton that he had met with Servergy’s management and determined that it was a great company. However, he apparently didn’t inquire too deeply to even see their manufacturing plant or if it even existed. He didn’t ask anybody he knew about the “advanced” servers being of 32-bit technology instead of the 64-bit standard the industry had already moved to.

Another state representative (Investor 1) was apparently part of the investment group. The way the investment group worked, the members trusted each other to consider the interests of the group as a whole and not exploit one another for personal benefit. Also, if a member recommended an investment, it was understood that the person carried the responsibility to monitor the investment going forward. As time passed, Servergy’s claims were not coming to fruition, and Investor 1 grew worried about his investment.

So Paxton gets Investor 1 an audience with Bill Mapp. So the snake oil salesman becomes a snake charmer. The SEC documents actually say Mapp “lulled” Investor 1 with false claims Servergy was flush with with purchase orders. The cobra head is swaying, and the eyes are getting very sleepy. You would think that at this point Paxton would have heeded the red flag and started asking his own questions. He didn’t. Also, Investor 1 had no clue that Paxton was getting paid to promote the company and raise money.

Investor 2 was another investor of Paxton’s investment group. In this case, Paxton used pressure tactics to persuade Investor 2 to make a hasty decision to invest in Servergy. Investor 2 was not intending to invest in Servergy and had a travel related conflict that prevented him from making the investment decision deadline.

Now get this: Paxton without any technical or market knowledge calls Investor 2 late in the night persuading the person to change his mind, hyping the opportunity, and claiming the great opportunity was going to double in price if he did not decide in 8 days. So Investor 2, not knowing that Paxton was earning a commission, forks over $150,000!

Paxton kept on soliciting investors. He forwarded Mapp’s promotional materials, including claims from Mapp that Servergy’s technology was third-party tested and validated by a world class testing lab and that there was an 80% savings in power, cooling and space costs. Paxton did nothing to determine if Mapp’s claims were true.

How much money did Paxton raise? By the deadline, five of the twelve prospective investors became real investors. The kind that write checks for $840,000. For Paxton’s successful efforts, Servergy issued a stock certificate for 100,000 shares of stock. For the 2011 tax year, Servergy issued a 1099 to Paxton for $100,000.

Did Paxton ever put any of his own money into Servergy. Hold on, that’s another gem in the story. Mapp and Paxton meet at the “City Club” of McKinney where all big deals are brokered: the Dairy Queen. According to Paxton, he went to the meeting intending to invest $100,000 of his own money into Servergy. But the SEC documents record that Mapp refused Paxton’s money. Then comes a classic line, one that Hollywood might write: “I can’t take your money. God doesn’t want me to take your money.”

Brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?

But wait a minute. There were five investors that coughed up the $840,000. Only two apparently came forward to claim damages. Who are the other three members of the investment group? Why would anybody put up that kind of money, learn it was all a sham, and then not go for Paxton’s jugular? These must be really good friends of Paxton’s. With plenty of money. Enough that $150,000 is chump change. Or maybe they have been in or are now in other deals with Paxton.

Who is Investor 3, Investor 4 and Investor 5? That has got to be a better story than the one in this blog. The first two have actually been named in other news stories. I think the other three are in hiding and praying their fraternity doesn’t get into the public spotlight. This is penny-ante poker for the McKinney Underground doing real estate deals.

Okay, after 111 points were made, the SEC gets to the relief they are seeking. This is where we need to glove up and bring in the hazardous material clothing. Maybe a fire truck to help with the wash down.

The SEC is ordering Mapp and Paxton to disgorge any ill-gotten gains or unjust enrichment realized resulting from the conducted alleged in the Complaint.

It will be an epic scene. LFM

 

Please, Please Advise AG Ken Paxton To Resign!

.Reading time 8 minutes.

I woke up early to learn that the Waco Tribune had beat me to the punch on my intended topic for this blog. In fact, they quoted verbatim a few lines my best friend in Houston sent to me yesterday. However, I will add some thoughts at the end.

EDITORIAL: Many of us are complicit in scandal fast engulfing state attorney general

Posted: Tuesday, April 12, 2016 12:01 am | Updated: 1:02 am, Tue Apr 12, 2016.
Waco Tribune

If Texas Republicans are to lay claim to values such as public integrity and good governance amid changing political demographics, they best deal with the ethical problems mounting around State Attorney General Ken Paxton. Of course, if Paxton truly cared about his political party, his state and the fleeting prestige of his office, he would resign and save taxpayers a bundle of money in legal costs and any further embarrassment.

