Candidate Speeches on 10/27/12

Three candidates for the WCID#89 Board came to the Brunswick Meadows Fall Festival. They are from left to right: Charles 'CG' Johnson, Arthur Washington, and Michael Clancy Smith.

They were handing out their postcards to all in attendance (you can see Mike proudly holding his in the photo). Each was invited to address the crowd and I took videos of each candidate's speech. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get these videos to upload to the blog.

If someone knows how to upload to youtube or some other such site, let me know and I'll send you the videos via e-mail. Once they're available, I'll put the link up. Sorry about that...

 

 

 

 

Charles 'CG' Johnson - Candidate for Board of WCID#89

In the great city of Houston Texas and county of Harris, a servant was born and named Charles G. Johnson. He attended Texas Southern University and also was employed by Southern Pacific Railroad. He made a decision to attend the Harris County Sheriff Academy and from that day forward Law Enforcement played a major role in his life for 32 years. He spent 25 years at Harris County Constable Pct. 7 in the civil and G.R.E.A.T divisions. He was also the Chief of Police in Kendleton, Texas for 3 years. After retiring from a distinguished career in law enforcement, he started a new job and held the position as Security Trainer at Wackenhut Security Company.

Charles G. Johnson accepted Christ at an early age. In 1986 he acknowledged his calling to the ministry. He preached his first sermon July, 1986 and became a licensed minster. He began volunteering with several community groups, such as Ministers against Crime, Angel Tree, Brotherhood, Brother to Brother Conference, Houston Independent School District, and Elite Ladies of Expressions Inc. God’s spirit is continually moving in his life. His focus is to service the Lord with Hope, Joy and Peace.

Charles G Johnson would like to bring the same “C3” philosophy (Committed, Concerned, & Community), that he has lived his life by, to Water Control and Improvement District #89.

 

To read more about CG Johnson and his concerns for our District, please click here.

Let's Talk Taxes - Shall We?

The District has entered into development financing agreements with Developers. The agreements call for the Developers to fund costs associated with water and sewer facilities, and utilities construction until such time as the District can sell bonds to reimburse them. Friendswood Development (aka Lennar...aka Brunswick Meadows) has been requesting reimbursement for the past year to cover the infrastructure that they have built since the last bonds were issued in 2008. The District owes over $9 million to them, and interest is building on the debt (about $410,000/year).

AK and I have tried to get the Board to move on issuing bonds since last year to pay them what we owe. The fact is that we must pay our debts. The other fact is that the way we pay our debts is by setting our tax rate at a level to cover the bonds issued.

AK and I have continuously advocated raising the tax rate and you can read why here. Although the majority was willing to raise your water rates twice in the past 3 years, they have been reluctant to ever raise the tax rate. In 2003, when Brunswick Lakes and Brunswick Meadows started selling houses, the tax rate was $1.50 per $100 of property valuation. This means if your house was valued at $100,000 you paid $1500 in taxes to WCID #89. Since 2003, the tax rate steadily fell as the Brunswick neighborhoods kept expanding the tax base. That was, until the economy went belly up.

The value of our homesteads decreased by 11% between 2008 and 2009. This depreciation wiped out an entire year of growth in the tax base. In 2010, the District's financial adviser stated we should raise the tax rate to $1.44 and you can read about that here. The Board chose to ignore that advice and set the rate at $1.39, and the majority from Morningside has dug in their heels about raising it again.

The tax rate is made up of two parts: the debt service tax rate and the O&M (Operations & Maintenance) tax rate. The O&M taxes are used to provide services that are not covered by the revenue generated through the water bills. The debt service taxes are to pay off all the bonds that have been issued for Developers and the new construction projects (like the new sewage treatment plant, the new water plant in Brunswick Meadows, and yes, that ridiculously expensive Adminstration Building). Here's the facts for the tax rate for 2012.

We need to set a debt service rate of $1.26 (last year's rate was $1) and reduce the O&M tax rate to 24 cents (last year's was 39 cents) for a total of $1.50 tax rate - the same rate that was active when Brunswick neighborhoods first started selling houses. The $1.50 tax rate will not raise the amount of dollars that the average taxpayer pays the District, compared to last year, despite the increase of the overall tax rate by 11 cents. How is that possible you ask?

The values of our homes have decreased dramatically over the past 5 years. The average homestead was valued at $107,167 in 2006 and in 2012 it is only $85,070. Therefore, in 2006, when the tax rate was $1.43, the average dollar amount paid in property taxes by homeowners was $1,532 but in 2012 the dollar amount paid will be just $1,276 -- even though the tax rate will be $1.50!

At the $1.50 tax rate, we will be able to afford to issue approximately $4.5 million in bonds to pay the Developer. That is about half of what we owe, but shows good faith on our part. This is why I am in favor of raising the tax rate.
 

Water Rate Hike - Here's Why I Voted Against It

The Board decided to raise your water bill to a minimum rate of $55 in a 4-1 vote. I was the one that voted 'NO'. The rate order will be executed at the next meeting on October 16, and the 2012 tax rate will be discussed as well. If you care at all about how the finances are handled, this would be the meeting for you to attend and have your voice heard!

Our current water rates are based on a 3 tier system. You get 5000 gallons of water each month for $19.10 and sewer services for $32.45 making the minimum monthly bill $51.55 - if you use more than 5000 gallons of water in the month you pay more. (For 10,000 gallons your minimum bill is $60.80 and for 20,000 gallons it is $87.89) Our current budget is balanced at this $51.55 minimum rate. So why did the Board vote to raise it?

A man, contracted by our governing authority at the state level (TCEQ) did a rate analysis of our  district and stated that “every water utility must receive sufficient revenue to ensure proper operation & maintenance (O&M), capital improvements, and preservation of the utility’s financial integrity.” 
 
His recommendation was to increase our water rate to a minimum of $63 to cover both capital improvements and equipment depreciation. The Board opted to include capital improvements, but leave the equipment depreciation out of the equation, thus arriving at the $55 figure. Sharyn Smalls argued that it was necessary to increase the rates in order to create a reserve of funds for repairs and upkeep of the District's older infrastructure. Well, the District has a brand spanking new sewage treatment plant, paid for out of bonds. It also has a 2nd water plant which will become operational soon in Brunswick Meadows - also paid for out of bonds. The only facility that might need any expensive repairs is the original water plant in Morningside and the pipes servicing that neighborhood.

Isn't it interesting that she is willing to raise everyone's water bill when it benefits Morningside, but states emphatically that taxes shall NOT be raised, which is necessary to pay off our debt for the two capital improvements I mention above AND repaying the developers for the Brunswick Meadows and Brunswick Lakes neighborhoods? Bonds were also used to fund the Administration Building. You know how well that was handled!

Speaking of the Administration Building, another check was issued to Moseley Architect for $15,944.50 in order to redesign the building since all the bids came in way over budget. That makes the total spent on the building $222,990 with $75,039 of that amount paid to Mr. Moseley. Sorry, but I have a very hard time trusting anyone who has squandered that much money to make a 'reserve' fund for the future.