Travis County Commissioners Court
June 21, 2005
Citizens Communication
Citizens communication is next. This item gives residents an opportunity to add the Commissioners court on any matter not on the agenda. For up to 3 minutes. Four citizens have signed in. Number 1 is sherri flemming. Number 2 is bob barstow. Good morning.
>> good morning. Good morning, judge and Commissioners. Sherri flemming. And I am the executive manager for Travis County health and human services. But today I have somewhat of a different hat in that I am representing the community action network, our partner and the basic needs coalition of central Texas. And today as mother nature marks the official start of summer, I think it is fitting for us to remind the community of some of our most needy citizens and some of the struggles that they continue to have in meeting their basic needs. So we would like to take just a few minutes this morning, to talk about one particular area that the community action network and the basic needs coalition has worked on this year in order to encourage the community to help us help our neighbors who are struggling with meeting their utility bills and responsibilities. The challenge that we face is that 211 Texas reports utility assistance is the most commonly requested basic need that they hear each day. The passages program locally reports 58% of the families in shelters here in Travis County had an outstanding utility debt exceeding $300. Approximately 6,000 Austin-Travis County residents receive termination notices each day. And approximately 350 to 500 households actually have their utilities cut off for non-payment each day. Those most impacted are persons on a fixed income, such as persons with disabilities and senior citizens. Families with small children and those with chronically ill family members. Also anyone who may be experiencing a financial crisis and has gotten in arrears on their utility payments. Those who are most in need are served through the customer assistance program sponsored by Austin energy. But they must meet certain eligibility criteria set up by Austin energy and providers who set up the funds. These include non-profit agencies in our community and Travis County's emergency assistance programs. What's being done is the community action network and the basic needs coalition are both working together with Austin energy to encourage information about this critical program to be shared. Also the city council has directed Austin energy to publicize the customer assistance program so that residents will know how they can help. In addition many c.a.n. Partners and local agencies are including information about the customer assistance program in their newsletters. We are asking today that Austin-Travis County residents be encouraged to add $1 or more to their customer assistance program section on their Austin energy utility bill. You may also contact the community action network for information on the c.a.p. Program that can be published in a company, a church or a neighborhood newsletter. Residents who pay their bills by automatic funds transfer should watch for special envelopes in the mail requesting their help with this important program. Donations can also be made directly to Austin energy in care of the customer assistance program. Thank you.
>> thank you.
>> thank you, sherri.
>> thank you very much. Exactly three minutes. Bob barstow is next. We'll be followed by vincent may.
>> bob barstow, the barstow family owns and manages windy point park adjacent to your park next to windy points. We've had property problems out there for years. I’m using my property to make a living for myself and my family. And our employees. You've set me up with a situation that is going to make me have an accident and I’m trying to wiggle out of that situation. And have you change your ways. You built a boat ramp for my exclusive use with public funds in a location that I opposed. It's very dangerous, winds, waves, wakes from boats, boats and launchers against trailers, that's not safe. In addition to that, it is in your most populated swim area. So I am exercising my property right to increase my business to launch motor boats. In that regard, I’m promoting free motor boat launches over this easement. Now, I’m going to show you a film clip. There's only one error in the clip, it says both the county and the lcra -- and my park use an easement. I use an easement through the county's park. You contracted to honor that easement. And when you put swimmers in front of my motor boats, you put your swimmers at danger and you put me at risk of liability in causing an accident. I do not want swimmers among those motor boats. You owe me a duty to manage your park so that that does not happen and that's a land management problem. Now, you claim that an lcra regulation does not apply because it's a private ramp. Well, you built the ramp with public money for my exclusive use and you just choose not to let your customers use it. And it's, in my opinion, it's either a public ramp or you misappropriated public funds to improve my private property. Please show the clip.
>> as the summer heat rises, many of us are heading to the lake to coolñi off. Some like to boat, others prefer to swim, but mixing the two could be disastrous.
>> young children were running behind the trailers.
