The poobahs at Great Wolf got hornswoggled into opening one of their hotel water parks in El Paso. Have you
Category: Taxes
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
City Council Raises Taxes! Again! And Again!
At a Special Meeting on Monday, City Council approved an additional $20 million in Certificates of Obligation for the Children’s
Bloomberg on Publicly Funded Stadiums
An alert reader pointed out that this week Bloomberg.com, that bastion of liberal thinking, ran an article called Four Reasons
About the Lost Dog TIRZ
Here’s some informed speculation about TIRZ 12, the Lost Dog TIRZ. I think it has something to do with that
More Lies From Our Friends In City Government
Here’s the City’s Economic Development Director spinning the TIRZs: City Council voted to approve the creation of Tax Increment Reinvestment
Budget Theater
The City is in the midst of budget talks. Here’s the almost latest from the El Paso Times: Homeowners could
A Better Site for the Mexican American Cultural Center
I think the City spends our money poorly. The City spends our money courting out-of-town businesses that compete with our
What Are We To Do?
You may ask yourself, “What are we going to do about the direction the City of El Paso is headed?”
Retrovision: A Local Expert’s Perspective on Economic Development
This post originally appeared on 01 October 2015. Some things have changed since then. Our Commercial property tax rate is
Murmurs: El Paso Public Library = Chicano Memorial Museum
The word in the smoke-filled back rooms of the the back alleys of the side streets of the halls of
“Some Cities Are Screwed”
An alert reader sent me this relevant article from Salon: [A]s the adage goes, all economics is local. One part
Sign the Lost Dog Petition
The City thinks the way to make El Paso attractive is to tart her up like a hooker in a
Joel Is Right
There are lots of places where people can live and El Paso is one of them. Unfortunately for the El
If You Build It, Will They Come?
This, from KTSM: City Council approved a controversial proposal Tuesday to create a special taxing zone to spur development along
That Children’s Museum Will Be Free, Right?
Did you hear that the City of El Paso, along with some private investors, are going to build a Children’s
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About TIRZs*
*That the City doesn’t want you to know. What is a Tax Increment Refinancing Zone, anyway? Here’s testimony given to