James Quintero

James Quintero is the policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Government for the People campaign. Since joining the Foundation in 2008, Quintero has focused extensively on: state & local government spending, taxes, debt, public pension reform, annexation, and local regulations.

Local Government

Who Were Austin’s Highest Paid Public Employees in 2025?

Last month, the Austin American-Statesman launched an interesting new city salary database that shines a light on the “top-paid city of Austin employees of 2025.” The new details are quite interesting, especially given the city’s own recent admission that “Austin is experiencing a housing affordability crisis”—which is, of course, chiefly driven by government action.   Using this tool, it’s obvious that city workers have become numerous and well-compensated. As the Statesman itself notes: “The city of Austin employed 13,567 full-time workers...

March 27, 2026
Taxes & Spending

Taxes are High. Local Spending is to Blame.

Over the last few months, local property taxes have been described as: “steep,” “burdensome,” “stressful,” “too high,” and “out-of-control.”   Yet despite these sharp (and accurate!) criticisms of Texas’ property tax, many local governments seem oblivious to the system’s excesses, as evidenced by the adoption of high tax rates this year (see TPPF’s Taxman Cometh series) as well as historical tax, spending, and debt patterns. Worse, what once may have been excused as indifference or detachment now borders on exploitation.   Consider some recent revelations about local government compensation.  ...

March 26, 2026
Taxes & Spending

Which Local Governments Rely Most Heavily on Nonvoter-Approved Debt?

The Certificates of Obligation Act of 1971 allows certain governmental entities—like cities, counties, and select special districts—to go into debt without voter approval for the purpose of funding public projects, including “the construction, demolition, or restoration of structures; purchase materials, supplies, equipment, machinery, buildings, land and rights of way; and pay for related professional services.” This type of debt is usually payable from property taxes.  While certificates of...

March 20, 2026
Taxes & Spending

Taxes and Debt are Going Up Without Voter Approval 

Local governments today are utilizing certificates of obligation (COs) to a much greater extent than in the past. As a result, taxes and debt are growing without voter approval and Texans are being denied the right to decide.   For those unfamiliar with the CO concept, these nonvoter-approved debt instruments provide a way for cities, counties, and some special districts to borrow money and obligate property taxpayers for broad purposes, including “to fund the construction, demolition or restoration...

March 20, 2026
Local Government

How Much Did Texas’ Highest Paid Superintendents Make in 2025-26?

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently updated its superintendent salary database, revealing some intriguing new information about the take-home pay for public education elites.   According to TEA’s 2025-26 dataset, there were 1,220 full- and part-time superintendent positions filled this year at 187 open-enrollment charter schools and 1,033 traditional school districts. For each of these positions, TEA provides select details, including ‘base pay’ and ‘total pay.’ Base pay is defined as “total payroll amount where payroll activity code is 80. (Does not include supplemental pay),”while...

March 17, 2026
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