You probably saw this op-ed in the Times, where former mayor John Cook and ex-City Manager Joyce Wilson defend their
Category: Taxes
KVIA’s Special Report on QOL Cost Overruns
KVIA delivered a Special Report last night on the Quality of Life bond projects cost overruns. It’s entertaining. Just spitballing,
John Stossel on Stadiums
On the occasion of Super Bowl LIII, John Stossel reminds us. Fortunately, we’re smarter than that. Aren’t we?
On Roads and Debt
Here’s a piece from StrongTowns.org about how to deal with deteriorating roads and increasing municipal debt. The story is from
The Great Wolf Swindle
The City must have stayed up late figuring out how to swindle the taxpayers with that new Great Wolf Lodge.
From the People Who Brought You “It’s All Good”
If you needed more proof of El Paso’s corrupt, inbred, good old boy network, consider this: Bill Burton, the mastermind
Downtown Development Won’t Lower Your Property Taxes
Downtown is covered by Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone #5. You remember those TIRZs. Here’s what the Texas Comptroller says about
Sorry About That From the Dysfunction Faction
Hey, District 6 Representative Claudia Ordaz Perez says that some faction is trying to “cause dysfunction in City Government.” Well,
Does Your City Council Representative Deserve A Raise?
To tell the truth, we don’t know. We can’t know. All the decisions are made out of the public eye.
Open Government
According to Wikipedia, Open government is the governing doctrine which holds that citizens have the right to access the documents
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
As if to illustrate my point, my good friend Chuco Geek had this to say about my most recent article
Now, or Later?
Let’s take a stroll down memory lane. El Paso used to be a growing city. From 2010 to 2012, El
The Quest for Continuity
Remember? They told us that hiring City Managers for ten years would provide “continuity.” The problem is compounded by our
Retrovision: About Those Quality of Life Projects
This article originally appeared on 19 April 2018, but let me say it again. Advocates of the Quality of Life
“Hold The Line”
This from the El Paso Times this morning: The City Council rejected a utility sales tax on natural gas and
About That Great Wolf Lodge
The poobahs at Great Wolf got hornswoggled into opening one of their hotel water parks in El Paso. Have you
A Public Obscenity
I think it’s obscene that the City of El Paso asks the working poor to pay for luxury amenities for
Retrovision: The Real Costs of the QoL Projects
This article originally appeared on 12 April 2017. Sure, half a billion dollars is a lot of money. Especially for
The Central Appraisal District Responds
Yesterday a loyal reader sent one of my articles to Dinah Kilgore, the Executive Director and Chief Appraiser of the
Mo’ Taxes, Mo’ Problems
If you’re happy with the way things are going at City Hall, you’re not paying attention. The El Paso Times