Keith Self's Blog

If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. Thomas Jefferson

This quote above makes clear that if we want to remain free, we should all inform ourselves of the political issues that impact our lives and our tax dollars.

I ran, in part, on advocating a more transparent government, and the public hearing last week on the Health Care Task Force Recommendations was a wonderful example why I think a more transparent government is necessary. Remember that these recommendations include more than $700,000 in additional spending as the down payment in the first year for additional health care expenditures in Collin County.

1) The sum total of the information provided to the public at this hearing was a two page written summary of 15 months of work. While the past working sessions were open to the public, this public hearing was billed as the opportunity to learn about the complete recommendations developed from the work of the past 15 months.

2) Rather than information about the recommendations, the verbal hearing consisted of speeches by the organizations that will receive the tax funding, describing why the funding is necessary. I was under the impression that the work between the task force and the organizations had taken place over the past 15 months, but perhaps the speeches were intended to provide information for the general public. If so, public policy should be debated on the merits, not the emotions.

3) General public comments were allowed following the speeches, but comments about the amount of time being spent at the hearing discouraged many comments. Public policy is hard and takes time. Our officials should be prepared to spend the time necessary to receive and understand public comments.

Now, to the substance of the recommendations. At the end of the evening, I was convinced that the recommendations of the task force amount to socialized medicine, that they have nothing to do with our obligations under State law. I continue to encourage you, the citizens of Collin County, to learn the details of the Health Care Task Force recommendations and to interact with your commissioners.

As I told the public hearing audience, I believe that the generosity of Collin County citizens can assist with these issues if a case is made to our people. And it gives our citizenry the choice to contribute, or not, as they decide for themselves. Government is coercive by nature, and care should be taken to reserve the coercive power of the government for only those issues where absolutely required.

Or the issue can be submitted to a public vote for a majority decision, but I hear no enthusiasm for that course of action from those advocating the expenditure of public funds.

The Task Force votes on June 28 to approve their recommendations to the Commissioners Court. The Commissioners Court will take up the issue at some later date.

Sincerely,
Keith Self

This is a very long post, but I believe the topics warrant your time as an involved citizen. There is an action item in the second major topic.

#1: Transportation

TXDot is proceeding with the bid process to construct SH121 as a toll road, using business decisions decided by the Regional Transportation Council (RTC). The bid process should be complete by April 2007, when engineering and construction should begin.

Collin County finds itself at the point that we must have major road construction, and soon. If our citizens cannot get to work, if they waste hours sitting in traffic as they try to move around the county, Collin County will suffer. In future blogs I will cover the process as it continues to unfold.

Today, I want to focus on the issue of gas tax revenues. In the past, gas tax revenues have funded highway construction. Many long-time Texas residents believe that the gas tax should continue to fund State highways. However, the State has determined that there simply is not enough gas tax revenue to provide those funds in the future. It is true that there is some diversion of funds from the gas tax into the general revenues, but not enough to make up the shortfall across Texas. Like it or not, the State made the decision that future State highways will be built as toll roads. That decision, coupled with the dire need for more construction in Collin County defines how we will build our State highways if we hope to continue our growth and prosperity. I am opposed to additional government revenue collections, but I understand that the system we once relied on has disintegrated to the point that it no longer functions in a way that meets our needs. I have discussed the issue with the Transportation Commission and believe that we need to accept this change and work within the State system to build our drastically needed highways.

The Transportation Commission conducted analysis on just how much the gas tax would have to increase in order for gas tax revenues to continue to build State highways. They computed several different examples of financial analysis on individual highways. Roughly, the gas tax would have to increase from 20 cents to approximately $1.40 in order to continue to build State highways using gas tax funding, which means an immediate increase of $1.20 for every gallon of gasoline. At prices today, a gallon of gasoline would jump from $2.85 to $4.05. Clearly, that prospect is unacceptable.


#2: Recommendations by the Task Force on Indigent Health Care

I campaigned, in part, on lowering our county tax rate. While I had hoped to ease into this blog, the Collin County Task Force on Indigent Health Care released its draft recommendations on June 9. These recommendations, if adopted by the Commissioners Court, have profound implications for county taxpayers.

