Keith Self's Blog

Fellow citizens,

The budget process continues. The Commissioners Court will adopt the budget on September 9, and until then, we appreciate your inputs. I have just two points on the budget for you today.

1) The 2.1% "tax increase" legal notice published in the newspaper does NOT apply to your personal taxes. It reflects the overall increase in tax dollars that will be collected by the county from all county taxpayers. Our tax base grew by more than 4%, so a 2.1% overall tax increase means that we have slowed the growth of county government below the rate of tax base increase, and your individual tax burden should decrease due to the new 5% homestead exemption and the proposed tax rate decrease.

2) You may be surprised to learn that the Commissioners Court does NOT control every county department's budget. The District Judges, for example, set the auditor's budget.

The District Judges recently increased the auditor's employees by more than 14% and increased the auditor's budget by more than 11%. By comparison, overall county personnel increased by 3% and the county operating budget will increase by approximately 4% when all adjustments are made before September 9.

Part of this discrepancy may be due to the Commissioners Court new technology initiatives to improve productivity of our current employees, including an initiative to upgrade the auditor's office. Increased employee productivity decreases the need to add as many new employees.

The District Judges' budget meetings are open meetings just like the Commissioners Court, so you can get a transcript of the meeting by contacting Tim Wyatt at 972-548-4673 if you would like to read their deliberations.

Sincerely,
Keith

Citizens,

Collin County recently became the first county in the nation to post our checkbook on-line. You may view the check registers at http://public1.co.collin.tx.us/transparency/default.aspx?RootFolder=%2ftransparency%2fCheck%20Registers%2fCheck%20Registers%202008&View=%7bD87971CB%2d13E8%2d47E6%2d815B%2d70E60096B327%7d

There is also an electronic form that can be filed on-line in order to request the backup documentation for the check register entry that you wish to examine.

Empower Texans, an organization that "exists to create and sustain a system of strong fiscal stewardship within all levels of Texas government" wrote that:

"Not only is Collin County one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, it's now leading the nation in full fiscal transparency. Located north of Dallas and encompassing Plano, McKinney and Frisco, taxpayers there now have unprecedented access to the county's spending in almost real time. The first county in the nation to do so, we'll see if Texas' 253 other counties voluntarily follow suit.... Open to review 24 hours, day and night, taxpayers can check out the payments made to the DISH Network, for example, and see down to the penny how their money is being spent. It's a work in progress, but the website raises the standard for local government around the country.... The fiscally responsible bent of the Collin County commissioners is evident not just in transparency. At a time when school districts, cities and counties elsewhere in the state are threatening tax hikes to cover increased expenses, Collin County taxpayers can look forward to a tax rate cut as well as a larger "homestead" exemption on their residential property."
By MQSullivan, Wed, 08/13/2008
http://www.empowertexans.com/node/639

I appreciate the strong support of the county auditor in this effort.

Sincerely,
Keith

Citizens,

The recent week-long workshop to develop the county budget for next year did a good job of balancing the reality of the current economy with the needs of a fast-growing county.

Unless changes are made to the proposed budget before it is adopted as scheduled on September 9, you will gain both a 5% homestead exemption approved in June AND a 1/4 cent county tax rate decrease. For the average taxpayer, that will reduce your county tax burden in real dollars.

The Commissioners Court committed more dollars to pay down the $111 million future unfunded liability in two retiree programs. That commitment today will reduce the liability burden for future generations in Collin County - your children and grandchildren.

The Commissioners Court also accepted the recommendations of the citizens who served on the Elected Officials' Salary Committee. The citizens demonstrated that they understand current market conditions when they recommended a 3.5% salary increase for elected officials. The court accepted that recommendation; then followed up with salary increases of 3.5% for the vast majority of county employees on pay-for-performance. Both actions took into account the reality of smaller wage increases in the private sector for you, the taxpayer.

Two public hearings are scheduled on the proposed budget, August 26 during daytime hours and September 2 during evening hours. I invite you to attend one of the public hearings.

There are other elements of the budget that I may address as necessary as we continue through the budget process, but this gives you the major points of the proposed budget.

