The functions of today’s city governments have greatly expanded. Reasonable people can disagree on whether the vast expansion is a good or a bad thing. Similarly, reasonable people can also agree that above all, the most important functions of your city government are public safety, economic development, and fiscal management. The first item requires the bulk of public spending, the funds for which are derived primarily from taxes. The second item expands the pool of taxable persons that can help pay for the first – public safety. The last item ensures that the money raised is preserved to pay for it all. In this way, these three things are interdependent; like the legs on a stool.
On across all three, your current city of Texas City Commission has failed.
Our local police are staffed at only 2/3 capacity. That’s 1/3 of our public safety missing. Meantime, our city has grown by 8,000 residents. Instead of fixing the problem, your city created a new union to silence cops. The incumbent in District 4 is on the record about this; the incumbent voted to create the new union.
More houses bring in more households; people. These households are customers for anyone provide goods and services locally. A developer was planning to build 4,000 new homes in our city which would have brought ~8,000 new residents. That’s 8,000 more customers for eyeglasses, dental services, for automotive repairs. 8,000 more diners to each out locally; to shop at our retail locations. To drive the demand for more retail & restaurants. The incumbent in District 4 is supportive of the Mayor’s effort that killed off this development.
State law requires all cities publish an audit of the city’s financial books within 180 days of the end of a fiscal year or lose the ability to raise taxes. Our City’s last audit was 2023.
We have to clean house; change is required across city leadership. All incumbents who allowed the above to occur have got to go; the nonsense has to stop now. With new leadership in place, we can quickly turn things around. Here’s my 3 top priorities:
( 1 ) Cops. A new chief, hired in from outside will bridge the cultural gaps dividing the department. Increasing comp will make our city competitive vs surrounding areas. Combined, we can restore our police in perhaps as short as 90 days.
( 2 ) New leadership, a cleaned house, and marketing that lets businesses know we are open for business will re-ignite interest in developing the area off the golf course road. That will drive jobs growth.
( 3 ) New CFO, a forensic audit by a reputable public accounting firm will end the financial shenanigans and ensure any corruption is halted.
Contact me anytime via Facebook Messenger. Early voting begins April 20th. I’m asking for your vote.
