By Juan Montoya
The latest wrinkle coming from the desk of Cameron County Judge Pete Sepulveda an his minion over at administration (David Garcia) is the (drumroll please) County Assistance Districts (CADs).
Oh, yeah!![]()
You want the University of Texas System to build the Rio Grande Valley a medical school? Well, that will require a hospital district that will tax all the residents within it to provide what the state already provides (without a tax) to other parts of the state.
Do you want to have good roads?
Well, step right over here and set up a Regional Mobility Authority that will be funded through a $10 surcharge on your license plates and with the creation of a wonderful mechanism called a Transportation Reinvestment Zone which will put all the incremental taxes inside that are into the pockets of the TRZ.
Oh, but we would rather build toll roads so you can pay a little extra to our favorite contractors and keep them happy and contributing to our favorite politicians to keep us in the gravy. You understand that, don't you?
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The CCRMA got its initial funding from a $10 surcharge on vehicle registration fees (las placas) staring in 2007-2008 until today. With the coutywide TRZ passed by the court, they will get those monies in addition to the millions from county license plates they already receive.
The passage of the countywide TRZ effectively ties the hands of countless county commissioners courts to come and place the CCRMA funds in the hands of a non-elected board.
Then pay the director of this CCRMA a hefty $230,000 salary. In the case of Cameron County, he can double as the county judge irregardless of any potential conflict of interest that may result.
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County values have gone up between 2.8 to 3.5 percent in the last three years. This has resulted in an increase of some $1,126,395 to the county's general fund.
With the countywide that TRZ was adopted using 2015 as a benchmark, the CCRMA stands to get an additional $281,000 a year.
However, if only three of the planned five LNG companies come in, that means an estimated $10 billion in value of which the county would get $39,929,100 in taxes and the CCRMA would rake in $9,982,275 every year at 25 percent, not including the license tag money.
Now the Cameron County Commissioners Court wants you, the county voters, to approve the creation of a CAD that would create an additional source of funding for the county.
They approved the order calling for the November election where voters would cast ballots for or against the creation of the County Assistance District. The CAD proposal was presented to the court by County administrator David Garcia who pulls in a not inconsiderable $180,000 for his labors.
County officials said the CAD, if approved, would help with the cost of projects and pay for parks, libraries, recreational facilities, museums and services that benefit the public health.
We thought that the public was already paying parks and recreational facilities that through its taxes and fees and thought the popular Certificates of Obligation that are passed by governmental entities without consulting with the voters. Libraries have certainly not been a traditional county service and county clinics have always been funded through their taxes as well.
Officials said the county would collect 2 percent sales tax on businesses outside the city limits that would make it equal to the amount businesses that are within a city limit pay in sales taxes.
Now, keep in mind that the cost for visiting the county beach parks at South Padre Island just doubled to $10 and will be used to fund an additional $30 million in "improvements" to the existing facilities.
With Boca Chica virtually sealed to the public because of the authority the county and state have given billionaire Elon Musk to open or close the beach depending on his SpaceX rocket-launch schedule and the fear of the Border Patrol checkpoint on the way back, SPI is virtually the only beach that will be open to the public.
So what happened to the Texas Open Beaches Act which guarantees public access to beaches along most of the state’s 367-mile Gulf Coast?
They're open only if you can pay, apparently.
So what is next? We have the regular taxes, the special district taxes, the CCRMA surcharge, the proposed hospital district tax, and now the county's bureaucrats want a few more bucks from the CAD.
Sepulveda told a news reporter that the tax could potentially bring in an additional $1 million for the county.
We have, on the books anyway, tax abatements for the likes of Tenaska, SpaceX, and more are planned for the LNGs that total tens of millions of dollars. Why not simply decrease the abatements or do away with them altogether and get the money from there instead of having the county taxpayer shoulder the load to subsidize these megacorporations?
What will brew next in the fertile minds of perpetual bureaucrats like Sepulveda and Garcia?
How about a Pampered Bureaucrat District? Or how about a Special County Slush Fund District? Or a Cameron Petty Cash Special District? Maybe even a Cameron County Rainy Day Fund District, or a Mad Money District in case they just feel like splurging on some other excess? On how about a Pete and Dave Welfare District?
Yeah, that's the ticket!
The latest wrinkle coming from the desk of Cameron County Judge Pete Sepulveda an his minion over at administration (David Garcia) is the (drumroll please) County Assistance Districts (CADs).
Oh, yeah!
