Dear readers, in case you didn't know, there were two workshops this past week for the Copperas Cove city council. Budget workshops, as in 'let's-hash-all-this-out-before-we-approve-anything.'
There's a few things Curmudgeon would like to address about Thursday night's workshop, but given time restrictions and the fact Curmudgeon has a life (although I'm sure some of you believe otherwise), I'll only pick one today.
What in the world is going on with Marky-E-Marc Payne????
I'm serious, y'all. Pull up the video and watch an approximately 30 minutes of discussion about street maintenance funding. You can see video here:
http://www.copperascovetx.gov/videos_2018/
Start at the 41:00 (41 minutes) mark and watch all the way to 1:04:00 (1 hour, 4 minutes). It builds up the background of why there is more than $500,000 available to the city for street maintenance this year. Yay! This will get some street work done - other than emergency patching - for the first time since the 2014-2015 fiscal year, when street maintenance was taken out of the budget (more about that later).
To put it shortly, Marky-E-Marc is very upset that there is NO budgeting for street maintenance other than the funds approved by voters in November 2016.
But what Curmudgeon believes he is MOST upset about is that the Copperas Cove Economic Development Corporations's 1/2-cent of sales tax funding was cut by COPPERAS COVE VOTERS in 2016 - by 1/8-cent.
Until it was changed by the voters, the EDC got a portion of the city's sales tax dollars, supposedly to fund economic development.
Why the EDC has basically been at a screeching halt for about three years is a matter of debate, depending on who you ask.
No director? Andrea Gardner's fault (Marc's reason, I believe)? An ineffective board that until recently has NOT used its collective voice? The list could go on....
The 1/8-cent of sales tax started being diverted in June 2017 to a special account in the city to be built up to pay for street maintenance.
So, Marc Payne objected to the fact that there's been no funding in the budget since 2014 for street maintenance.
Dapper-Dan Yancey (no tie on Thursday night) tried to explain to Mr. Payne that this is the whole reason the council is having discussions about the budget, prioritizing how to spend money.
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| My sympathies, Mayor Pro Tem. |
Mr. Payne said until the city starts budgeting for what it needs, or figures out ways to do without something, the city would continue to not budget
for things.
Then -- cue the organ music -- he confesses his fear --
What would keep "us" from voting another eighth of a cent form
the EDC for streets or something else?
UNTIL WE HAVE NOTHING FOR THE EDC.
Again, poor Dapper Dan, tried to explain to Marc that it is a multi-pronged effort for economic development.
Marc, scraping the gold coins of the EDC together and tucking them into his jacket, was still worried about the EDC getting de-funded.
He told Dapper-Dan that he was all for "balance" as long as "they" don’t keep taking it from the EDC.
Who's they, anyway????
Voters?
Rogue council members????
More back 'n forth ensued. Really, there was so much over-talking by Marc whenever anyone tried to speak, it gets a bit jarring.
He was FREAKING. OUT.
Ok, y'all?? What's with this money? What's with the EDC?
And, Mr. Payne, you answer to VOTERS, not the EDC!
Marky-Marc was on the EDC board from November 2015 until the city council booted him from the board in September 2017. He ought to know what the EDC funding has been like, but like "kids these days" say, he was butt-hurt that the EDC lost some of its funding.
In the end of the discussion, Marky-Marc said his philosophy is that "we need to budget for things and that we could easily take another eighth of a cent out and be just as equally proud of what we
budgeted."
His histrionics continued that it "may not stop there" that once "we" (whoever we is, I don't know) opened the door a crack, what's to prevent it from being opened.
He said "we have to cut somewhere severely."
"We're going to have to cut hard if we’re not going to raise
any taxes."
Okie-dokie, dear readers, if you've stuck with me this far, it was important to set it all up.
First, Copperas Cove voters said a big fat YES, let's divert some of that EDC money to street maintenance fund. Here are how voters voted:
Here's the proposed budget lineup. Look at the magical term called fund balance.
Look at the dates. Again, is the EDC strapped for cash? Nope, don't think so.
Get over it, Marky-Marc Payne. Let it gooooo, let it gooooo. (Good, now the song will be in your head for the rest of the day, even if you don't have a 3 year old in the house).
But you're partly right. Street maintenance was in the budget, and then went away. So, here we go -
Why was it out?
Look back to the proposed 2014-2015 budget presentation HERE:
Looking at the cutting/slashing above is VERY IMPORTANT, with an explanation below:
It was a big bonkin' deficit that required MUCH cutting in MANY areas to overcome.
Why were these deep cuts made? TO NOT RAISE TAXES, y'all.
Also, to KEEP THE CITY COUNCIL'S POLICY OF THE IDEAL FUND BALANCE. THE GENERAL FUND IS KEY TO OPERATIONS.
Love her, hate her, but Andrea Gardner knew her mission: fulfill the goal set by the council prepare a budget that would NOT RAISE THE TAX RATE.
And so, street maintenance went buh-bye. Andrea G. did try unsuccessfully for several years to propose a transportation user fee that would have been paid by ALL utility customers on monthly bills. That never went through. So, cutting maintenance was the alternative to overcome that deficit.
Then in 2016, the council said, yes, let's let the voters decide: Do we take 25% of the EDC funding and divert it to our crumbling streets? And the voters said, "Yasssssss."
Get over it, Marc. The EDC's only been hurting because of its own lack of action. The board AT ANY TIME -- including when you were on it --- could have TOLD ANDREA GARDNER to put marketing elements and business recruiting elements in the budget, etc. BUT YOU DIDN'T.
Don't blame lack of funding for lack of progress. The EDC is sitting on a healthy financial base and even the 25% reduction in its funding hasn't hurt it.
(Thanks to Copperas Cove's sales tax revenue soaring. Why??? Because of Andrea Gardner proposing a loan for $3 million to Endeavor so it could finish the shopping center and give Covites more reasons to shop in Cove. Numbers don't lie, y'all.)
The most up-to-date EDC numbers are from the EDC's monthly financial report for May 2018:
Beginning fund balance? $5,065,866 (about $2 million reserved for Fort Hood land swap)
Year-to-date sales tax revenues? $825,191 --- and the fiscal year still has four months to go)
Next time, from Thursday's workshop: WTH is going on with FATHOM????!!!!