Sincerely,
Keith

Citizens,

The Commissioners Court spent the last four days in budget workshop discussions.

Tomorrow, Friday, August 1, at about 10:00 AM, the Commissioners Court will begin the consideration of employee salaries, elected officials' salaries, benefits, insurance, unfunded future liabilities, and the county property tax rate, including any potential tax rate cut. These are the issues that determine the overall budget; whether our county government will grow or shrink in these trying times for county taxpayers. We will also set the two public hearing dates for you to personally give us your feedback on the proposed budget. Final budget approval is scheduled for September 9.

Friday is the day to click on http://collin.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2 in order to watch live the most important discussions of the week. The discussions will last most of the day, and I understand that many of you cannot watch the entire day, but the webcast is available to you.

Sincerely,
Keith

Citizens,

1. I want to publicly thank the Elected Officials Salary Advisory Committee for their work last week. The Commissioners Court decided to ask a citizens' committee drawn from the grand jury pool to make recommendations on elected officials' salary increases for next year. Although I voted against the idea because I believe that setting salaries is a core duty of the Commissioners Court, I was very pleased with the reasoned and measured discussion among the committee members. The committee recommended a 3.5% pay increase for all elected officials. (Remember that I froze my salary the day I took office.)

The committee members obviously work in the real world and understand wages in the real world. Their discussion showed that they are aware that some civilian workers may not get a raise at all this year due to the stresses on wage growth and that our economy is still in an uncertain period. I recently spoke with a business owner who has hundreds of employees. He told me that the salary increase for his employees this year will be 2.75%.

If you have feedback on elected officials' salaries, please contact your commissioner or me soon.

2. The Commissioners Court Budget Workshop is this week, July 28-August 1. You may watch the workshop live on the web at http://collin.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=2

The daily agenda for the week is at http://collin.granicus.com/DocumentViewer.php?file=316d9c4d86d424d412a44a81935246a4.pdf if you care to watch a certain department presentation.

I cannot guarantee that the workshop will be very exciting, but I consider the budget process, which determines how we spend your hard-earned tax dollars, the most important duty of the Commissioners Court. This week's workshop will be instrumental in setting the final budget for the next year and flushing out inefficiencies in county government.

It is an honor to serve you,
Keith

Citizens,

1) The transition following the untimely passing of Commissioner Jack Hatchell is complete.

Kathy Ward now represents Precinct 4 on the Commissioners Court.

On Saturday, July 19, 2008, Fred Moses was elected to replace Kathy and serve out the current term as the Republican Party County Chairman. Congratulations, Fred!

Now it is up to all of us to get behind our Republican nominees for the November general election and preserve our Republican majority in Collin County.

There are three Commissioners Court nominees on the November ballot, although Matt Shaheen is unopposed. Joe Jaynes has an opponent and Kathy Ward will likely have an opponent.

2) You may have noticed that the Commissioners Court had one previous discussion about putting county expenditures on-line so that you can review county spending at any time. I continue to believe that this is the next step in transparent government. Stay tuned as this discussion continues - you deserve to know how your county government spends your hard-earned tax dollars. The State has already done this, and it only makes sense.

Sincerely,
Keith

Citizens,

1. Farmersville celebrated the 84th anniversary of Audie Murphy's birth on Saturday, June 21. Audie Murphy, a Medal of Honor recipient, was the most decorated soldier of WWII and one of the most famous soldiers in American history. Along with Audie Murphy's memory, the city also honored veterans from every era during a parade around the town square and a ceremony held in the historic Onion Shed. It was a moving experience to watch veterans wipe tears from their eyes during patriotic songs, and then swell with pride as their individual branch of the Armed Services was recognized. It was a genuine celebration of freedom honoring the cost borne by our veterans to defend our freedom.

As we approach the 4th of July, Independence Day, our annual celebration, we will hear "freedom" frequently over the next few weeks.

Our freedom focus today tends to our concerns over the threat (and rise) of radical Islam, but we also need to keep close watch on the domestic issues addressed in our U.S. Constitution. Freedom can be lost not only by foreign threat, but also by concentrating too much power and money in our government. The Constitution is a wonderful document written by men who had first-hand experience with a too-powerful government. The Constitution is all about limited government.

