Have you heard about the Austin Water Utility spending $1,200 per click for online ads? Two weeks ago, the Austin American-Statesman reported that a city employee “approved online advertisements to Austin Water customers with a marketing company totaling $67,000 between 2013 and 2016. That netted redirects from the company’s website only 55 times—at a cost-per-click...
Over the years, a number of different local retirement systems have lobbied the legislature to put some or all of their pension plans in state law. By locking in certain elements of their plan in statute, these systems have all but locked-out community stakeholders, at least those without the right political connection in Austin. But...
Gov. Abbott Calls for Local Debt Transparency Local government debt continues to soar. According to the Bond Review Board’s latest estimates, cities, counties, school districts, and special districts owe a cumulative $342 billion, or roughly $12,450 for every man, woman, and child in the Lone Star State. One of the major drivers of the...
If local governments want to tax excessively, then the onus should be on them to ask the public for permission.
For years, local officials have used the opacity and complexity of the property tax system to hide or dismiss claims of soaring tax bills. Oftentimes, this misdirection employs some blend of legalistic wording, repetitive messaging, and a biased handling of appraisals, tax rates, and exemptions. Having watched this shell game unfold time and again without...
Years of liberal thought and management at the local level have created major systemic problems that threaten the Texan way of life. On the fiscal front, cities, counties, school districts, and special districts have accumulated a staggering amount of debt; skyrocketing property tax bills are among the worst in the nation; local spending is growing...
When it comes to Texas’ public retirement systems, one of my greatest concerns is that there are other ticking time-bombs, like the DPFP, out there getting ready to explode. It’s not just Dallas’ pension plan that’s taken on excessive risk to chase high yield in a low-yield environment.
At last month’s pension reform summit (Rethinking Retirement: Solutions to Secure Texas’ Public Pension Plans), experts gathered from around the U.S. to share their insights and experiences dealing with one of the nation’s biggest issues: overpromised and underfunded public pension plans. Watch as our panel of experts discuss how they’re working hard to protect retirees...
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is out with a new report today—Keeping the Promise: Getting Politics Out of Pensions—highlighting a big but little-known problem plaguing pension systems everywhere: political manipulation. An excerpt from the report: Unfortunately, many lawmakers and pension plan officials have other priorities besides doing what is best for workers. They see...
Last month, the Foundation hosted its first-ever full day summit on pension reform: Rethinking Retirement: Solutions to Secure Texas’ Public Pension Plans. And while the day was filled with a number of terrific panels and presentations, one of the event’s best discussions came as panelists delved into the defined benefit vs. defined contribution debate! Don’t miss it!
Last week, I published an opinion piece in the Austin American-Statesman titled: James Quintero: Texas’ $61 billion pension problem. As it turns out, that $61 billion figure is already out-of-date. Texas’ public pension problems no longer total $61 billion, but have instead grown to more than $63 billion according to new figures from the Pension...
Local government debt grew by several billion dollars this year, according to new data from the Texas Bond Review Board (BRB). According to the BRB, local debt service outstanding—or “the amount that is required to cover the repayment of principal and interest on a debt” held by political subdivisions—rose to more than $342 billion in...