Short term fiscal
solutions
Resolve the brewing Capital
Recovery Fee debate.
The City is developing at a
rapid pace and state law allows the cost of the impact from
such development to be borne by the interests who promote
it. To create special exceptions which will result in an
unequal distribution of these costs is not only unfair but
illegal. A plan for uniform assessment and payment of these
costs must be structured to satisfy the interests of both
the City and the development community without jeopardizing
their mutual long-term goals.
Long term fiscal
solutions
Expand public safety services.
At its current growth rate projections, the City must
continually plan for the anticipated demand upon its public
safety departments. While the City currently enjoys a
service level from its police, fire and emergency medical
services that meets or exceeds acceptable standards, those
services are destined to suffer under the weight of
explosive population growth in the absence of proper
planning and budgeting.
Stop neglecting critical
infrastructure. The City’s basic wastewater
treatment systems are dangerously nearing capacity. State
regulations mandate improvement and expansion of such
systems once certain thresholds have been reached. All too
frequently, a reaction by City government does not arise
until the situation has become critical. Many citizens,
including myself, who live in older parts of the City
experience uneven delivery of basic water and drainage
services due to undersized water lines or neglected
culverts. Good cities don’t become great cities by ignoring
their core neighborhoods and business districts. It is a
lesson that cities like Houston have only recently begun to
grasp.
Plan for facility expansions.
Current City facilities have reached maximum capacity, with
many departments scrambling for additional work and storage
space. There are concerns that the City’s police department
building may not withstand a major windstorm event. The
City Library continues to experience increased circulation
but will not be able to meet expanding demands without
expanding shelf space. Yet, no real plan exists for
facility expansions. It’s time for solutions, not lip
service.
Complete the FM
518 bypass. The City has recently acquired the necessary right of way
for the establishment of the FM 518 bypass, designed to
alleviate eastside traffic congestion and the “five-points”
intersection. Priority should be given to the completion of
this important transportation artery before its use becomes
obsolete.
Policy Solutions
Clearly establish a
Council-Manager Form of Government.
The City
currently struggles to operate under a form of government
which can best be described as a “hybrid” blend of a
“Mayor-Council” and “Council-Manager” form of government.
With rare exceptions, virtually all home rule cities in the
State of Texas operate under a “Council-Manager” form of
government where the city council sets policy, approves the
budget and sets the tax rate, but has no administrative
duties. Those duties are vested in a City Manager, who is
responsible for directing the workforce and programs of the
city in accordance with the ordinances, rules and
regulations adopted by the City Council. It is time for
League City to firmly adopt this commonly utilized form of
government. It is time for the City’s professional staff to
have the discretion to fulfill their vital missions without
the day-to-day immersion by elected officials into their
workday. Without the clear implementation of a
Council-Manager form of government, the City will continue
to struggle under an ill-defined structure that leaves
administrative decision-making in an uncertain state.
Create staff level partnership
with CCISD. While high-level meetings between
the City Council and Board of Trustees of the Clear Creek
Independent School District are important components of a
vital inter-governmental relationship, real planning and
progress cannot be accomplished without the input of their
respective planning, engineering and finance staffs. It is
time for the City’s partnership with CCISD to evolve from
one of aspiration to one of accomplishment.
Create Youth Advisory Council.
During the City’s recent struggle with CCISD to accommodate
the district’s request to place a new high school on
Palomino Lane, a positive development emerged: the interest
among student body leaders in the public process. It is
time for this pool of energetic, talented young citizens to
lend their voices to that process on a consistent basis by
the creation of a Youth Advisory Council that will be given
the chance to make their views known at regular intervals.
It is from this group of citizens that our future elected
leaders will likely emerge. It is time to engage them now
so that they understand the demands of city governance
before they get here.