>> bob barstow owns windy point park. Nearby Travis County leases land from the lower colorado river authority for bob wentz park. Both share this easement to offer lake access. Barstow uses this lamp to launch motor boats, but there's a problem. He says the county lets people swim in swarms here among the boats.
>> well, there's an unsafe condition of mixing swimmers with motor boats. And the lcra refuses to enforce its regulation that prohibits swimming within 50 feet of a public ramp.
>> the lcra says their regulation doesn't apply here because the boat ramp is not a public launch. They don't apply to other non-public boat launches, either. The lcra and Travis County tell us they are working to improve safety in this area. One idea they are talking about is putting better warn signs here. But bob barstow worries that won't happen soon enough.
>> to mix the boats and people in the water is a dangerous practice. Someone is going to get hurt.
>> barstow is particularly worried about the children who are frequently out here.
>> some day it's inevitable one of them is going to come up underneath a boat that's underway and get hit or a propeller will chew them up, you know, they could be badly injured or killed.
>> in the meantime barstow is hanging his own warning sign. He also goes outs every day to warn swimmers himself, but he worries his voice is drowned out by all of the people looking for summer fun.
>> and if you have any story ideas -- that's the end of the clip, folks. I think that you have seen the danger, I have investigated in the -- everyone in the lcra that I could think of, I called Commissioner Daugherty's office and I find no action whatsoever to resolve this dangerous problem. I challenge you to resolve it. It needs to be resolved, you can contract it, to operate your park, around my use of motor boats, I was using them before you came in, I’m going to continue to use them and it is a safety problem that needs quick action.
>> thank you, mr. Barstow.
>> one more thing.
>> you are two minutes over already. Vincent may is next.
>> I assume these people were supporting me when I saw their signs.
>> next is the final speaker under citizens communication.
>> good morning, Commissioners, I’m speaking for myself and the Travis County libertarian party. I was recently reading an obscure campo document and I learned in that that Commissioner Davis had taken actions to try to stop toll roads from being built on existing highways, like highway 290 east and 183, ed bluestein boulevard. I’m here to say I respect mr. Davis for doing that. He's a -- he's a rare politician who doesn't follow the herd who is -- who has come to the conclusions of his own and I think those that -- that his proposal would be in the best interests of the citizens. Thank you very much Commissioner Davis and I’m sorry that the -- that the news media hasn't reported your actions yet. It seems that we only get one side of the story in the news media. The second reason that I’m here today is also, on the subject of toll roads. First I want to read a quote from the newspaper on April 19th, 2004. It's a year ago.
>> it's on this piece traditional funding comes primarily from revenue from the state gas tax which would have to be increased by two to $3 per gallon to finance the proposed routes. Now that's Commissioner hildgenstein. A year ago, before you voted in, you and campo and another elected leaders in the area voted in this toll road plan, the executive director of ctrma made public statements saying that the only way to avoid toll roads was if we were willing to increase our gas tax by two to three dollars a gallon. That means that we would be paying 4 to $5 a gallon today at the pump if we had done that. That's done. Here we go. But campo staff has recently released their estimate of how much it would cost us in increasedñi gas taxes to build the entire toll plan, all of the toll roads, as traditional free roads. Campo staff estimated 1.6 cents per gallon. Now, mr. Hildgenstein's estimate was more than 100 times of what campo staff, they took over a month coming up with this estimate. They went over the numbers, crunched them in the computers. They said 1.6 cents per gallon. Mike hildgenstein said over two to three cents. That's over 100%. Either he is incomp tents and does not -- incomp tents and does not deserve his job or he was lying. I usual you Commissioners to consider that campo that put a moratorium on any changes in the toll road plan that would be irrevokable. There are no new toll roads to start over the next year while campo restudies this issue. I think the Commissioners court should become involved in that study and help steer the direction towards that which is best for the citizens and that is not toll road. Thank you very much.
>> thank you, mr. May. Susan spitaro is our final speaker.