You want the University of Texas System to build the Rio Grande Valley a medical school? Well, that will require a hospital district that will tax all the residents within it to provide what the state already provides (without a tax) to other parts of the state.
Do you want to have good roads?
Well, step right over here and set up a Regional Mobility Authority that will be funded through a $10 surcharge on your license plates and with the creation of a wonderful mechanism called a Transportation Reinvestment Zone which will put all the incremental taxes inside that are into the pockets of the TRZ.
Oh, but we would rather build toll roads so you can pay a little extra to our favorite contractors and keep them happy and contributing to our favorite politicians to keep us in the gravy. You understand that, don't you?
The CCRMA got its initial funding from a $10 surcharge on vehicle registration fees (las placas) staring in 2007-2008 until today. With the coutywide TRZ passed by the court, they will get those monies in addition to the millions from county license plates they already receive. The passage of the countywide TRZ effectively ties the hands of countless county commissioners courts to come and place the CCRMA funds in the hands of a non-elected board.
Then pay the director of this CCRMA a hefty $230,000 salary. In the case of Cameron County, he can double as the county judge irregardless of any potential conflict of interest that may result.
Below is an eye-opening view of the CCRMA "take" since its formation.:
Lic. Tags:
2007-2008: $896,913
2008-2009: $2,189,945
2009-2010: $2,516,338
2010-2011: $2,725,570
2011-2012: $2,800,570
2012-2013: $2,828,020
2014-2015: $2,905,980
Total: $19,785,142
Add the take from the existing TRZs ($708,532) and county property owners and motorists have given the CCRMA a tidy $20, 493,674.
County values have gone up between 2.8 to 3.5 percent in the last three years. This has resulted in an increase of some $1,126,395 to the county's general fund. With the countywide that TRZ was adopted using 2015 as a benchmark, the CCRMA stands to get an additional $281,000 a year.
However, if only three of the planned five LNG companies come in, that means an estimated $10 billion in value of which the county would get $39,929,100 in taxes and the CCRMA would rake in $9,982,275 every year at 25 percent, not including the license tag money.
Now the Cameron County Commissioners Court wants you, the county voters, to approve the creation of a CAD that would create an additional source of funding for the county.
They approved the order calling for the November election where voters would cast ballots for or against the creation of the County Assistance District. The CAD proposal was presented to the court by County administrator David Garcia who pulls in a not inconsiderable $180,000 for his labors.
County officials said the CAD, if approved, would help with the cost of projects and pay for parks, libraries, recreational facilities, museums and services that benefit the public health.
We thought that the public was already paying parks and recreational facilities that through its taxes and fees and thought the popular Certificates of Obligation that are passed by governmental entities without consulting with the voters. Libraries have certainly not been a traditional county service and county clinics have always been funded through their taxes as well.
Officials said the county would collect 2 percent sales tax on businesses outside the city limits that would make it equal to the amount businesses that are within a city limit pay in sales taxes.
Now, keep in mind that the cost for visiting the county beach parks at South Padre Island just doubled to $10 and will be used to fund an additional $30 million in "improvements" to the existing facilities.
With Boca Chica virtually sealed to the public because of the authority the county and state have given billionaire Elon Musk to open or close the beach depending on his SpaceX rocket-launch schedule and the fear of the Border Patrol checkpoint on the way back, SPI is virtually the only beach that will be open to the public.
So what happened to the Texas Open Beaches Act which guarantees public access to beaches along most of the state’s 367-mile Gulf Coast?
They're open only if you can pay, apparently.
So what is next? We have the regular taxes, the special district taxes, the CCRMA surcharge, the proposed hospital district tax, and now the county's bureaucrats want a few more bucks from the CAD.
Sepulveda told a news reporter that the tax could potentially bring in an additional $1 million for the county.
We have, on the books anyway, tax abatements for the likes of Tenaska, SpaceX, and more are planned for the LNGs that total tens of millions of dollars. Why not simply decrease the abatements or do away with them altogether and get the money from there instead of having the county taxpayer shoulder the load to subsidize these megacorporations?
What will brew next in the fertile minds of perpetual bureaucrats like Sepulveda and Garcia?
How about a Pampered Bureaucrat District? Or how about a Special County Slush Fund District? Or a Cameron Petty Cash Special District? Maybe even a Cameron County Rainy Day Fund District, or a Mad Money District in case they just feel like splurging on some other excess? On how about a Pete and Dave Welfare District?
Yeah, that's the ticket!