Consistent. Principled. Action.

1. If you live in the western portion of the county, please plan to attend a Commissioners Court workshop in the Frisco City Hall, Monday, April 30, at 6:00 PM. This is the first of quarterly meetings that will held in the commissioners precincts through the year. The agenda will be posted at http://public1.co.collin.tx.us/public_notices/Lists/Public%20Meetings/DispForm.aspx?ID=316&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fpublic1%2Eco%2Ecollin%2Etx%2Eus%2Fpublic%5Fnotices%2Fdefault%2Easpx

2. SH 121 continues to wind its way through the legislative process. Stand by for news as the legislative adjournment date approaches in late May.

3. The most common impulse in many areas of increased government involvement continues to be to add another tax on you, the taxpayer. Sometimes I wonder if some have not confused government with the idea of growing a business. In just one example, the Commissioners Court just provided input to the Texas Commission of Environment Quality (TCEQ) on their intention to put Collin County into a taxing entity called a Primary Groundwater Management Area (PMGA.) If Collin County must form a PGMA in the next two years, we will make every effort to accomplish the state unfunded mandate without a new tax. Since less than 4% of all water used in Collin County is ground water (i.e. sub-surface), this should not be a major expense.

4. As we enter the yearly process of developing the county budget for next year, I will soon start to share my ideas on the budget with you - not the details of the emerging budget, but the conceptual ideas on government spending at county level.

Sincerely,
Keith

1. I rarely do this, but the central tax-and-spend premise of this editorial out of Michigan is so correct that I want to share it with you. If nothing else, read the first sentence and the last few paragraphs. In Texas, this issue is not particularly split between Republicans and Democrats. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007704060333

2. The Commissioners Court recently voted to hold one workshop per quarter in various locations around the county. The hope is that citizens will attend the workshop in their city to hear the more in depth, informal discussions of important issues facing the court. Look for the workshop in your area.

3. The court also approved requesting bids for the electronic broadcast/webcast equipment needed to electronically broadcast court sessions on cable TV and over the internet. I believe that by the end of the summer, you will be able to view Commissioners Court meetings at your leisure over the internet.

4. I wish that I could give you a clear and unequivocal update on the possibilities of SH 121 construction starting this year. What IS clear is that the legislature has no intention of funding transportation, a core government function, out of tax dollars we already send to the state. While I am increasingly optimistic that construction will start, the latest moratorium bill in the House has language so convoluted that the meaning is not clear. It is so difficult to interpret that there are several possible meanings. I believe the language does NOT give North Texas an exemption from the two-year moratorium, but instead gives a monopoly to a single entity to build toll roads in North Texas. With a shortfall of almost $60 Billion in road construction funding in North Texas over the next several decades, a monopoly is the last thing the legislature ought to be establishing. A monopoly will not protect those paying the bills - you. The complex issue of transportation funding continues to contain pitfalls for our citizens.

Sincerely,
Keith