maroon barchetta said:
You would know because you should monitor threads on city topics like you have been doing since you joined the forum. Not just the easy topics like "we made money on a land deal this time".
Whether you missed it or delayed responding is something only you know. The optics appear to be the latter in this case because supplying a response that would satisfy most participants on the thread wasn't going to be achievable at that point in time.
That's quite an assumption, a false one, and indicative of a lack of trust. Of course, we don't know one another (I don't think because only one of us has anonymity) so trust likely can't be achieved. I can only truthfully tell you my thought process and let the chips fall where they may.
And for the record I'm surprised someone so distrustful of government, which government has earned I'll grant you- is immediately dismissive of the absolute fact that the state constrains municipal funding categories. They really do!
At $.51 ad valorem, which is very, very low for the services rendered- the city might never pose a tax increase again- ever- if it could spend the money the way Reagan envisioned- with local decision making and local control. The state engenders tax increases via arbitrary and illogical restriction on municipal finance. In my mind that's an absolute fact.
That notwithstanding, city hall can always improve on spending. Every organization can. That focus can never go away. Nor should it.