Friday, July 18, 2008
Richardson city officials biting off more projects than they can chew
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Taxes once covered the cost of municipal operations. Not so today. Municipal governments have engaged in many business ventures that have turned public resources into little more than tax-subsidized money machines. Richardson residents pay the same amount to use the library, swimming pools, golf course, Eisemann Center, Senior Center, ball fields, park pavilions, and many other public resources as any of the thousands of out-of-towners who do not pay a red cent in city taxes. Effectively, residents subsidize the ticket price for the benefit of non-residents. When you consider the fact that the majority of Richardson residents rarely, if ever, use any of these amenities, it leaves taxpayers wondering why those who do don't pay full price. Why should Richardson residents pay taxes for constructing fee-for-use ball parks, recreation centers, and such that they will never use while those who do enjoy the discount?
Talk about lots of city project construction in the months to come is being heard. The current $444+ million (that's right, almost 1/4 billion) city debt will increase by the amount of bonds sold to fund old "planned" projects, some looming from as far back as beyond 1997. The first chrome shovel of dirt has yet to be turned on dozens of already approved and bonded projects, including trails, park roads, recreation centers, roads, alleyways, drainage systems, and more, while the wind-up to the 2010 bond election pitch is also warming up in the bull pen. We expect any activity on those old, old projects will be used to lure voters into supporting more debt. Some projects have already been sold a couple of times. It appears that old projects get used to sell new bonds (again?). Hmm...
As inflation hammers the value of the dollars intended to pay for municipal projects, it has become painfully obvious that Richardson is in over its head on projects with no means of promptly getting the job done. The reason we hear for tens of millions of dollars in projects once used as incentives to sell past-year's bonds being in a dormant state for decades is that there is not enough staff to handle it. Really? That means more projects were promised in bond elections than could possibly have been delivered. Simply put, the mouth has made promises the ass can't keep. Why are we not surprised to hear budget discussions and cost projections now include proposals for additional charges (user fees) to use these taxpayer-purchased facilities when they're finally produced? It's like putting a toll booth on the hike and bike trail. That's not so far-fetched when you hear the hired help actually joke about coin-operated use of some public facilities.
Pegasus News content partner - Richardson City News
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Comments
Arcadi Anonymous
The parks, pools, community centers, library and senior center are all such benefits to the community, that it generates a signifigant increase to the quality of life not to mention the property value of Richardson residents. I'll gladly keep paying my taxes to have these things around, even if it means people from neighboring communities use them for free. All these great things make people from other towns think of how nice it would be to live in Richardson.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
RichardsonGirl Anonymous
The Richardson City News web site tends towards bitter unsigned editorials with nothing good to say about anything. If Mr Morgan is so sure the Richardson goverment is on the wrong track, perhaps he should run for City Council and try to change things from the inside rather than complaining all the time. I don't think anything from http://www.cornews.net should be posted as news. If it is posted at all it should be labeled as an editorial. This is presented as a news article, and it is not one.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
RichardsonGlurge Anonymous
Richardson Girl is correct. Its something that should have been said on Pegasus a long time ago. Nathan Morgan is thought of as a crank around Richardson. Its actually insulting to general news sources or even reasonable blogs that what he produces is labeled "news."
He has rambling stream of thought editorials that lack a cohesive point. When he attacks he often goes after people personally yet his alleged "stories" he rarely states the who, when, where, and how of accepted journalism. He has attacked those he hates through trite name calling. he especially seems concerned with older people and frequently throws around the word "geriatric" as a pejorative.
Besides that one should not assume anything he says is true. His editorial screeds usually have numerous falsehoods and fabrications to the point of slander on many occasions. Many times the alleged stream of claimed facts he states are simply wrong.
He complains about "open government" and yet he hides on his own website behind unsigned editorials. His political "stories" about candidates are usually designed to attack one candidate because he supports a different one.
He has been kicked out of three local civic organizations. There is a Richardson police report that states that he pointed a toy gun at a meter reader and then tried to talk his way out of trouble when the police arrived by showing them his Citizens Police Academy ID. He was then kicked out of the Citizens Police Academy. He has filed open records requests with the Richardson attempting to get identities and e-mail addresses of people signed up on the City of Richardson website. Would you want this crank to have your e-mail address?
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Lindsay Lauber Verified
$444,000,000 / $1,000,000,000 = .44 or 44% which is a lot more than 1/4. This site would be taken more seriously if it had some editors or even proofreaders.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Doyle Verified
¿Que?
This was a content partner article, not something from "the site". Pretty sure it's on their head to double-check things, not Peg.
Either way, in case you haven't noticed it's not the most serious of sites to begin with. Seems you're taking things a bit too seriously, imo. =)
But you joined on my birthday and it took a month for you to make your first comment - hope you stick around!
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
ryetronics Anonymous
This is my favorite sentence in this rambling, incoherent rant...
"When you consider the fact that the majority of Richardson residents rarely, if ever, use any of these amenities, it leaves taxpayers wondering why those who do don't pay full price."
Wow. Give this man a Pulitzer.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
RichardsonGlurge Anonymous
Doyle,
Repeated lies are still lies. Pegasusnews is disavowing responsibility for any standard of truth. We arent talking about someone like Avi Adelman who is controversial and has poor manners. At least he is trying for truth even if one doesnt like his method or his message. We are talking outright fabrications. Is pegasusnews just a depository for any fabrication and let god sort it out? Im sorry but inclusion of Morgans screeds means pegasusnews losses a good amount of credibility.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Erin Rice Staff
PegNews editorial note:
$444 million is approximately 11/25 of $1 billion.
11/25 of $1 billion > 1/4 of $1 billion.
11/25 of $1 billion = a heckuva lotta bling bling.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Doyle Verified
Umm, seems to me y'all are personally attacking this cat without discrediting the 'article' (editorial, however you want to categorize it) at all. Negate his points and I'll care. Until then, this is all petty gibberish.
Erin, definitely says "almost 1/4 bil". No doubt $44.4M is iced out ballin', but it wasn't exactly a typo. Not like he'd say "almost 2/4 bil"...unless he disbelieves in reducing fractions to their lowest terms. =p
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Doyle Verified
Err, heh, $444M. DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO.
Still think it's pretty amazing RichardsonGirl and RichardsonGlurge signed up same day for some lynching. Doyle wants facts!
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Erin Rice Staff
I'm not trying to attack the article. I was just doing some of the editing that WhiplashChick asked for.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
RichardsonGirl Anonymous
Yes, I signed up the same day for this because the article offended me because it has such an obvious bias slant that I had to say something.
All I'm really saying there is, if you're going to keep posting stuff from this source, label it as an editorial. This is especially important now that articles from Pegasus News get into the Richardson part of Google news and so get a large readership. I wish you wouldn't post it at all, but that's not my call.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
jtmbls Anonymous
If they were to weed out all the offensive content, there would be no website. And certainly no comment thread. Be thankful you have a keyboard and a little chunk of cyberspace on Orren’s dime.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Lindsay Lauber Verified
thanks for trying to make some sense of those fractions. but 1/25 is not the same as 1/4. i think that's where my (others?) confusion came from. he lowballed himself with that and it is a ton of money.
and how does one reach verified status?
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Lindsay Lauber Verified
eh, nevermind about the verification part. i found it. i should look before i leap.
4 months, 2 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
cornews_editor Anonymous
Oops! They did it again. So busy shooting the messenger that they discounted the message. And, Dang! That $444+M was suppose to be about $1/2B. My bad. Does that clear it up Shakespeare?
3 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
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