Just Monday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission added to Paxton’s swelling legal problems by charging civil securities fraud for his business sideline back in the Texas Legislature — encouraging people to buy stock in Servergy Inc., a North Texas tech company, without revealing he was being compensated by that company. He already faces criminal charges for the same business dealings, a violation of Texas law.

Among the people the McKinney Republican reportedly serenaded were friends, business associates, law firm clients and members of an investment group to which he belonged. Despite a legal and ethical duty to do so, Paxton “recklessly failed to inform the individuals he recruited [to invest] that he was being compensated to promote Servergy to investors,” the SEC alleges. According to the complaint, he raised $840,000 in investor funds for Servergy and received 100,000 shares of stock in return.

More evidence? The technology company that Paxton was reportedly talking up to friends and associates is accused of boosting stock sales with false claims about a “supposedly revolutionary computer server and big-name customers purportedly placing orders to buy it.” Servergy has since cut ties with its earlier CEO and agreed to pay a $200,000 penalty to settle these damning SEC charges.

Texas voters are quite complicit in all this. While some outrage is voiced over such snafus as the botched March 1 local election, the fact remains voters are too often foolish in casting ballots when they do get a chance to do it right. In 2014, many Republicans — including a plurality in McLennan County — bypassed two upstanding, qualified Republicans running for attorney general — Barry Smitherman and Dan Branch — and instead rallied around Paxton, who by then had already admitted to violating state securities laws, a third-degree felony. Amazing.

Some Republicans argue the charges against Paxton parallel the politically motivated legal troubles of former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, including allegations that Perry abused his state executive powers. This newspaper knows better, which is why we repeatedly defended the Republican governor of those charges, eventually dismissed. Paxton has admitted to violating state securities laws. His holding of a high office of public trust as this state’s top law enforcement officer is a disgrace that indicates just how deeply many of us have failed as citizens.

The part I would like to add is an appeal to some key leaders who should have stepped up by now and ended this travesty of our political and legal system.

Governor Abbott. You could have ended this a long time ago and should have. Your silence has been screaming loudly as many of us have wondered why you would not encourage AG Paxton to stop embarrassing Texas. Your word would have carried a lot of weight and still will if you use your voice. You have done us no favors. Lead! You are as guilty as Ken Paxton for letting this drag out so long. Advise Ken Paxton to resign!

Former Governor Perry. Here is a case where your influence and your position is perfectly suited to tell the emperor he has no clothes. You should have handled this already as a friend to Gov. Abbott and the most central person who should put Texas first and tell your crony it’s over. Advise Ken Paxton to resign!

Senator Cruz. Where is your leadership? Oh wait, I just remembered you had Ken Paxton hire a truckload of your Texas staff irrespective of qualifications or process. You are worthless. However, you have many ways of getting the message to the AG. And this is more important than your cronyism. Advise Ken Paxton to resign!

Collin County/McKinney Leadership. Many, many of you had your name listed as supporters on AG Paxton’s political Web splash page when he was running for office. I would publish all of the names now, but the AG has managed to take it down. I wouldn’t have blamed you for wanting to retreat from an overt sign of support. But that is not enough. It is YOU who could write a letter or place a phone call to your Tea Party darling. Advise Ken Paxton to resign!

Prestonwood Baptist Church. And all church leaders. I think it is good that you are praying for the AG. He needs all of our prayers. He will need them more if he goes to prison. But right now there are many of you, including the pastoral leadership, who could be a Prophet Nathan and hold up the mirror to Ken Paxton. Surely you know this has to be done. Your misplaced encouragement to stay the course has made the man delusional. Advise Ken Paxton to resign.

Citizens. If you were like me and blindly chose the Republican ticket route, then you are as dumb as I am. It was a mistake. The major daily newspapers warned us of this Bad Boy. We didn’t read or didn’t care or had socks coming out of the drier and didn’t ask questions. Repent. He is a major embarrassment to Texas. Write a letter or jump on a bus to protest in Austin. Advise Ken Paxton to resign!

Conclusion. This dragging out of the inevitable is costing tax payer money. It is also eroding the integrity of our political system. It is putting Texas in a bad light. Every major newspaper in the country is focused once again on this bad actor. I truly believe he did not start out this way. But his ambition got the best of him. This is all of his doing.

