CITY DEBT APPROACHING $3 BILLION!
According to page 79 of the FY 2023 Budget Book, our City owes $2,257,059,064, of which $851,565,991 is principal and interest on ten certificates of obligation that were issued without…
CITY BUDGET TO INCREASE TO $1.3B FOR FY 2024, HERNANDEZ WANTS MORE DEBT
Cindy Ramirez of El Paso Matters published a substantive report on the ongoing budget talks in City Council. To summarize, Interim City Manager Cary Westin and CFO Robert Cortinas proposed…
CITY-SPONSORED STUDY RECOMMENDS EXPANDING STREETCAR SERVICE
In 2022 our streetcars had an operating loss of $2.9 million, with 65,000 free rides, which means that each ride was subsidized $44.62. By contrast, our buses were subsidized $8.77…
THERE IS ENOUGH SUPPORT ON CITY COUNCIL TO PREVENT A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE!
Yesterday we reported that Rep. Kennedy, Rep. Molinar, Rep. Fierro, and Mayor Leeser each made an iron-clad commitment to vote against any City budget that would increase our property tax.…
CITY SUED OVER TWO STREET PAVING CONTRACTS WORTH $34 MILLION
Erik Elken of KVIA aired an exclusive report last night revealing that ZTEX Construction, Inc. filed two lawsuits against the City of El Paso over of its plan to award…
TAXPAYER-FUNDED “BLUEBERRY MARTINI” ARTWORK BREAKS INTO PIECES
In 2006, City Council adopted ordinance 16324, establishing a Public Art Program and earmarking 2% from every Capital Improvement Project budget for the acquisition of art for municipal property. Since…
CITY POPULATION DECLINES ANOTHER 1,000 INHABITANTS SINCE LAST YEAR
The American Community Survey (ACS) and other data of the Census Bureau has revealed that as of July 2022, the population of the City of El Paso has decreased to…
DRAINING THE SWAMP: FOAC COMMITTEE TO AUDIT CITY 380 AGREEMENTS AND NO-BID CONTRACTS
According to the Texas Comptroller, “Chapter 380 of the Local Government Code authorizes municipalities to offer incentives designed to promote economic development such as commercial and retail projects. Specifically, it…
KFOX UNCRITICALLY REPEATS CITY TALKING POINTS: “EL PASO’S CREDIT SCORE JUST GOT BETTER”
Our local media have created much confusion over the City of El Paso’s bond ratings, with KTSM, followed by the El Paso Times, and now KFOX incorrectly describing the AA+…
THE CITY’S NEW STRATEGIC PLAN
The City of El Paso has published yet another Strategic Plan. While I am encouraged that there seems to be no displacement or mass demolition, this document is clearly a…