First of all, I very much appreciate the work by county citizens who wrestled with a tough issue as members of the task force. Original thinking on tough issues is always hardest and I applaud their efforts.

There is a public hearing scheduled for June 21. I encourage every citizen to attend this hearing so that you can speak your mind, or just hear for yourself the implications of the task force recommendations. Collin County Task Force on Indigent Health Care will conduct a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21st at the Collin County Government Center, Annex B, 314 South Chestnut Street in McKinney. I plan to be there.

This is a good time to discuss spending principles and priorities.

a) Collin County meets all state requirements to treat our indigent citizens. In fact, Collin County goes beyond State requirements.

b) The task force recommendations do not actually address indigents, but the working poor.

c) The County Indigent Health Care Program (CIHCP) will continue regardless of the outcome of these recommendations.

d) Collin County pays Dallas County for Collin County residents treated in Parkland hospital. Collin County does not shirk its duty.

• Collin County provides a dynamic, growing economy and jobs for all income levels.
• The indigent health care issue illustrates a stark difference between those who believe that government should fix every issue and those who believe that growth and prosperity provide for personal responsibility and liberty.
• Collin County will continue to provide its State-mandated indigent health care, it will continue to exceed those requirements, and it will continue to meet its obligations to neighboring counties for the use of their facilities.
• We should not listen to those who foment class warfare in Collin County.

e) The task force recommendations attempt to curtail the financial losses by the clinics in Collin County that treat the working poor.

• This is where I believe we can work to encourage private charity and businesses to commit to support the goals of the task force.

f) I believe that Collin County citizens may well be able to contribute more private charity to the health care needs within the county.

• I lived in Europe for 8 years, where governments fund every social need, which strangles private charity (and competiveness). I do not think we should start down that path of excessive government funding that competes with private initiative and charity.
• I believe in the generosity of individual Americans. Private charities did a wonderful job responding to Katrina, among many examples. I feel certain that the citizens of Collin County will do the same if asked.

g) The task force did not call for a tax rate hike, but they did discuss committing one half of one percent of the general budget to this expanded grant program.

• If this percentage is committed by the Commissioners Court, do they increase your taxes, or cut other spending?
• We must always prioritize our limited public resources against unlimited requests for public funding, and realize that some worthy requests will not be funded.
• If discretionary increases in indigent health care are determined to be worthy of funding, what current funding will be cut to offset the increased expenditures?

Health care expenditures cannot be recommended and considered in a vacuum. The State requirement to meet our health care obligation ranks above providing county taxpayer funds for other, less critical current funding or future funding requests. As such, the question here is really a matter of priorities. I would like to see an analysis of spending priorities, including the health care recommendations. The indigent health care requirements should be placed at an appropriate level in priority with all county funding, which means that other, less critical funding lines may not receive the level of county funding previously received.

Personnel costs account for the vast majority of the county budget. Part of the current recommendations includes the hiring of an Executive Director. The current Indigent Program Manager may be another option.

The county should, and does, meet its obligations by funding the treatment for indigent citizens eligible under state law. However, non-profit organizations are free to treat anyone they choose to treat. If non-profit organizations choose to treat those for whom the county is not responsible, the county taxpayers should not be required to fund that treatment, although private charity may choose to pick up the shortfall, and should be encouraged to do so. County government should neither replicate nor replace private charity. Eligibility and citizenship verification will require health care providers to submit documentation for authorized public funding. Both the Governor and the President recently endorsed this citizenship accountability in public health care funding. Collin County cannot afford to require a lesser standard or accountability for your tax dollars.

I believe in private charity and the generosity of individual Americans. I will personally assist efforts by those non-profit organizations that raise private funds to offset their treatment of the working poor in Collin County.

Lastly, remember that any new tax almost always goes up, not down. Whatever is approved this year will almost certainly feel pressure to increase next year. An example is the recent repeal of the tax to help fund the Spanish American War of 1898! The war lasted months; the tax lasted over 100 years!

The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program. Ronald Reagan

Conclusion:
This issue strongly reinforces my belief that Collin County needs to define our own identity. We need to work closely with our neighbors, but I believe that our issues require us to find our own answers to the challenges of our rapidly growing, dynamic county. More on this later.

Sincerely,
Keith Self