Posted on 06/11/2009 7:29:23 PM PDT by anymouse
FRIENDSWOOD — The city has asked a Travis County judge to say it is legal for Friendswood to issue $11 million in debt without voter approval.
The city had planned to issue $11 million in certificates of obligation to fund roads, parks, an animal shelter and a records building, but some residents said the city charter prohibited the city from issuing certificates of obligation.
While bonds require voter approval, certificates of obligation do not.
The city charter was amended by voters in 1997 to prohibit the city from issuing debt without voter approval that it could not finance from its own revenue streams, except in cases of emergency or “urgent public need.”
The city attorney has said state law allows the cities to issue certificates of obligation and state law trumps the city charter.
Friendswood voters in May rejected the city’s $9 million bond package, which would have funded unspecified parks improvements, the construction of a new library and the conversion of the existing library into a community center.
The city has asked Judge Orlinda Naranjo of the 419th Judicial District in Travis County to rule that its plan to issue $11 million in certificates of obligation is legal and valid, including its plan to use that debt to buy park land outside its city limits in Brazoria County. A trial is set for Monday in Austin.
Mayor David Smith could not immediately be reached for comment late Monday.
The city asked for a judge’s declaratory judgment because city officials anticipated that residents intended to sue Friendswood if certificates of obligation were issued, the lawsuit states. A lawsuit filed by city residents would have stalled “badly needed public projects in their tracks,” the lawsuit states.
Friendswood’s action is equivalent to the city suing its citizens, former city councilwoman Janis Lowe said.
The amendment to the city charter clearly forbids Friendswood from issuing debt without voter approval, except in special circumstances, Lowe said. The city wants to place additional tax burdens on residents without their vote, she said. Certificates of obligation are a blank check that give cities permission to spend taxpayer money without taxpayers’ approval, Lowe said.
The charter restricts the council from issuing certificates of obligation because they were abused by prior councils.
“Making a mockery of our city charter is not in our best interests,” she said. “Buying land in another county/city against state law is not in our best interests. This is yet another arrogant action of this council exhibiting bad leadership and poor decision-making skills resulting in the abuse of Friendswood citizens.”
Lowe said, despite city claims, she would not have sued the city if Friendswood sought an attorney general’s opinion on the topic. She said she hopes the judge upholds the charter.
The city last approved a bond proposal in 2003 when voters agreed to $20 million of improvements to streets, drainage facilities, public safety buildings and Centennial Park.
These are the highlights of the June 1st City Council meeting discussing the following issue.....The City of Friendswood is suing its citizens so they can bypass the City Charter and take out an $11 million bond without the vote of the citizens. The lawsuit also asks the judge to exempt the City from following state law so they can purchase land with the Certificate of Obligation in another County. The citizens are being required to fund the lawsuit against them. Many citizens intend to meet this challenge.
Simply WOW, I’m guessing these idiots don’t expect a second term.
Our elected politcians are getting a little to friendly with lawyers.
There's nothing wrong with the existing library. There was nothing wrong with the old library before it, either. Friendswood likes building new libraries every 20 years or so.
"What does it matter who we sue or why we sue..."
Yeah, they don't expect a second term. They know they're being recorded, and with brazen remarks like that, they just don't care.
Texas towns have picked up this habit, what we need to do is make sure they don't complete their FIRST term.
In our small town, we have a fairly new HS, very nice. So they were pushing for major additions (almost another complete HS!), we proved that there has been a net LOSS in school enrollment and we fired the school superintendent who was talking about the citizens as if they were stupid for not approving yet another bond. That was stupid thing (for him) to do! Gotcha Supe!
And your tagline is right on. Texas is a fine place but boy, do we have taxicrats addicted to our money. I believe there's going to have to be a major house cleaning on both state and national levels.
Friendswood is on the south side of Houston. Why do they want to come up to Travis County, (Austin) to get a ruling on this? are they judge-shopping?
Of course. Plus it is a royal pain for ordinary Friendswood citizens to take time off work and drive all the way up to Austin to testify at the hearing. To be fair, it may be that Austin, the Capital of Texas is the appropriate forum for such a lawsuit.
I believe that the real reasons why the city ran to Austin to file the suit are (1) that the conservative judges in Galveston County in which most of Friendswood is located, would have interpreted the city charter so that the city could not issue the certificates of obligation and (2) it is an inconvenient forum for intervenors—they have to take time off work and travel all the way to Austin to be heard.
What really ticked me off is not only did they file this case in Austin, but once intervenors came forward opposing the City, the City demanded a $1 million bond from the intervenors in order for them to be heard. (The city withdrew the bond demand after the mayor and council were ran out of town because of it.)
The reason why the city wants to buy the parkland in Alvin is because the city, through its zoning ordinances, has caused the price of land within the Friendswood city limits to be much higher than the surrounding communities.
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