the Controversial Committee Report
“We don’t raise sacred cows...we just butcher them.”
It’s Lemoncello Time
Coming off summer hiatus has really clogged Dylan Westie’s, Executive editor/Part-time wordsmith and Social Media Troll for the CCR, In box.
To ensure the heat doesn’t fry your political-involvement synapses, here are three items which he thought you might ruminate on while sitting under a shade tree, sipping lemoncello, and pondering the future direction of the city. Sure it’s hot outside, but the lemoncello is tart enough to put a fresh edge on your community involvement spirit. So, drink up!
IISD POP QUIZ
Okay, kids, grab your pencils and clear your desk. This will be the final pop quiz of the summer, but one which will require serious thought and action on your part.
Question: When is an IISD tax increase not a tax increase?
While this might sound similar to a trick question or a hand of three-card Monte, a bit of detail might assist in your fully understanding what is about to occur.
The IISD board of trustees has approved a September 10, 2016, special election (Tax Ratification Election) to provide for a shifting of tax dollars from their Interest and Sinking Fund (the I/S fund is where the district’s outstanding bonds are repaid) to their Maintenance and Operation Fund (M&O). The amount of change in the tax rates between the two funds is estimated to be $.13 for the In/Out transfer. This means your total IISD property tax rate, for both fund provisions, will remain the same. But wait!
The purported rationale for this shift, to increase the Maintenance and Operation tax levy rate, is State funds, estimated to be $10M, would become available to the IISD if the special election approves this action. Sounds good, right?
While the ISD board of trustees and their "cheering-on-squad" has already blessed this measure, citizens should consider personal financial supplications as they sift through the detail and possible pitfalls regarding the shifting of tax rate amounts.
Points of Interest:
- The IISD board of trustees has stated this tax rate shifting action is of a "temporary" nature. However, whatever action the current board takes, this action is not binding on any future board. Perhaps, the definition of "temporary" currently might be: Temporary is today, not tomorrow or our problem then.
- Since professional salaries could be included in this windfall of "free" State bucks to the district, what future provisions will be implemented to cover those increased salary cost when the "free" money from the State ceases? Will the M&O rate later have to be increased again to cover these added expenses?
- If the IISD board of trustees decides to sell any bonds during this period of shifted tax rates, will the Interest and Sinking Fund rate have to automatically be increased to cover the pay back costs for those bonds?
- How long will it take for State legislators to realize local school districts are draining millions upon millions of bucks from State coffers which could be used and spent on legislator’s personal agenda projects? Could a change in the legislation be imminent in order to plug the gaping hole of "free" school district bucks?
- Currently, the IISD property tax levy already approaches 50% of your total tax bill for the five taxing entities identified in your property appraisal.
- With the dramatic spike in 2016 appraised property values, isn’t the IISD already in a position to realize significant new ‘loose’ change for their budgets? Just how necessary is the special election with regard to current district operations?
Pop Quiz Multiple Choice Answers:
(Keep your eyes on your own paper.)
A. Hey, it’s just money…take what you need.
B. Any increases in salaries should go to teachers and paraprofessionals only.
C. Tell me when public hearings on this issue will be held.
D. If a politico says this is temporary, then it must be true. (No snickering allowed.)
E. Let’s just cancel this election and sharpen the budget pencils to meet current demands.
F. All of the above/none of the above.
Hopefully, the enthusiasm of the IISD rah-rah squad can be curtailed so citizens, who will have to vote on this proposal, know and fully understand the financial implications of what seems to be such, as described by school district officials, a commonplace transaction.
In the interim, staff of the CCR picks the middle card in the three-card Monte contest. You with us?
SIGN UP NOW!
If your recall is still functioning, the CCR ("Trash and Sympathy," 07-24-16 ) advised you of the proposal being pushed, promoted and pimped by the city administration, to the Irving City council, to appropriate funds in the 2016-17 budget to provide funding for yet another "test" of using the horribly ugly and difficult to handle and manage trash bin containers for garbage disposal.
Seen by many as a transparently devious and highly expensive way to move the entire city to this method of trash collection, a citizens petition is being circulated which basically states: Leave the current method of trash collection alone in the entire city…as it is working just fine!
Staff of the CCR has been told that if you do not run across any of the individuals circulating the petitions at local gatherings or restaurants, then you can send your name to the CCR for inclusion. Only your name (not your e-mail address) will be forwarded.
