Mayor Sylvester Turner is moonwalking back the proposed “disaster tax”. The Mayor announced at this mornings Houston City Council meeting the rate will be cut in half. The debris removal costs are the supposed impetus of the proposed “disaster tax”. The total costs are estimated to be 259 million dollars of which 26 million is not reimbursed by the Feds for debris removal. According to the Mayor, general contractors are being paid $11.69 a ton for debris removal, the original contract was for $7.69. Many sub contractors are involved in the process. Turner sought to blindly hand a 60 million dollar emergency item contract to an obscure contractor that has been paid 98 million dollars under an evergreen contractor with the City. The contractor is DRC out of New Orleans who owns no trucks?
Councilmember Mike Knox is the hero again pointing out that the City has a catastrophic insurance policy to cover the damages associated with Hurricane Harvey. Councilmember Knox has repeatedly asked for the policy from City of Houston finance director Kelly Dowe. Councilmember Knox has been all over this and his work has not gone unnoticed. Councilmember Knox, Please let us know what the policy covers so we can determine the amount of lying going on about the cost of Harvey.
Councilmember Dave Martin is very worried about the billion dollar pension bond and the City’s credit rating. US Attorney look here too! Council Member Martin has been a big proponent of big spending and now his major concern is preserving a fund balance so the credit rating agencies do not raise the rate for the pension obligation bonds. His time would be much better spent telling Kingwood residents that the billion dollar pension bonds will cause a tax increase and makes millionaires out of police officers and in many cases multi-millionaires. The bond does nothing for Harvey recovery, it is a direct transfer of your wealth to employees of the City. Martin is a very large recipient of campaign contributions from public employee unions.
The question of DRC as the general contractor for debris removal came up on a contract for 60 million dollars as an emergency item. The fact they own no trucks was brought up by Councilmember Kubosh. Mayor Turner was brow beating Councilmembers to vote for the contract. The councilmembers questioned the details of the contract. Turner threatened the members that they are being evaluated. Fiscal responsibility is not a strong suit of the City. Again US Attorney’s office pay attention because apparently this company is re-trading the previous negotiated deal at $7.69 per ton. DRC is a company out of New Orleans Louisiana. The item for was tagged by Councilmember Larry Green, the tag was upheld.
There was a lot of unseen politics occurring and the obvious question is where did DRC come from, who are they, and whose pockets are being lined. Again, think federal inmate Ray Nagin, now federal inmate number 32751-034, at the federal prison in Texarkana.
Here’s some information on the trucks and DRC. They will hire local truckers to haul. The trucks will then be evaluated at the place of disposal for how full they are. DRC manages the process and grades the fullness of the trucks with ranges between 0-100{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} capacity. No truck can have zero and no truck can have 100{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}.
The driver has nothing to do with loading the truck. Typically a tandem dump truck or 18 wheeler with a trailer loaded with limbs and trash will be far lighter than that truck loaded with its normal dirt load. Typically that truck will be ticketed if is over weight, isn’t tarped or has its load above the sideboards or debris hanging out. These trucks under any normal circumstance would be ticketed not for weight but for all the other reasons. They won’t be under these circumstances.
When the truck shows up to unload a carney hired off the streets by DRC will stand in a tower or scissor jack and peer down into the truck and write a number down as his estimate. Depending on his mood he will put down something between 60 and 80 meaning the truck is 60{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} to 80{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} full. The driver won’t know he is getting shorted until he gets paid.
A trucker hauling dirt wants as many turns per day as possible. Assuming he can make 10 runs/day at $45/trip he makes $450/day. With this arrangement he will make 60 to 80{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of that. His machine, his fuel, maintenance and insurance don’t change but his income does.
Dan,
Thanks! All good information. However, in West Houston each driver is doing 2-3 trip per day. Councilmember Travis described the process and noted that the land fill is 23 miles away and the trucks leave after they have been filled. Travis suggested weigh stations close to dump the debris so the process can be sped up. These sites can been picked up quicker during off peak traffic hours, night. I also learned these folks have been working the skim since 2008 and own no trucks. They have a nice office and have been paid 98 million prior to Harvey.
This is great reporting. Now, how does the mayor benefit from giving someone a skim of disaster funds? Is it campaign donations or a straight up bribe, or is he sending money to a hidden domestic partner somehow? Does anyone know one thing about his personal life? Who is his partner? Does he live beyond his means as reported on his income tax? Start investigating!
Glad to see Mike Knox start to earn his paycheck. He got off to a VERY rough start protesting Target (beneath his office) and was a bobblehead for Turner on real issues of importance. Nice work on this, though. I hope to see a lot more digging in.