Please, please, advise AG Ken Paxton to resign! LFM

McKinney ISD: You Are Working Hard Not To Be Transparent

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Just before Christmas I made an Open Records Request to follow up on a rumor I had heard from more than one party. MISD wanted to withhold the information from me. I sent an email to the AG’s office that is reproduced below. They responded that they did not accept emails, so I needed to send a letter. I didn’t do that. I got my point across and was expecting the AG to side with MISD. You see, Ken Paxton has ties to just about every mover and shaker in Collin County and McKinney.

However, I received a letter from the AG’s office yesterday. They sided with me and against MISD.

So now I’m waiting to see what I get from MISD.

Meanwhile, here is my email to the AG:

Dear Ken Paxton:

 I have always believed that everything is a rumor until one can find proof – even if you hear the same rumor from multiple credible people over a relatively long time span. Even though the law does not allow a local government to ask a PIA requester the purpose of the request, I would like for you to know the reason behind my ORR that has now become the subject of a letter to you. It is also important to me that I explain how I see this as a dilemma for me. Equally important, perhaps more so, I think your colleagues have created a dilemma for you.

 The Rumor. I have heard from more than once source that several years ago (early 2000s) a city official passed by a house being built for McKinney ISD Assistant Superintendent Wyndol Fry. Supposedly there was an abundance of what appeared to be vehicles and equipment owned by Pogue Construction Company that has done a massive amount of work for MISD while Mr. Fry was over facilities. A person made this observation known to the MISD school superintendent at the time (I am not sure of his name). The superintendent confronted Mr. Fry, the rumor goes, and Mr. Fry abruptly resigned immediately or a few days later.

 My Dilemma. A Concerned Taxpayer, me, hears the rumor and wonders if this incident and set of events was ever made known to the public? So, I search newspapers and MISD online records the best I can and find no reference to the departure of Mr. Fry. So, I think how strange for a well tenured, highly respected and highly visible school official abruptly leaves and there is no record of it. Or at least I cannot find a record.

 So I did what the law provides for interested taxpayers to seek answers to such questions. I made an Open Records Request. I was fully expecting a set of documents to help me understand facts so that there would be no rumor involved. If you will simply look at my ORR, it is quite basic. And it is in line with hundreds of newspapers I scan through daily looking for stories that apply to local government officials in the only field I have worked in for 43 years. You know very well the news media ask these questions as well as bloggers and analysts like me.

 Your Dilemma. Hopefully you can see now why I was blown away when I received a copy of the attached letter sent to me by the MISD attorneys Abernathy Roeder Boyd & Hullett, PC. The letter is to you, and is the typical punt to the AG so somebody can say The Devil Made Us release these documents. I say typical because it is a well-used strategy here in your homeland – Collin County.

 What is not typical is that the letter asserts that MISD documents and information are excepted from disclosure by Sections 552.101 through Section 552.156 of the PIA! See: http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/GV/htm/GV.552.htm.

 My goodness! How did my basic ORR end up covering the entirety of all those sections?

 Our Dilemma. I realize you haven’t ruled yet, but this response from the law firm fires my imagination as to what is behind this letter to you?

 Is it a true cover-up? I was told my some knowledgeable people in McKinney that this was exactly what was going to happen. That the powers in McKinney would not want this information to come out.

 And who are the powers? Well, this particular law firm and this particular construction firm are both respected and powerful in Collin County. In fact, as I have reviewed some information that reaches back several years, there are many prominent names that frequently circulate through all kinds of government committee appointments, elections, land purchases and zoning deals. And your name, sir, is quite prominent, too. So I have to wonder, are they kicking this ORR to you already knowing the answer you are going to give your former and perhaps even current colleagues?

 I also wonder if this ORR and the resulting letter was made known to the current superintendent and MISD board members? And if not, is there a don’t ask-don’t tell policy between the MISD board and this law firm. I know this question is not for you to answer, so that is the reason I am copying those folks.

 And how in the world did the McKinney media not find this quick departure of Mr. Fry intriguing and probe into it at the time? Not for you to answer but I’m sure you know the answer that I have heard so many times. Almost non-existent. Lazy. And maybe even not too smart. I’ve heard stories of reporters sitting in front of a gold mine of marginally or wholly questionable decisions and it not even catching their attention. So, I’m copying a few of them.