>> judge and Commissioners, a few things as you all well know, another special session has been called to the state legislature with regard to school finance. Tied into that has been, governments have been and people have been fighting that capping property tax revenues. And I am going to send a letter to every legislator in the state of Texas, we will not have time for you all to approve that letter, it will come under my name, but I want to sort of -- I have got a third of it done, I would like to read that part so that you would note that the tenor of that letter and the approach because I think, I’m glad so many people are here, because they really need to hear this. Okay? So this is just the first three paragraphs. As you begin this special session on school finance, I urge you to focus all of your energy on the school children of Texas. The central issue should be how you the elected representatives of the people of Texas can design a legal framework that provides quality education for Texas children in a cost effective manner, which reduces the dependence on property taxes by identifying more diverse sources of revenue. I don't need to tell you that this is a daunting task. You have worked hard and diligently on this rob for five session -- problem for five sessions, but now you only have a mere 30 days, you must succeed. If you fail, someone has to explain to our children why their schools are closed and how state leaders could possibly have let that happen. As you tackle this very significant task, I urge you to keep in mind how we got to this crisis situation in education so that this crisis is not replicated in other key programs in the state. First school financing became increasingly reliant on property taxes as a source for funding. The state continued to increase the requirements for schools for the betterment of education. Enrollment in the schools grew requiring more schools, more teachers, more books and more buses. The increase in enrollment also brought a growing number of children that required special services. Cost of fuel, insurance, construction and utilities continued to climb. All of these events increased the need for additional funding. The state did not proportionately contribute revenues to meet these real needs. These needs either went unmet or financed by property taxes. It is hard to fault the boards of education because they are the ones that looked into the face of children, into the face of parents and into the face of teachers. Then the state decided to cap property taxes. The major source providing financing for education. All of you will be very familiar with this scene, that is exactly what the state is doing and has been doing with the services that the county government provides. So what I intend to lay out in the rest of the letter is this is the exact strategy that the state of Texas is using with funding inmates. We have had a growth in enrollment. We are completely dependents on the property tax and now the state wants to cap that revenue without doing anything about the demand. We are going to be in a crisis with inmate population, the likes of which we have not seen, if the state blindly goes on this strategy. So that's really kind of the -- the thrust that I would like to -- to send to them. I will -- I’m going to use some of Travis County's data. And if any of you have any input feel free to let me know. We have gotten no notice on this particularly so I’m having to write very quickly to get this out. Thank you.
>> thanks, susan.
>> susan? Since we do have an audience here, we have talked earlier about people understanding when state government goes outs and talks about limiting the ability of local governments to -- to collect taxes that it takes to run the basic services, we really need to make sure that the average everyday citizen understands that we are statutorily mandated to do things in county government and the only source of revenue that we have is ad valorem taxes. If somebody can come to us and find that we are senselessly spending money that is one thing. But we are up three to 400 people a day in our jails compared so what we were last year and we don't have -- either we go out and tell a.p.d. Or our Travis County sheriff's office don't bring them in because we don't have a place to put you. We can't take you on. I just want to make sure that the citizens understand whenever the story is told, we will take care of your property taxes, we also want to make sure that that savings that you have is also handcuffed so to speak the local government so that they can't raise your taxes, I mean, let's just make sure that everybody understands that the dollars that we need to run county government, we don't have sales tax, we don't have electric utility transfers, we don't have the things in county government that the cities have. So -- so don't -- let's not be duped by, you know, if you will do this, then this will be good for you. So I’m glad that you brought it up because the folks here today need to hear that.
>> it's probably going to be tacked on to the school finance bill.
>> [multiple voices]
>> we are in citizens communication --
>> i'll retract everything that I just said.
>> if I were allowed to speak, I would tell you that that's an excellent start to an op ed piece for the Austin american-statesman, as it happens the publisher happens to be in our audience today.
>> that does it for citizens communication. [ applause ]
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Last Modified:
Wednesday, June 21, 2005 7:51 PM