Cost of Growth Archives - ChangeAustin.org

Stop this sneaky deal, Austin.

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Linda Curtis • 4 Comments

Front page news — Housing Deal Could Cost the City $50M!

While it appears Austin Mayor Steve Adler was hoodwinking his trusting Council by diverting $50 to 80 million from the struggling water utility to subsidize 650 houses outside of the Austin city limits, one wonders where the hell the City Manager was.

The City Manager, Marc Ott, is required by law to prepare a “fiscal note” on each reading of a proposed ordinance stating its economic impact on the City’s budget before submitting it to the council. Ott failed to do so on all three readings — leaving the fiscal notes completely blank every time. This misled the Council to think there was no fiscal impact.

After a 22% water rate increase last year alone to cover costs, you would think Mr. Ott would lift a finger to protect the utility and its customers from this latest looting which will cause further rate increases. Not so.

Enough is enough. City Manager Marc Ott needs to be replaced and the 10-1 Council members deserve their own handpicked city manager who will respect their authority and shoot straight.

Ott’s performance review is in the next few weeks. Tell the Mayor and City Council you want this Pilot Knob deal nullified and to have the ordinance process repeated legally with the true costs discussed openly.

Read and don’t weep — share it with others and contact the Mayor and your Council member.

Get to work Austin. Stop this sneaky deal.

Energy Rate Hike Hearing Thurs. – y’all come!

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Linda Curtis • 0 Comments

This just in from our Austin Energy Ratepayer Watchdog, Bill Oakey who is urging you to come to the public hearing this Thursday at City Hall at 6 pm: (you might call or email Council too, see below)

“Austin Energy’s latest “revised” proposal does nothing to reduce the utility’s spending, reduce fixed charges for residential customers, stop the shifting of costs from industrial to residential customers, and keep a rate design that rewards energy conservation and low usage. The $22 in fixed customer charges is still in place for this year. The 200 kWh of electricity that is included does next to nothing to soften the impact of the high charges.

And in a new and shocking twist, the new plan includes the ‘Leffingwell Subsidy,’ which provides a 6.1% discount for out-of-city ratepayers. This would exacerbate the existing problem of Austin citizens paying for growth, instead of growth paying for itself. And on top of that, Austin Energy just last year signed a 10 year agreement to pay a 3% franchise fee to several suburban communities served by the utility. No other municipal utility in Texas offers an out-of-city ratepayer subsidy. The Austin Energy service area is twice the geographic size of Austin. Providing an electric rate discount would stifle future annexation strategies and set up a war with developers over inside versus outside Austin building plans. It would lead to a serious erosion of our tax base. One more nail in the coffin of unaffordability for Austinites!

Come out to the public hearing and tell Mayor Leffingwell that we reject his plan, and ask the rest of the City Council to turn it down flat. There is some support on the City Council for a delay in the rate case to allow for better analysis of the facts and time to prepare a fair and equitable plan. That’s what Austin Energy customers deserve.”

Here’s how you can contact the Council:

Mayor Lee Leffingwell (512) 974-2250, Lee.Leffingwell@ci.austin.tx.us

Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole (512) 974-2266, Sheryl.Cole@ci.austin.tx.us

Council Member Mike Martinez (512) 974-2264, Mike.Martinez@ci.austin.tx.us

Council Member Laura Morrison (512) 974-2258, Laura.Morrison@ci.austin.tx.us

Council Member Kathie Tovo (512) 974-2255, Kathie.Tovo@ci.austin.tx.us

Council Member Bill Spelman (512) 974-2256, Bill.Spelman@ci.austin.tx.us

Council Member Chris Riley (512) 974-2260, Chris.Riley@ci.austin.tx.us

Keep Mopac Local

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Linda Curtis • 0 Comments

You may have heard that Hays County is asking Travis County to spend close to $20 million on a new road to connect South Mopac to FM 1626. Long term plans are to connect MoPac to IH-35. This will make MoPac gridlock even worse!

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2011-11-04/point-austin-buckle-up/

What’s in it for Travis County? The proposed road dramatically increases daily traffic on Mopac, delivers pollution to Travis County neighborhoods, and takes scarce county funds away from higher-priority transportation and community needs.

So who benefits from the new road? Hays County developers and long-distance haulers–at the expense of each and every Travis County taxpayer and Mopac driver.

We need to say NO to Hays County’s giveaway road proposal and spend our limited transportation dollars on projects that improve traffic, not make it worse. Take a minute to go here and send a message to the Travis County Commissioners Court and Austin City Council to Keep Mopac Local:

http://www.keepmopaclocal.org/take-action

PS Our friend, Bill Oakey, just submitted this information on the rate hikes that Austin Energy has in store for Austin ratepayers.

Better get organized, y’all — and we need smaller geographically representative districts — to rein in the perpetual hogs at the public trought, aka the growth lobby!

City Wants to Raise Your Taxes $265/year

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Linda Curtis • 4 Comments

August 22, 2011 Meeting of ChangeAustin.org — Bill Oakey Speaks on City Budget Reform.

Did you know that Austin City Council is being strongly advised by the City Manager to raise your energy, water and property taxes by $265 this year? That’s in addition to all the likely hikes from the county, the healthcare district and AISD.

Sign this letter/petition now! An immediate message is sent to Mayor Leffingwell and the three other members of the Council up for reelection next — Cole, Martinez & Spelman. Then send it to your friends across the city! (P.S. Mark your calendars to attend the first budget hearing on August 25th. More info soon.) You can also print the petition out (see below) and take it around in your neighborhood.

[emailpetition id=”2″]

Petition-No Tax Rate Hikes 2012 City Budget (print out, take it to your neighbors and get it back to us soon!)

Rodgers on the Water Wars

Posted on April 24, 2011 by Linda Curtis • 0 Comments

Brian Rodgers wowed a crowd that gathered at McKinney Roughs Nature Trail on March 19th in Cedar Creek at the “Texas Water Wars: Is there a solution and who decides” conference sponsored by Independent Texans, Environmental Stewardship, Lost Pines Sierra Club and Neighbors for Neighbors. Here’s his 14 minute talk on water and the dangerous plans by the “growth machine” to continue moving precious groundwater to unsustainable (water poor) developments — and make current residents pay for it. You can watch the rest of the videos on the Independent Texans You Tube channel. Make growth pay for itself y’all!

Candidates Respond!

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Linda Curtis • 0 Comments

Thanks to all the Council candidates for responding.

This election is about 3 incumbents and the cost of growth as City leaders continue to fan the flames of out-of-control growth — with current residents shouldering the increasingly unbearable costs. The Austin American Statesman just reported Austin property taxes could rise next year.

Who will fight to keep your cost of living down? It’s up to you Austin – take charge before they charge you!

Go here to read, comment and share with your Austin voting friends.