 In closing, I’m just a taxpayer wanting to understand if a rumor is true. I suspect it is and I suspect there is a well-known set of facts. Boards and superintendents turn over but there is usually a huge bundle of institutional knowledge in their offices and those of personnel administrators and attorneys.

 But it is now in your court, Mr. Paxton. I’m eagerly awaiting your answer.

I assume that law firms do what their clients tell them to do. The ORR I didn’t send to MISD but still might is how many ORRs automatically go to the AG as routine responses vs or answered as requested?

It was interesting to note the bond presentation to the City of McKinney City Council this week. Mostly softball questions. The only question that came close to being deep was about some statements in a Facebook page. Not mine. The Superintendent did the typical blow off to the question. When pressed harder, he came up with a bureaucratic response that tried to evade the question. The MISD sheep, the citizens, are accustomed to being told only what MISD staffers think they need to know.

I am very interested in MISD’s next move. I will keep you posted. LFM

McKinney Numbers Not Published Until There Is A Problem

.Reading time 9 minutes.

Utility systems have fascinated me my entire career. Water, wastewater, stormwater drainage, electric, gas. Roadways are usually not referred to as a utility system, but they actually are part of utility family as I view it. All of them are expensive investments. Ginormous to use a word from my grandchildren’s vocabulary. A huge part of these assets are visible. However, the majority are not. They are underground. Even a roadway is thought to be visible, but it is the base material and conditions beneath the surface that is where the problems usually start.

The Water System.

There are two numbers I have been urging cities to place in the primary financial disclosure documents, mainly the Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs), for many years. The first is the Water Loss & Unaccounted For. This sounds like an awkward label and bad grammar. It is actually an officially recognized description by the American Water Works Association.

The “Loss” part is mainly referring to leaks in the water system. You can often pinpoint a leak with clarity. That is when the water is spewing 50 feet high from a breakage, and the news cameras are out for the photo-op. Or when water is leaking underground and creating rivulets that call your attention to a leak. Like a sprinkler system leaking, although usually larger. However, there are many leaks where the hole is on the bottom of the big water line creating a cavity that may not be detected until the street cracks open to reveal a huge cavern has been created over time and has swallowed a car.

The “Unaccounted For” includes many of the gallons of true lost water. But it is a bigger and more complicated issues. Water is brought into a city in huge transmission lines. The entry point is usually metered. However, the meter must be checked for accuracy and re-calibrated at times. McKinney receives about 25.3 million gallons every single day from the North Texas Municipal Water District to serve 51,636 connections. Those are published numbers available online.

Interestingly, the numbers not published are the ones most important to me – and they should be to you. The average per water customer use per day is 490 gpd. To put it in context, ten years ago that metric was 673 gpd. What can we make of it? Conservation? Inaccurate data? Actually, to be totally fair, we just start with that number, fill in the middle years and examine more closely to see the trends. There are many significant weather factors that can wreck those numbers. The water intake meters from NTMWD are read on the first of the month. The consumer meters are read on a cycle throughout the month, so one has to do a computation to get a good estimate of the water metered to the customer that matches the calendar month.

But the missing number is this: what is the Water Loss & Unaccounted For number?

It does not get published annually and for all to see. It is the most revealing number I can think of to grasp an understanding of the condition of the water distribution system. A newspaper account reports the City had a 28% loss in 2014. Are you kidding me? That would be about 2.5 billion gallons! That’s 12,500 elevated storage tanks the size on Virginia near Hardin!

Hold on. Let’s try to get a perspective. What was that WL&UF number over the last 10 years. Hmm! We don’t know. If it is calculated, it is not published in a report I can find online. It is generally believed that about the best that value can get for a city is about 7%. The paper reports 12% is the norm.

It depends on the age of the system, soil conditions and, of course, weather conditions. There can be unmetered water for street medians or even ballfields. In most cases, cities have either metered or have good estimating measures for those. Tell me the size of the meter and the water pressure, and I can tell you how many gallons per minute can go through the line. All I need is the hours the sprinklers have been on for the month.

There can be theft. However, I feel quite confident that this 2.5 billion gallons is not about theft. I do know that residential water meters tend to start under-reading when they get into the range of 7-10 years of age or about a million gallons. It would be nice to know the average age of the 51,636 connections. Let’s usage 12 years as an average to be generous. We would be fairly safe in expecting that about 4,300 meters per year are being replaced if we are keeping up with the necessary life-cycle plan. Is that happening?