As you consider your freedom over the next weeks, consider what Frederic Bastiat wrote in a period when France was turning to socialism, "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else." This great fiction is NOT what our veterans fought and died for.

Freedom flies in your heart like an eagle.
Let it soar with the winds high above
Among the spirits of soldiers now sleeping,
Guard it with care and with love.
- Audie Murphy

Guard your freedom with care and love.

2. The Commissioners Court voted 3-2 today to institute a 5% homestead exemption with a $5,000 minimum during the next fiscal year that starts in October. This homestead exemption means that your county tax burden in real dollars should decrease, depending on your individual property appraisal. That is good news. One of my longtime primary goals has been to give you tax relief.

However, I preferred a more broad based tax relief through a tax rate decrease. A broad based tax rate decrease would give not only you, the homeowner, tax relief, but it would also give tax relief to the business that employs you. In this troubled time, we need to be encouraging all the employment that we can. I will continue to work through the budget process to include a tax rate decrease that will include tax relief for our businesses.

Sincerely,
Keith

Citizens,

Transportation continues to be the highest priority and most time-consuming issue in the county. I meet monthly with TXDot and our Regional Transportation Council member, Commissioner Jaynes, in order to stay abreast of the issues and the progress of projects in Collin County.

There is also a great deal of work left to do to protect the SH 121 concession fee dedicated to Collin County, approximately $800 million, in order to fund transportation projects important to our county. We are working hard on these details.

Now that some time has passed since two unanimous votes in the Commissioners Court, I want to tell you how pleased I was with those two votes.

The first was the unanimous vote to realign the northern-most section of Dallas North Tollway (DNT) in Collin County. The DNT is a strong economic engine and it only makes sense to continue its path north through the rapid population growth area of Collin County.

The second was the unanimous vote to educate ourselves on the legal and practical aspects of a County Toll Road Authority (CTRA.) Tomorrow, June 10, TXDot will present the first educational briefing to the court. This education process does NOT mean that Collin County will establish a CTRA, but if it becomes necessary, we will understand what is entailed.

These two initiatives demonstrate a vision for Collin County that includes taking care of ourselves should it become necessary to do so because of the uncertainty of future transportation funding in Texas.

You may have read about discussions in court regarding the relative merits of a tax rate decrease versus a homestead exemption. This discussion will continue on June 10. If the court decides to establish a homestead exemption, it must be done by the end of June, long before the budget is developed, discussed, and approved. You may review the information that will be used for the June 10 discussion starting on page 439 at http://public1.co.collin.tx.us/public_notices/Lists/Public%20Meetings/Attachments/404/Court%20Packet%2006-10-08.pdf Be patient; the package is huge and takes a while to open. Do not attempt unless you have a broadband connection.

Ronald Reagan said once, "You can't be for big government, big taxes, and big bureaucracy and still be for the little guy." The discussions on the court regarding tax relief demonstrate that we are listening to the current economic news and are committed to giving you tax relief this year. Stay tuned as we work out the details.

While the naysayers will claim that county tax relief could amount to a small amount, I believe that every bit of tax relief helps, especially when the estimate for a typical family of four suggests that their federal tax bill will increase by $2000 if the Democrats win in November. That represents a 40% increase over their current tax bill. You may read the study for yourself at http://www.atr.org/content/pdf/2008/june/060208pr-face1famfour.pdf

It continues to be an honor to serve you,
Keith

Citizens,

Memorial Day is Monday.

A day of remembrance of those who died in military service to our nation, Memorial Day has been observed for 138 years.

Memorial Day is always fresh because our freedom requires sacrifice from every generation. Most of you reading this letter personally know an American who served or is serving in our Armed Forces, many in harm's way today. Celina's remembrance, for example, will honor Peter Burks, a hometown son who died in Iraq last year. This is not only history, this is also now.

I encourage you to include one of the many Collin County Memorial Day programs in your weekend plans. I, for one, will be participating in the McKinney Memorial Day program at the Pecan Grove Cemetery at 10:00 AM.

