the Controversial Committee Report
“We don’t raise sacred cows...we just butcher them.”
Question: What does Nero, Obama and QueenB all have in common? Answer: Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Obama leaves the golf course for a fund raiser while the Middle East implodes; and QueenB sips Tea after her tennis match before attempting to torch the 2014 - 2015 city budget!
How is this possible? Well, staff of the CCR believes that a minor in budget reading from the University of Photo Ops really doesn’t qualify one to delve into the complicated financial affairs of a city’s budget unless there happens to be a self-serving, ulterior motive involved. Quite possibly, this might be the real reason behind the queen’s latest political charade.
Wanting to have a ‘gold star’ stuck on her dismal political-report card (Remember the D- on the ethics policy farce?), QueenB VD blasted another e-mail to her serfs and peons. In this latest fluffy-puffy, self-aggrandizing note, the queen consulted her regal Ouija board and pronounced that all the $$signs had aligned requiring her to promote, push and pimp an ill-conceived plan of reducing the city's tax rate.
And why is her limited logic on this topic so flawed? As many reasons exist, here are just a few items which rational thinkers, who have more astute backgrounds, believe why the city tax rate for 2014-2015 should remain the same at $0.598600:
- The interim city manager and new city manager have finally identified many of the pitfalls, shifting of funds and less-than-transparent special projects the former city manager left behind.
- Proper fund allocations need to be addressed now for roads, water, sewer, sanitation and other vital services (police and fire) which citizens not only require today, but will be even more critical five years from now.
- The budget presentations by city staff at the city’s budget retreat professionally explained and demonstrated why the current effective tax rate should be maintained to eliminate having to pay significantly larger amounts for required maintenance and services in the next five years. (Maybe the queen was texting some of her sugar daddy contributors at this time and didn’t hear these statements of financial exigency!)
- Finagling funds between budget categories for a personal agenda is no way to steer the ship of state. (i.e.: Utilizing hotel tax money to supplement the black hole of spending for the Music Museum when Economic Development funds are available is apparently acceptable to the queen. Does she fail to fully recognize and understand the hotel tax funds are already dedicated for the city's Historical Museum?)
- Catering to Las Colinas developer demands with General Fund monies while negating long established citizen needs in other parts of the city. (Improving south Irving with a recreational center would do wonders for ‘beautiful downtown Irving’ even if it eliminated some developer-requested freebie incentives.)
- In an ‘official’ consensus vote at the budget retreat, eight of the nine council members were not aligned with the queen in considering a tax rate reduction. (She might have missed this while texting special developer pals to see when the photo op would be for a ribbon cutting. Wonder why she didn’t publish the names in her e-mail of the eight who did not vote to support her tax rate reduction plan…similar to how she published the names of those who voted against her ethics policy?)
Perhaps, another reason for the queen wanting a tax rate reduction is for when OliverMcMillan returns to the council, she will have ‘crowing privileges’ for shifting a few bucks around in a budget category. This shift, she would pronounce, should immediately be diverted to fund her Tennis Center on the old Texas Stadium site. But then, wouldn’t that be cynical thinking…and who, other than the staff of the CCR, believes the queen operates in cynical, devious and mysterious political ways?
Regardless of QueenB VDs ulterior motives for her latest political scam, she believes by blasting e-mails all over the city demonstrates leadership. (Some have indicated the e-mails are occurring in their In box as frequent as spam ads for Viagra!)
And as usual, a closer review of her latest fluffy-puffy piece offers no detail, no rationale worthy of consideration and certainly no explanation of need to alter the course just plotted by those with more experience, understanding and commitment to the Irving citizenry.
Sadly, she even has some of her Kool-Aid-sipping harpies extolling the virtues of why the city’s tax rate should be reduced…because the IISD just reduced their rate! Unbelievable how such shallow the thinking is by individuals to even frame the budgets, services and needs of two dissimilar entities together in the same sentence. Attempting to do so only happens if the gene pool of the queen’s harpies is scorched by the August sun…drying up the pool of cognitive thinking.
But then, while blindly following QueenB VD, her loyal harpies do not need to think or have a full gene pool, as she has already done all the thinking for them. All her subjects need to do is spout the spin and talking points she has provided.
While on the topic of blindly following the queen, the most interesting aspect of all this will be the actions of the queen’s Pet Rocks. Will the Pet Rocks, like lemmings, automatically dive off the cliff of financial irresponsibility for the queen? Or will they heed the more experienced and professional advice of those with a better grasp on the financial reality and health of the city?
Citizens had best hope city maintenance workers are not called to city hall to clean up lemming splatter. This would really be a travesty and the future tax bills to pay for this financial clean up, promoted by the queen, would be steep!
Staff of the CCR would post the queen’s e-mail address for you to advise her of your concerns, but we quickly remembered the queen only listens to herself. We are starting to think this could be a medically defined condition. Your thoughts?
…………………..Mark Holbrook
PostScript: Considering all the past reports written, this represents the first instance where the CCR staff has not been in favor of reducing the city’s tax rate. However, this was an easy exercise this time considering the years the city was controlled by the Lubbock Mafia with their mismanagement of city budgets, priorities and personnel. Today, one can see a positive light at the end of the city’s financial tunnel only if the road is not block by the self-serving attitude of a mayor who has only one agenda on the table…herself and photo ops! Sorry, that’s two items.