In fact, what is the average age of 826 miles of water lines, 628 miles of sewer lines and 430 miles of storm drainage system? Most of those items last about 20-35 years, but do the math. Gee, “brand new” Stonebridge, at least the early sections of the 6,250 acres, is in that zone now. Infrastructure deterioration is an exponential curve, not a straight line.

Wastewater.

The key metric here is Inflow & Infiltration. (I&I). Inflow is when manhole covers have popped off from water just pouring into the sewer system. Infiltration is when roots and breaks underground are causing underground water to seep in. Together they make up millions of gallons (gee, I hope it is not billions of gallons!) that McKinney pays to treat that unnecessary part of rainwater. Same same factors discussed apply as with water except wastewater is not metered for all but the largest commercial customers as well as the city as a whole. It is an estimate based on the water usage. But even with estimates, it can be calculated with a fair degree of accuracy.

What we can guess is that the condition of the sewer system tends to be worse than the water system due to the content of the flow and the fact the flow is by gravity more than a forced flow under pressure. Roots don’t generally get into a pressurized water line and could get detected if they did. There are 51,636 checkers of the water quality as we turn on our faucets every day. Not so with the sewer system.

Conclusion.

I’m going to save roadways and other components of the infrastructure for future blogs.

I have a real problem with cities not showing these key statistics on a 10-year trend:

Water Loss & Unaccounted For.

Wastewater Inflow & Infiltration.

Average Age of Roadway Street Miles; Water and Sewer miles; and Water Meters.

In the name of transparency, I challenge the City of McKinney to publish these vital statistics in their next CAFR. Also, the CAFR will have 10-years of annual data. The Web site should show these calculations on a monthly basis as well as the linear feet of replacement or breakage repairs.

No business would operate a $Billion enterprise and not know these numbers and the trends. LFM

Is McKinney A Self-Sufficient Island?

.Reading time 11 minutes.

It seems to me that McKinney is just far enough north on US 75 and just far enough east on SRT to be in the right pathways, and a city that could have it all if patience existed. We are part of a vibrant region, but we really don’t want to be a participant unless it is all to our benefit. Collin County Commissioners Court does not set a very good example, either. It wasn’t always that way. It was way before the Tea Party took control. In one sense, we are in a self-defeating mode. There is some inertia going for us, for sure. But we are only getting bread crumbs.

There are many municipal services that are too big for every city to handle. Water and sewer is a municipal service, but the cost of infrastructure and availability of a source is such that most cities had to create or be part of regional services decades ago. Now there are a few major players making sure there are ample supplies. The North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) serves from the McKinney and Frisco Area to the the Garland and Plano area and beyond. Dallas Water Utilities (DWU) takes care of most of the entire Dallas Area. The Upper Trinity Municipal Water District (UTMWD) serves from below Denton to down to Flower Mound and out to areas both east and west of I-35. The Trinity River Authority (DWU) and Fort Worth Water Utilities (FTWU) serve most of west side of I-35 from Grapevine to the mid-cities area through Fort Worth.

The key point I am trying to make here is that some things are too big for single cities. And the infrastructure is so vast and costly that no city could do it by themselves.

Transportation.

The big elephant in the room is transportation. Like with other other major infrastructure systems, especially those that know no municipal boundaries, even the state and federal government can’t easily deal with well over a 1,000 municipalities in Texas. The counties provide some essential services as an arm of the state, such as the judicial system, but even the 254 counties are often too many to be effective to communicate and coordinate the big-ticket items.

So, 50 years ago Texas created 24 planning agencies to do just that – plan, coordinate and communicate. We live in the first and arguably the best and most effective planning agency area, the North Central Texas Council of Government (NCTCOG). The headquarters are located a few hundred feet from the corner where the roller coaster Judge Roy Scream is at Six Flags in Arlington. The entire first floor of the main building (NCTCOG is in three buildings) is for public meeting rooms. Decisions on as much as $200 million in federal and state monies annually are made in those meeting rooms.

NCTCOG serves a massive area that covers 16 counties. From Wise, Denton, Collin and Hunt to the north, Erath, Hood, Somerval, Johnson, Ellis and Navarro to the south, Palo Pinto to the west and Kaufman to the east, it’s all NCTCOG. Denton, Collin, Tarrant and Dallas County are where most of the dollars and attention are spent.