If you want to hear patriotic music and moving tributes to our fallen military by Congressmen Sam Johnson and Ralph Hall, see a flyover by an open cockpit WWII aircraft, and eat Texas barbeque, then you want to be at the Pecan Grove Cemetery on Monday, May 26 at 10:00 AM. Congressmen Johnson and Hall know a thing or two about serving our country in the Armed Forces during combat, and they remember - as we need to do.

Pecan Grove's historic headstones reflect the presence of 203 veterans from conflicts of the 1800s - 1 from the Texas Revolution; 7 from the Mexican War and 195 from the Civil War (193 Confederate and 2 Union.) A Twentieth Century Flying Ace lies in this famous cemetery, General Royal Baker, who fought in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam.

Plan to attend one of the Collin County remembrance programs on Monday. Check out your own hometown. Honor the Americans who died for us.

Sincerely,
Keith

Citizens,

The constant drumbeat for higher taxes continues. Many regional and local government and quasi-government organizations are developing detailed plans to lobby the state legislature for higher taxes in several different areas: a new transit tax, higher sales tax, higher gas tax, higher property tax, and even a new hospital taxing district that I will discuss at the end of the blog. Even with the current state surplus, there seems to be no end to the appetite for higher taxes. This is not some far-away effort in Austin, it is right here in North Texas. As you watch media reports, you can see the outlines of the efforts to come next year during the legislative session.

I want to address a flawed idea that we see again and again as the tax-and-spend crowd tries to convince you that they need more of your hard-earned dollars. Time and time again, we read and hear the argument that all our new citizens who are moving to Collin County require greater services and therefore citizens who currently live here need to contribute more tax dollars to fund those greater services that our new citizens require. The tax-and-spend crowd never heard of Phil Gramm's Dickie Flatt test.

What this argument does not bother to mention is that all our new citizens are paying property tax on the houses they buy, they are paying sales tax on the goods they buy, and they are paying fees for registering and inspecting their cars. They are paying their taxes, just as you are. More citizens are shouldering the tax load, so your tax burden should be able to stay steady, or even decrease. This is the beauty of a fast-growing area - we have more people to help us continue to provide you with the infrastructure that contributes to our excellent county in which to live and work.

We have the preliminary figures for the growth of our tax base this year. When the final figures come in, our tax base should grow by a healthy percentage - not the blowout 10.9% of last year, but still a healthy number.

If we can control the growth of government this year, we should be able to give you tax relief. Remember that slowing the growth of county government DOES NOT mean that we will have to CUT services. Even if county government grows more slowly, there will still be dollars available to fund the most pressing increases, such as in the cost of construction materials. And when you see the small amount of savings for you that the tax-and-spend crowd suggest when they discuss tax relief, remember what someone said once, "Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut save you thirty cents?"

I am also very concerned about a renewed effort to include Collin County in a new hospital district with Dallas County. This will do no more than force you, the Collin County taxpayer, to support Parkland Hospital with a new property tax. Dallas County citizens already pay a HIGHER TAX RATE JUST FOR PARKLAND HOSPITAL than you pay for your Collin County taxes. Let me say that in a different way. You pay 24.5 cents per hundred dollars in appraisal to Collin County. Dallas County citizens pay 25.4 cents per hundred dollars in appraisal just to support Parkland Hospital. Their county taxes are over and above that Parkland tax.

Let me assure you, Collin County pays for treatment for our indigent citizens who receive treatment at Parkland, despite media reports to the contrary. I send a letter every month to the Dallas County Commissioners Court members detailing our payments.

Notwithstanding the uncertain national political scene, within the next year you may face a new hospital district tax, a new transit tax, higher gas tax, higher sales tax, and higher property tax.

And this is one reason why tax relief at county level is important.

This is why your vote matters. The people you elect are making these decisions.

Sincerely,
Keith

One other note on the 2009 legislative session. State Representative Ken Paxton, who represents McKinney, Frisco, Allen, and Prosper, has been named the Vice Chairman of the House Select Committee on Property Tax Relief and Appraisal Reform. This committee will directly study possible tax relief. Ken Paxton is a friend of taxpayers and I encourage you to watch as this committee's work unfolds.