Friday, August 29, 2008

County Prepares To Pull The Plug On McKeever Rd Project. Taxpayers Ask What Happened To The Bond Money Approved For This Road Project?

Click the title link for the full story...

Get additional background on this by searching this sites archives or visiting Citizens For Better Government, click here...

Thursday, August 28, 2008

FB Sun Covers First Ever FBISD Budget Deficit--click the title link for the full story--

Fort Bend ISD approves proposed budget

By DIANE TEZENO
Published: 08.27.08
Fort Bend ISD board members made no modifications to the district’s proposed $477.5 budget despite opposition from several residents and a state official to various aspects of the 2008-09 budget.

Board members gave their “OK” to the budget despite a $9.9 million deficit, and also gave the green light to several major expenditure increases, including employee pay raises.

The approved budget includes a 3 percent pay increase on base salary for all district employees, bringing starting salaries for teachers to $44,000.

The newly approved budget also includes $5.1 million for additional staffing, $1.2 million in TASB proposed equity adjustments and $2.26 million in increases for vehicle fuel inflation, among other expenditures.

Prior to the budget’s approval, several speakers voiced opposition to aspects of the budget, including Texas State Rep. Charlie Howard. . .

. . . Board members listened to several other comments from the public on the proposed budget, including

former school board candidate and Fresno resident Rodrigo Carreon.

“Some of our staff here have been working 23 years and never got a raise,” said Carreon.

Carreon questioned why funds from the district were going to the state.

The Fresno resident recommended the district look at alternative fuels such as natural gas versus diesel to save on fuel expenses.

A member of the Fort Bend Employee Federation encouraged the board to improve pay increases for classified employees and teachers above TASB recommendations.

“Equity adjustments and pay increases won’t lift our employees above the poverty level,” said the federation member, echoing a sentiment shared by an earlier speaker.

Richmond resident, Chris Calvin, said he would like to see the board take a closer look at the fund balance.

“Why with all of this money can’t we balance the budget without a tax increase this year,” said Calvin, citing open record information showing the district with a $93.8 million fund balance.

Fort Bend resident Carlos Kane told board members that he did not want to see his property taxes go up.

He expressed strong opposition to board members for proposing the .02 cent tax increase and encouraged board members to remedy the budget deficit through monies in the fund balance rather than by increasing taxes on homeowners.

“I have no objection to teacher’s getting their raises, they should have gotten them a long time ago,” said Kane.

“What I have an objection to is the $100 million dollars that you all had stashed in a trust fund,” said Kane

(follow the title link above for the full FB Sun story)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Chronicle Coverage: It's Official, FBISD Will Be Operating A Deficit Budget For The First Time in District History(thanks to the record '07 bond/debt)

Follow the title link above for more.....

Click here for other media coverage-

LATEST UPDATE ON THIS PIECE (Weds), click here-

Or this FBN update, click here...

Lawmaker upset with FBISD tax-rate hike
Union not satisfied with workers' raises
By ZEN T.C. ZHENG Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Lawmaker irked

During the budget public hearing and the regular meeting that followed when trustees adopted the budget, several trustees praised the budget and the 3-percent pay raise for employees. However, not all meeting attendees agreed.
Trustee Steve Smelley described Fort Bend ISD's property tax rate as low among districts in the Houston area, with Katy Independent School District topping the list.

Katy ISD's proposed 2008-09 budget of $524.9 million is based on the same tax rate as last year or $1.52 per $100 of valuation.

Smelley said, "We've been good stewards of our taxpayers' money and invest it wisely. That allowed us to the things we do and still save our taxpayers money when we can."

Texas Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, said he was "disappointed" with Smelley.
Howard pointed out that the district was raising its property tax rate unnecessarily while other taxing jurisdictions, such as Fort Bend County and the city of Sugar Land, have lowered their rates.

"As I walk around the district on an annual basis, the biggest complaint I have heard has been property taxes," Howard said. "Mr. Smelley, I appreciate your comparison of Fort Bend ISD's tax rate with school districts in the area. But I remind you that our tax burden is a function of the tax rate and the appraisals. Our appraisals have been going much higher than most school districts in the state."

Resident Chris Calvin lashed out at school officials for not "maximizing public input."
Both Calvin and Howard took issue with the district's public hearing scheduled at 5 p.m., an inconvenient time for those who were just getting off work in Houston to fight through peak-hour traffic.

"You are setting your tax rate at 7 and you are having a hearing at 5, how much time do you have in taking into consideration any comments you'll get?" Howard asked Smelley before being interrupted by trustee Bob Broxson who announced that Howard's three-minute speech time was up.