You can bet that county judges are highly involved as well as mayors and council members from both the major cities and many of the smaller cities. NCTCOG has an Executive Board made up of 13 elected officials. But get this, the Transportation Board has over 40 members. Those members are charged with watching out for all 16 counties, but you can be sure that they are watching out for their own.

And They Watch Us.

I have not talked to a single person at NCTCOG recently about what I am about to say. These are my views.  But I have watched the Transportation meetings, both live and recorded, over many years. If you go to the Collin County Administration Building here in McKinney, you will note that it is named after a long time regional player named Jack Hatchell.

Mr. Hatchell was a team player, a former councilmember at Plano. He also was a traffic professional. Literally. When I went to his funeral, the large church was filled with people and overflowing with praise for his vision, his leadership and his appreciation for the fabric of a region and how critical it is woven together. Mr. Hatchell was actually the president of the Executive Board at one time in addition to leading the Transportation Planning Council.

An observer watching our current County Judge would hardly find that kind of regional spirit. While he is protective of Collin County, which is nice, it is hard to see where he is interested in the region. He is tolerated, but he is not a player. He is viewed as arrogant and smug. Perhaps his Tea-Bagger constituency, of which he is a leader, is part of the reason. Here is the deal. The Transportation Staff and the Transportation Board make major decisions on how funds are allocated throughout the entire region.

So, let’s see how I would view Collin County and the City of McKinney if I were on the Transportation Board and Staff. There is a transportation provider that serves McKinney. That board is governed by key elected officials from both Collin County and McKinney. The local agency is providing services at a level that exceeds its income. What do the Collin County and McKinney elected officials on the local board as well as the McKinney City Council do? They bail! They are the captains of the ship that jump into lifeboat first while everybody left in the ship sinks.

NCTCOG comes into the picture and tries to help. They offer some temporary relief and a solution that would cost McKinney a little money every month while everything can be sorted out. The money was mainly to help provide a modest level of service for the handicapped and elderly. What does Collin County and the City of McKinney do? It involves communicating using the middle finger.

I believe DART may have offered some help, too. Again, middle finger.

Consequences.

Here’s the rub. Tea-Baggers don’t care about consequences. They just love the word NO, and the image of their leaders being tough on guv-ment.

I am fairly certain of one thing. The ultimate middle finger will come from the Transportation Board to Collin County and McKinney. Most of us don’t have a clue, but the Collin County and McKinney representatives know full well that there are $millions in discretionary funds controlled by the Transportation Board and Staff. It is very, very easy to help out with a $million here and a $million there since just about everybody has more project needs than they can afford locally. It is just as easy to say, nope, not gonna happen.

It will probably be impossible to document or trace, but I feel very confident in saying that the refusal for help offered by NCTCOG and the relatively few dollars McKinney was unwilling to come up with, pocket change in the bigger picture, is going to cost McKinney $millions. Thanks, Tea-Baggers, that’s being tough. And foolish.

Another Example.

If you really look at the way things have worked in McKinney and continue to unfold, it is easy to predict that we are going to be a community of nice homes first with a modest amount of non-residential property. Quite frankly, I am okay with that. But we aren’t thinking like a commuter community. We have no visionaries who will face the facts. We’ve got a lot, but we don’t have the patience to wait for the best. Developers don’t make money today by waiting until tomorrow.

We have $250 million we have spent without much to show for that amount of money. I am fairly sure that kind of money could have built a commuter line from the DART Parker Station to Bloomdale Road by now. Or our own bus system that would serve all of our internal needs plus just have a Park & Ride from McKinney to Downtown Dallas and to DFW Airport.

Yeah, yeah, I know those are restricted funds authorized by the voters. However, did you know that HB 157 now allows the voters to use the full 2-cents for any purpose the Council deems a priority?

We are 50% built out with all the growth north going to produce traffic going south to SRT or 75.

We should not just be a regional player, but the most impressive regional leader. We are not an island. LFM

How to Learn About Local Government In McKinney

.Reading time 10 minutes.

There are three levels of local government I suggest my neighbors watch closely: Collin County, the City of McKinney and McKinney ISD. Being a student of local government is like being in a giant laboratory. Some people think that the only way you might be an effective player in governance is to run for office. I disagree.

Officeholders usually find themselves decision makers yet highly constrained. They have to operate under rules that, quite frankly, limit what they can do or say. And while they are at the table in meetings and at the dais, they actually find themselves having too much to read and study to be fully prepared if they also have to hold down full-time jobs.

