Local governments often operate without great transparency or oversight, but “invisible governments” tend to take advantage of that to run amuck. Case in point: the North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD). The NTMWD contracts with 13 “member cities” in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex (“the Metroplex”) to provide water and wastewater services to residents. The contract...
Public education advocates regularly criticize the Legislature for what they perceive as limited resources, tight budgets, and low salaries within the education system. But that narrative often doesn’t quite align with the facts. Case in point: sky-high superintendent pay. As the Foundation has noted in the past, superintendents in Texas frequently bring home six-figure salaries...
New open government legislation went into effect recently, letting the public finally get answers to some long-lingering questions, like how much did the city of McAllen pay entertainer Enrique Iglesias for a 2015 concert? According to the Texas Tribune, Iglesias was paid $485,000 for his performance and “provided with a chartered flight from Guadalajara, Mexico;...