Lastly, I’m stunned they just cut the tax in half. If it’s a legit tax for legit emergency costs, how can they just half it? This was sold as necessary for overtime for 1st responders and debris pick-up. Dan, is that total bullshit? Part bullshit? I’ll pay for that stuff but not shenanigans with our tax money.
It seemed like Turner was on the war path with this temp tax and was going to slander the opposition. I’m glad people are giving it a closer look. Very strong moment for fiscal conservatives – not afraid to look bad questioning questionable expenses after an emergency.
I.agree. let’s get an investigation going.
We had the same shenanigans in 1983, 2008 and it’s a really sad day when we have been through a shake down on top of a storm and a BILLION DOLLAR rip off with the rain tax. Turner is proving himself to be a true “Ray Nagen, Jr.”
My suspicion is that the mayor “high-balled” the initial tax rate to test the waters with the full intention of rolling it back, if there were to be too much resistance. With that strategy, he raises taxes, but not as much, and comes out looking fiscally responsible.
Mayor Turner may be about to pull off a clever slight of hand magic trick with Houston’s taxpayers as the losers. First, it appears the mayor will be successful in fooling city council into voting a one-time property tax increase purportedly to pay for Hurricane Harvey’s clean up costs. This tax increase is allowed by the city’s property tax cap’s catastrophic emergency provision. Then when the reimbursements from FEMA and the city’s catastrophe insurance policy are collected the city will not treat them as revenue under the tax cap’s limitation.. The result: the Mayor will have raised property taxes not otherwise possible under the tax cap.
If anyone thinks this outcome is incorrect, please explain the reason in a comment.
I think you are right. And where will the windfall go? More city planners collecting a paycheck to design sidewalks on the I-10 feeder road?
The FEMA and insurance reimbursements will not cover the entire cost of the recovery, debris collection, etc. The net cost to the City has to be paid for somehow, and a one year increase in taxes is better than the Emmet 30 year bond idea for the County’s costs.
Ross, how do you know? There seems to be an insurance policy for catastrophic losses for the City that Sylvester will not turn over, old Sly might make a profit.
Here’s an idea Ross: how about Mr. Turner look at the budget and not spend some funds intended for other areas so he can use it for this instead. That’s what normal people do.
Why is it that the first reaction of politicians and liberals (but then I repeat myself) when confronted with an emergency is to figure some way to extract yet more money from taxpayers.
It’s particularly egregious that he’s wanting to raise taxes on people who are already having to deal with their own Harvey related problems. And raising taxes based on the pre-flood valuation of houses. . . . yeah, what a total class act.
Now Ross, you know perfectly well that attacking a Republican idea costing ten times more is not part of the agenda here. This is all about attacking a popular democrat mayor by any means necessary, only one sided hatchet jobs are allowed. That Emmett wants to establish a whole new bureaucracy seems to have slipped by unnoticed or that the county’s own catastrophic insurance plan is more comprehensive than Houston’s, Turner never having made a final proposal since announcing public discussions so all this talk of backtracking is hogwash. Of course he’s testing the waters to gauge support and of course he’s willing to compromise to obtain the votes needed, that’s just part of his job. It’s a shame that the Monday morning quarterbacks never learned how give and take works because that is the essence of politics in a two party system.
Ross and Peter if you are not careful the moderator will moderate everything you write and soon only the Dans and Dons will be posting and high fiving themselves.
Neither,
Unlike many blogs David Jennings nor I rarely moderate comments. When we do it is usually over a personal attack. I learn from discussion but there are spinners from interest groups who offer an opinion based on self interest not sound government or fiscal policy. They use psyudenums but have an IP address that comments as someone else.
There is a philosophy that we write to express our opinions not what commmenters think about what we wrote. Sometimes you notice comments are turned off. It is somewhat subjective when this is done. It does not happen often. You will also notice people will submit pieces that I certainly don’t agree.
Just as a note – I think the good Judge Emmett is full of crap too. Please note that in my post above I made no distinctions between Republicans and Liberals. ALL politicians, regardless of their political ilk are looking for ways to harvest more money from the taxpayer so that they can use said money to to purchase affection (and votes). It’s a disease that affects all elected officials – no matter how pure their motives when they first enter office.
As for the popularity of Mayor Turner. . . . . Ray Nagin was extremely popular also.
Don, in an earlier article, you mentioned that the city has collected $600 million from the “rain tax”. From what I’ve read, the city has spent less money on drainage since they’ve been collecting the rain tax than before it passed. Why can’t part of that money be diverted from the rain tax fund to assist with Harvey clean up?
Easy to to confuse Ross and Peter D like I did last week. They are constantly pushing for higher taxes and more of that sweet sweet government they crave.
the great mayor turner coined the phrase but it seemed to be lost in the flood . A Lilly pad fund,
, tax or bond for Houston and Harris county may be needed ,It would be great for Houston and Harris county and mr. ED