Also, in my opinion, they lose some independence. Before long they end up having to go along to get along. If they want something done and need support, then they need three more votes (two in county government). It is said that politics is all about compromise. But the deep levels of compromise can be ugly and are often not what they expected — or wanted.

The real power is in the people. Well, it should be. But here is what happens. The majority of the citizens don’t care or don’t have time as long as their garbage gets picked up and emergency responses are relatively fast. If water comes out of the faucets and and sewerage is taken away, then the focus is on taking kids to sports activities, keeping the yard and house maintained and on advancing in a career. I understand.

And even the power of the citizen or business is compromised if you want something that directly benefits the person. I’ve been told by some prominent business people in McKinney that I am right on target, that I was their hero or some other words of encouragement. That is nice but when I ask them to help, they back away. Why? Because they do business or have favors to ask of an elected official. They have even told me that have to go along to get along.

Wait! They are knowledgeable about things that go on in McKinney, things they say irk them and are unethical or immoral at best and questionable about the legality in many cases, but can’t or won’t say anything because they rub shoulders with people at the Chamber or the county club and don’t won’t to get their friends upset at them? Ugh! You’re killing me!

So, the masses don’t know and don’t care and the knowledgeable are disgusted but may need a favor at some point in the future. Gee, that is a horrible community situation. But that is the way it is.

There is actually another group, and it is this particular group I am writing to today. There are those interested in the way government works, but they find it way too complicated. Politics are complex but finances are even more difficult to grasp. So, if you don’t want a single thing from local government other than good, honest decisions that serve all people today and, more importantly, our children and grandchildren in the future, then today’s blog is for you.

How Do You Learn?

It does take some time to learn, but most local governments have done a good job of putting information on their Web sites in the name of Transparency. There are documents, meeting videos and minutes available for your education. I believe there is the equivalent of a master’s degree just waiting for you to grasp.

However, in one sense, it can be like drinking from a fireplug. Most elected bodies do, in fact, get an orientation just before or after they are elected. However, these are usually just a few hours or maybe a two-day retreat. And then the remainder is on-the-job-training. And OJT will eventually get you there if you are on the governance boards long enough to get the benefit of hours of meetings.

First, just explore every single piece of information available on the Web sites of local governments. The amount of published information has grown immensely over the years – and for a reason – presumably for you to read! Here are just a few:

Budgets.
Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs).
Official Statements for Bond Issues.
Continuing Disclosure Filings Related to Bond Issues.
Video Recordings of Council Workshops and Council Meetings.
Video Recordings of MEDC/MCDC Meetings (not yet but coming).
Video Recordings of Planning & Zoning Meetings.
Agendas and Agenda Packets.
Minutes of Meetings.
The City Charter & Ordinances.
Pertinent State Laws (on another site).

How Does One Start?

In one of my MPA classes I taught at UNT years ago, I handed out a three-inch set of printouts of data to analyze. The class freaked out. I then told them to just study one page. Understand it completely. Hand calculate a few of the ratios. Then I said, all of the pages are the same. Different months, but the same data. Different classifications, but the same data.

That is not always the case, but my point applied here is to first glance through the entire budget, for instance. It is organized in a certain way for a reason. If in PDF format, as most are these days, there are bookmarks that help to navigate. Then read the transmittal letters and explanations in the front end. Read them twice. Maybe three times. Next year’s budget is likely to be in the exact same format with different numbers. And the key stories conveyed in the transmittal sections will usually tell you what is changed.

Let’s Stop Here.

In the spirit of taking a good spoonful and digesting before the next bite, let’s see if any McKinney or Collin County citizen (heck, anybody!) will take an interest in today’s blog and be willing to become a student again. After 42 years in the municipal business, I am still a student. I will always be. Yes, it is THAT interesting!

I hope my blogs, in their entirety but particularly those directly talking about local government, are being viewed as educational tools.

The Reward.

If I have to explain the rewards of being better educated or to make someone a better thinker, then I’m at a loss as to how to convey that motivation. A smarter citizenry can help a governing body. My goodness, just read the City’s weekly newsletter. They are begging the citizens to get more knowledgeable. It is a double-edged sword. You are likely to be way more supportive and understanding of most decisions that are being made.

You can also be there as a reminder that the body is veering from their stated goals. Or when something simply smells bad. Why did something that seems significant get placed on the consent agenda? Was it discussed before in a workshop and I just missed it? When some council members went against a staff recommendation, did they place on the record their explanation of their decision?