Resident Carlos Cain told trustees that he was "mad" at the 2-cent tax rate hike and that district officials had in the past denied to him that there was surplus money.

"I don't have an objection to teachers getting raises that they should've gotten a long time ago. What I have objection to is $100 million that y'all have stashed in a trust fund and y'all denied, denied and denied," Cain said. "If you have a fuel deficit in your budget, don't focus on the homeowners who are already struggling."

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MCC comment:

Board members, who fully pushed the record bond debt last year, criticized the lawmaker (Howard) for opposing this increase to help service the bond debt he too supported at the end of '07. All of this while the district is sitting on a near 100 million in surplus dollars.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

FBS: FBISD Adopts Deficit Budget For The First Time In District History (this includes a near $100 million dollar fund balance surplus)-

In 2007 the school district asked for and received a record bond debt for the fast growing school district. Now in this Fort Bend Star piece, for the first time in district history, the system will be operating a deficit budget. This while sitting on a near $100 million dollar surplus in their fund balance. What does this mean for the future of the district? Are we selling out our childrens future to further taxes and bond debt? Why won't the BOT and central office use the surplus, which is close to $20 million dollars over the states guides for these accounts?-follow the link above for more--

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

FBN Reports: County Being Sued Over McKeever Rd. Controversy!

Get more at FortBendWeb.com by clicking here, or follow the title link above...

Monday, August 18, 2008

FBISDWatch Update: FBISD Superintendant's Rumored Raise Is Back In The News...click the title link for the full story...

Follow the title link above for the full story...

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Chron: Nearly $100 Million In District Fund Balance (Special Acct.)!

FORT BEND ISD
Board considers increase in tax rate, salaries
By ZEN T.C. ZHENG HOUSTON CHRONICLE

A 2-cent tax rate hike and a 3-percent pay raise for all employees are included in a budget proposal that Fort Bend Independent School District officials are fine-tuning for 2008-09.
Residents will have a chance to tell school officials what they think about the proposed budget of $474 million at a public meeting on Aug. 25 at 5 p.m. at the district administration building, 16431 Lexington Blvd. in Sugar Land. . .

. . .The proposed $474 million budget would include expenditures totaling about $11.3 million more than the 2007-08 budget.
As the proposed 2008-09 expenditures would fall short of the projected revenues by $9.3 million, district officials are considering dipping into a pool of funds known as the fund-balance account. The account, with a current balance of $93.8 million, is surplus money leftover from previous year budgets.

That balance exceeds the maximum amount of what the state recommends to keep in savings for rainy days by $18 million, according to officials of the Fort Bend Employee Federation, a district employee union that has been pushing for higher pay increases for classified employees such as bus drivers and workers at cafeterias and warehouses.
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MCC comment:

Do the voters realize that the district is keeping nearly 100 million dollars in a fund balance account from past budgets? How much more of our monies are being tucked away without our approval for a "rainy day".

Monday, August 11, 2008

From FortBendWeb.com: Is The BOT Considering A Substantial Raise For Dr. Jenney?--click the title link for the full piece--

Get the full story by clicking the title link above or following this link:

http://www.fortbendweb.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1004&Itemid=95&mosmsg=Thanks+for+your+vote%21&mosmsg=Thanks+for+your+vote%21

-See this FBN update...

Friday, August 08, 2008

FBN: More High Density Apartments May Be On The Way For The Area!--click the title link for more--


Follow the title link for more--
See related piece from FortBendWeb.com:

-Click here to read the related FBW piece.

-Search Houston area data-base for multi-family/apartment violations and safety issues

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

FBC District Attorney Receives Sanctions From The Texas Ethics Commission--click the title link for the full FortBendWeb story--


Follow the title link above for more. . .
Get this chron update at: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/5931170.html#

Monday, August 04, 2008

FBISD School Ratings--click the title link for more from FBISDWatch--

Two high schools made recognized ratings for 2007-2008, while the district retained an academically acceptable overall rank.

POLLHOST POLL RESULTS:

POLLHOST POLL RESULTS:

 

Question: Do you trust Allen Owen, mayor of Missouri City, TX, to represent you rather than his Houston corporate backers?

 

Results:

 

3%  participating said yes  (n20)

 

91%  participating said no  (n573)

 

6%  participating responded not sure  (n39)

 

(N) sample =  632

 

Stay tuned as more surveys for coming elections are posted!

Web Statistics
Alienware Computers

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