Travis County Commissioners Court
May 23, 2006
Citizens Communication
Citizens communication is next. The four citizens have signed in. This item is to give residents an opportunity to add the Commissioners court on any matter not on the agenda for up to three minutes. And harris harold signed in first, followed by jennifer gale. Good morning, judge, Commissioners, any name is harris harold. I live in Travis County, in east Travis County. Like the majority of any neighbors I strongly oppose the to go of state -- the tolling of state highway 183 east and u.s. 183 south. These roads do need to be upgraded to handle increased traffic loads, but they are paid for with our hard earned dollars that we pay every week. I知 speaking of glass taxes. If we are already paying for the improvement of 71 east, why should we also be charged tolls? I知 speaking -- that -- that's double taxation. We won't pay it. It has come to my attention that ctrma is planning a toll -- to toll existing bridges in southeast Travis County. The intersection of highway 183 south and 71 east has been free for 40 years. The underpass at montopolis has been free for just as long. We won't tolerate taking our existing roads and converting them to tollways. The citizens demand that you exercise leadership. I知 calling on the court to deal with this matter. Campo and ctrma must understand that we won't be taken for granted. Please resolve these issues and let the public know where you stand. Please put this on the ballot and give the citizens a chance to vote for free tolls in Travis County. Thank you.
>> thank you, mr. Heard. Jennifer gale is next. Jennifer gale is next. Vincent may is next. Vincent may. And mr. May will be followed by phillip dick.
>> hello.
>> good morning.
>> ctrma executive director mike hildgenstein two years ago said in order to avoid toll roads we would have to tolerate an increase of 2 to $3 a gallon of gasoline. Of course, it turned out to be a bald faced lie because the campo staff as you know actually estimated it would cost a 2-cent per gallon increase in gasoline tax to avoid toll roads. Another statement that he made, which I think originally came from Texas transportation Commissioner chairman rick Williamson was that in the future it is going to be toll roads, slow roads, or no roads. Well, it turns out that that's not true. Comal county was scheduled to get toll roads. And comal county sent a letter to governor perry and transportation commission chairman rick Williamson and said we're not going to have toll roads. Forget it. And governor perry and rick Williamson decided okay, you get free roads. And they won't be slow roads, they are going to be built in a timely manner. It's through a mechanism called pass through financing. By the way, the only politician in comal county who supported toll roads, carter castille will not be coming back in the next session. I致e just been reading about -- about an -- a change, an addendum to the 2030 mobility plan. It's called the tmmp. And what struck me in that plan, what stood out, was the fact that -- that Williamson county and hays county, two members, to parts of our campo group, they have seven projects approved for pass through financing. Free roads that will be built rapidly, no delays, and we -- will be paid for by the state of Texas with gasoline taxes. The tmmp does not plan for a single pass through financed road in Travis County. Why are we being left out? Why do we get only toll roads that are going to drain our wallets, while our sister counties, Williamson and heys, get free roads? Williamson and hays. Those seven projects worth $324 million are the approved ones. They have a long list of other roads, free roads, that are going to get -- they are going to get. I知 calling upon you to take a vote on this as commissions, stay where you stand and condemn this plan until it's rectified and the toll roads are ended. Thank you.
>> thank you.
>> one question, mr. May. You know on those pass-through roads I guess Williamson county would advance $234 million, they would turn around and put that into the taxpayers real estate property taxes. The pass through means the county advances the money, gets the project done and over time the state reimburses the county.
>> exactly. So that the taxpayers of Travis County -- of Williamson county and hays county don't pay any additional taxes.
>> how do you advance $234 million in Williamson county? See the counties get 70% of their budget from real property taxes. So if you -- if the county spends the money up front, right? They would issue bonds or certificates of obligation to get the money, then they would have to pay off that debt. Over 20 years typically. Then the state would pay them back over 20 years, but the county still -- the county has to pay off the $234 million somehow. And our way of paying off significant debt, like our roads, is really real property taxes.
>> well, that's -- I知 just saying understand that the pass-through is county variancing the money and over time -- advancing the money and over time being reimbursed by the state, that means that our citizens really end up paying them all of them whether they use the roads or not. I understand your point.
>> but they do get reimbursed 100% and there's no net additional taxes paid by the citizens of those counties.
>> no, sir, it's not 100%. That's why there's a significant gap in trying to find that 40 or $50 million in Williamson county that is not covered by the pass-through toll agreements. I wish that were the case.
>> it's true traditionally we have always had property taxes pay for right-of-way, there's always a component of local input. But in fact we are not getting any free roads here in Travis County or -- or roads that are partially reimbursed by the state. And -- and that is wrong.