(Note: the CCR staff did sign the petition.)
The petitions will be presented to the Irving city council very soon, so do not delay if you, too, are satisfied with the method, number of collection days and service currently provided by the city’s Sanitation Department.
Send your request, for your name to be included on the petition, to:
markholbrook13@yahoo.com
As the city administration has been very dark with the handling of this trash bin container proposal, the city council needs to understand this issue is not one which should be entered upon without full disclosure in a public meeting where an ordinance might later be crafted and considered.
The trash bin container proposal should not become a line item in the 2016-17 city budget. The future ramifications of this waste disposal method are costly to all and will have long lasting effects… on citizens who were not given a voice in the matter.
IRVING'S TRASH HEAP
While on the subject of trash and trashy occurrences, QueenB VD does not fail to disappoint, or adhere to any opportunity to wallow in the refuse of poor judgement and fact fabrications while serving as your mayor.
In case you missed it, her latest escapade and demonstration of poor taste was posted on one of her three/four FaceBook pages…for the world to witness why so many folks believe the City of Irving has no class.
(While on summer hiatus, several folks from around Dallas County — knowing the staff member was from Irving — asked this individual: What is wrong with y’alls mayor? See, they had been reading about her fact fabricated antics with the "clock kid," Glenn "Red Meat TEA-carnivore Bloviating Babbler" Beck appearances, and her being the causation for having the city visited by gun toting Froot Loops® prancing around a religious institution which also led to an unofficial ‘invitation’ for another group to visit the city this summer — a Texas branch of the KKK.)
And we all know why QueenB VD has so many FaceBook accounts…she requires significant space to post pics of all her invited/uninvited photo op sessions while attending to business mostly unrelated to what she was elected to do. If she has a video of a queenly "performance" at any event, her YouTube account is the archive for those self-aggrandizing tapes.
And thus, by having a classless mayor representing Irving, QueenB VD adds credence to the argument of those believing she is truly a mayor of WIMP status — Worst Irving Mayor Period.
Here is what QueenB VD was originally so proud of posting — until the flack and blowback created an outpouring of disbelief at the mayor’s tastelessness — as the titular head of a large metropolitan city. The comments, registered after an article appeared in the DMN, also noted how dim her Red Meat TEA-carnivore light bulb must be glowing.
Regardless of your political persuasion, for national candidates and the flaky rationale of QueenB VD as to why she posted this latest embarrassment to the city, the Monica Lewinsky joke/characterization was crude, sleazy and verged on soft literary porn. But, your mayor was representing your interest. Right?
Yes, that’s your mayor for you…walling around in the political sleaze. Are you still proud of her? Want to invite her to teach one of your Sunday school classes. Still believe she is a role model for elected officials? Do you wonder why she wouldn’t return the calls from the DMN to respond to her poor judgement of posting such an obnoxious item?
After taking down (read: deleting) the post, off her FaceBook page, QueenB VD offered a shovel full of Torofeca rationale on her account page which basically reflected: The post was for her "fans." Seriously?
Are those "fans" groupies, roadies or just low information supporters?
If this is an accurate and true characterization of QueenB VDs "fan" club/base, then the city has an even larger problem to fret over and address in the future.
Maybe this is why QueenB VD is requesting a 2016-17 budget allocation to have Nurse Ratched ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest") come out of retirement to assist her in the required treatment of her "fans." And if citizens are lucky, Nurse Ratched could even offer medical advice and Rx dosages to treat the queen’s super inflated ego of self-interest.
Perhaps, a sane and rational group should mobilize and start an effort to spread the word Irving is a city which actually does have class…it’s just we don’t currently have a mayor with class.
……………………………..Mark Holbrook
Additional Reading Assignment: The DMN article — written by Irving’s reporter of record, Eline de Bruijn — link is: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20160729-irving-mayor-deletes-hillaryous-facebook-post-with-lewd-lewinsky-jab.ece
By the way, the above article was in the front page section of the newspaper where all the national political coverage for the day was detailed. This should give all of Texas a glimpse and opinion of how backward and classless the leadership of our city has become.
Additionally, even though the CCR is a ‘family publication,’ staff of the CCR went one step further than the DMN by publishing the mayor's entire Monica Lewinsky post here. We’ll admit: the DMN is classy; the CCR is still practicing. Mea Culpa!