This is all about making government more open and honest. There is only one group of people who could possible be against such a goal. Let’s look at the group most of us want to be in. I was a Rotarian for only a short time years ago, but I am motivated to write these blogs today for similar reasons Rotarians subscribe to their Four-Way Test:

1) Is it the truth?

2) Is it fair to all concerned?

3) Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

4) Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

Some might argue that I am failing on the third one. But I think the first and second are my primary concerns now and the other two will work out over time. LFM

McKinney: What Have We Gotten For Our Quarter-Billion Dollars?

.Reading time 7 minutes.

The City of McKinney is not having such a good week in the economic development department. First Lincoln Properties pulls out of the celebrated Gateway Project. This is particularly disappointing since the hotel component didn’t happen without lawsuits and  $millions spent before this more recent phase moved into the forefront. So in early 2014 we think something is finally going to happen on the remainder of the Gateway property. And by early 2016 it is stalled again as the developers walk away.

Now comes Barclays Bank. In September 2014, we hear that 500 jobs are coming with a $4 million investment on the City’s part. And now in April 2016, Barclays is leaving before fulfilling their mission. The City says none of the $4 million was spent because Barclays had not met their threshold for jobs. Not to Barclays, maybe, but not a penny paid to the property developer?

Are we just that unfortunate here in McKinney? Yes, things happen. And there is much not within our control. I suppose.

However, this opens a door. I’ve walked through it before when I have questioned how the money is being spent for both the McKinney Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) as well as the McKinney Community Development Corporation (MCDC). The City Council did give a nod to a gigantic step when they indicated it would be a good thing to move the MEDC/MCDC Board meetings to the Council Chambers and video record those meetings. I greatly appreciate that move when it happens.

I have harped on this subject before, but I think it is imperative that the citizens of McKinney really get the full picture of where the MEDC/MCDC (4A & 4B) money has been used over the years. Between the two Money Boards, $250,955,609 of sales tax money has been collected for MEDC and MCDC operations and projects. For all the scrutiny the Council and public would give on the General Fund budget, is the same attention being paid to the Money Boards?

In just the past 12 months, $21,718,989 has been collected for the two funds. You may recall that I urged the MISD to show us the cost of the football stadium in terms of the Tax Rate Equivalent (TRE). So what is the TRE on the sales taxes going into the Money Boards? That’s very easy to determine. The taxable value is currently $15,200,173,814. If the City did not have sales taxes at all, and the same amount of money was spent in the City budget, it would take a property TRE of 28.58 cents to generate that much in funds.

Since the General Fund gets 1-penny while the other 1 penny is split evenly between the MEDC and MCDC, then we can see that these two Money Boards are getting the TRE of 14.29 cents.  That’s a lot of money!

So, what are we getting for that money? Let’s just focus on the MEDC right now or about 7.145 cents and $123 million since it started being a revenue source in 1996. What is the return on our investment?

Just how closely would you personally monitor every dollar if it was your $123 million? That’s the deal. It is our money. We elected the City Council, and they have appointed a City Manager and Boards to watch over it like it was their own checkbook.

In fact, when you go over the 75/SRT flyover and look down at Gateway, if you can see it, just exactly how much of OUR tax money has gone into that project? And after you head west on SRT and glance over at the Craig Ranch property you can partially see, how much money has been given to that developer? And what have we received in return?

In addition to cash, how much has been given by the City putting in infrastructure the benefited Craig Ranch? Or how many dollars have been waived that would have been paid in other parts of the City by developers for roadway and utility impact fees?

There is an exact amount. I have sent an Open Records Request asking for documents that will let me compile that number for my readers. It think it is going to be a shocking number. Later, I will hope to answer another question I am curious to learn more about. How many people were on the MEDC Board (and City Council) that were working for Craig Ranch, directly or indirectly, when decisions were made to give money to that project as well as to the Gateway Project?

How is it that this information isn’t more readily available on the City’s Web site in the holy name of Transparency? Maybe we can all learn soon. LFM

BTW, if you like to study charts, and I hope a few of you do, you will notice that the Rolling 12 Month totals spiked for a period started in September 2011 due to favorable audit adjustments that benefited the City to the tune of $5,345,794. State law protects the specifics from being revealed, but it is an anomaly that skews the data. Otherwise, you can actually see the exact months the City has headed into a recessionary period and recovered. Many cities are peaking in their sales tax collections at the current time.

MCKSalesTax