>> thank you. For the record I知 willing toent taken pass-through myself. But we have to understand full impact of it. Ms. Dick is next. Jennifer gale you will be last today. You missed your second time opportunity. Ms. Dick and then jennifer gale.
>> good morning.
>> good morning.
>> hello.
>> as you know, I知 here to talk about my innocent son, roosevelt hutchins, junior, still fighting for his release. And I am his mom. I am in paralegal school, I am asking for volunteers to join me, of paralegals to help me get my case put together because seems like I can't get a lawyer or anything to help represent him. So I知 asking for the paralegals help to help prove my son's case because he is innocent. And I知 also here to ask if the state -- I guess is -- isn't it true barrentos' office to please transfer roosevelt junior from his unit, you know, from -- from [indiscernible] because his life is in danger. He has written up a liven dangerment, has filed it. They haven't transferred him yet. As you know they beat him very badly last month. I知 asking, also, for the state representatives and whoever is in charge of transferring inmates to please transfer my son from this unit. I知 also asking for the assistance, like I said, from volunteer paralegals to help me prove my case from the information that I have and plus I知 his mother, I was there to pick him up. Files or trying to see like make me out of a liar, I don't appreciate that because these files were made, I know that they are false. I have proof that they are false because my son was incarcerated right here in Travis County, wackenhut correctional center under this cause number, this date, may 14th, 1993, with release date April 15th, 1994. Served 337 days altogether in Travis County and he was not out on the same date that's claimed by tdcj committing a 15 year drug possession case on these same dates, all things is different, like I said before, is -- only thing that's different like I said before is the cause number. The cause number was changed. I know what happened to my son because I was there to pick him up. Thank you.
>> thank you.
>> thank you, ms. Dick. Jennifer gale.
>> civil lawsuits are going to be filed, also, against those people that have put him in -- in prison under false pretenses.
>> good luck, ms. Dick.
>> thank you.
>> thank you, ms. Dick.
>> okay.
>> hi, Travis County. If I can offer her some assistance, I will. It's memorial day. Commissioner mary Gomez, Gerald Daugherty, Commissioner Sonleitner and Commissioner Davis, good morning, judge Sam Biscoe. It's time to keep an eye out for our children. When they are no longer in school, they will be darting out from cars, between cars and running out into the street, so let's always prepare to hit the brakes. It's graduation days at our high schools, rosewood today, travis later on, johnston, akins, bowie, crockett, anderson and Austin high school, l.b.j., mccallum, later on this weekend, johnston and the reagan raiders. They are graduating in the next four days. How about those mavericks and spurs? I just -- finished running for mayor for the city of Austin. People always tell me they are going to wait until the last day so they get information so they know what and for whom to vote, yet the Austin Austin american-statesman did not cover this election at all. I never had one meeting with the statesman or the Austin chronicle, michael king, or sir a copola at the Austin american-statesman so that's why you didn't hear anything from me. They simply refused to do any interviews. Since I was the only real candidate to the chamber candidates, that's why there was no opposition. We only have a few months left on the -- to complain about the state's building of capital metro under 556.004 prohibited acts of agencies and individuals. Our mayor lied. And our city council lied. It was pointed out in the item periinjunction -- temporary injunction set out by judge yelenowsky. I don't understand why the environmental community doesn't continue the lawsuit. They only have 30 days from the 13th to make a complaint. Our city council is in violation, city officers and employees are prohibited from contributing or using city resources, equipment or money for election campaigning, which they did as stipulated in here in the injunction when it said whole or exclusively negative. That's advocating against. The -- and it's also against state law, unlawful use of public funds for political advertising, 255.003. The -- norma in the checks division here after assaulting me a few weeks ago, has yet to apologize, so people need to understand that they can expect to be assaulted here. I was at -- at the courthouse on Friday going to amelia mendoza's office, entering the office, when people complained to the sheriff's deputies, four deputies came down, I asked them if I had done anything wrong, they said I didn't. And then they asked me for my name. State law under 38 on 02 in our penal code said you have to be either under arrest or have give given a false name. They put me in handcuffs, they thought it was a big joke, they said hey your hands have turned purple like it was some joke. And they couldn't explain to me why they had to the right to go through my belongings without a court order. And this is a constant problem that I知 hearing about greg hamilton's sheriff's deputies harassing the people of our county. And I知 asking this Commissioners court to tell him to stop. Thank you.
>> thank you.
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Last Modified:
Wednesday, May 23, 2006 1:12 PM