Last night, my wife and I were discussing JWP, millions in uncollected bail bonds spanning centuries, Dallas County politics, Kathy Nealy's IRS woes as noted on WFAA's 10 p.m. broadcast, Craig Watkins and so forth. She said something I didn't quite understand. I corrected her: "No, it's county management, not city." She corrected me: "I didn't say city management. I said shitty management." Oh. Well, sure.
This is what prompted the talk: At 10 last night, Dallas County spokesperson Maria Arita sent an email on behalf of Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins in response to Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins's earlier missive. Watkins, of course, says he'll go ahead and hire an outside law firm to collect the $35 million Dallas County's owed in uncollected bond forfeitures. Jenkins ain't having it. Let's go to the statement from one Clay Lewis Jenkins:
"Our first priority, with respect to bond forfeiture judgments, is to determine the actual amount that there is any legal possibility of collecting. Then, we must determine the most effective and efficient means of collection. There is a lot of conflicting information out there. I wish there was a $35 million dollar pot of gold for the taxpayer but the truth is that the actual amount of legally collectible bond money will be a fraction of that.Best summer ever?
If outside counsel is hired, that entity will be selected by the District Attorney's Office (D.A.) and that contract will come before the Dallas County Commissioners Court for approval. This Commissioners Court is committed to working with the D.A., all elected officials and county staff to insure all monies owed are collected for the taxpayers."
