Public Finance

Oncor's "Phantom Tax" Windfall May Become Permanent as Bill Hits Texas House Floor

Oncor, the Dallas-based sticks-and-wires utility, has collected half a billion dollars from ratepayers since 2007 for federal income taxes. But according to a report, the IRS hasn't received a dime. In fact, most of that cash has gone to its struggling parent, Energy Future Holdings, which is march ... More >>

Texas' Generous Tax Giveaways for Biz Look Less Magical When You Do the Math

Eric has already noticed The New York Times piece this morning focused on Dallas's own G. Brint Ryan as a sort of national go-to fixer for companies seeking generous tax breaks from state and local government. The Times piece reports the hard side of those tax breaks -- the screws put to public educ ... More >>

Mitt Romney Wants to Kill Wind-Power Tax Credits, Which Worries Texas' Wind Industry

Mitt Romney did himself no favors in Iowa when a spokesman told the Des Moines Register the candidate would "allow the wind credit to expire, end the stimulus boondoggles and create a level playing field on which all sources of energy can compete on their merits." In Iowa and much of the Midwest, t ... More >>

Read NCTCOG's Long Look-See at How to Fund the Cotton Belt Regional Rail Corridor

​At 1 today the Regional Transportation Council will discuss the doc you see below: the 132-page report finished last month as part of the so-called Cotton Belt Corridor Innovative Finance Initiative, which the North Central Texas Council of Governments touts on today's agenda as "a thorough inves ... More >>

Reason No. 1,397 You Don't Give Your Social Security Number to a Customer Service Rep

​For eight years Youlanda Rochelle Wright worked for Radio Shack as a customer service rep in its Fort Worth call center. Day after day she fielded complaint after complaint about a defective this and a busted that and how do I return an oversized item and what do you mean my 30-day money-back gua ... More >>

Rick Perry's Balanced-Budget Illusion

​Now this is something I could really kick myself for. I can take being wrong. It's one thing to be accused of being too Pollyanna. (Not sure that has actually ever happened.) But the one thing I cannot forgive in myself is not being negative enough. That just should not been happening. That' ... More >>

As Council Prepares to Review Proposed Budget, a Reminder to Look Ahead Sooner Than Later

​At 9 this morning, City Manager will present to Mayor Mike Rawlings and the city council the FY2011-12 budget first shown to media Thursday afternoon; watch Suhm's presentation here, during or after. And: The entire 571-budget is available here for those interested in taking longer, harder looks ... More >>

Why Should You Pay for Park Cities Dowagers' Trinity Baubles?

​Check me on this. In an atmosphere of federal, state, county and city funding crises, where we may even see the defunding of federal health care reform, the gutting of the Environmental Protection Agency, an absolute decimation of support for public schools and impoverished children, drastic ... More >>

TEA Looking at Letting School Districts Draw From Fund Balance During Budget Crisis

Commissioner of Education Robert Scott​About a month ago, Dallas Independent School District spokesman Jon Dahlander told Unfair Park that even during this current budget crisis, the district has no intention of touching its fund balance, which, he said, should sit at somewhere near the $100-milli ... More >>

The Unrepentant Tax-Hiker.

Two District 14 City Council Candidates Promise Not to Raise Taxes But Don't Have Concrete Solutions to Pending Budget Shortfall

James Nowlin​Late last week, we took a look at three of the five potential candidates for Angela Hunt's District 14 city council seat -- Jim Rogers, Vernon Franko and Brian Oley -- one of which (Rogers) said Hunt's decision to run for a fourth and final term caused him to put his campaign on h ... More >>

Is David Kunkle's candidacy for mayor a sign that Dallas is headed in the right direction or that Schutze is off his meds?

City Hall's Debate Over the Tax Hike Was About More Than Curtailing City Services.

The Biggest Tax from City Council is On Our Patience.

News & Notes: More Tax Hike Talk, More DPD Officers Put on Leave, D's Logo And ... Sports!

Some killer filler this early a.m. before the showdown at City Hall:​Speaking of: Ann Margolin has posted to her website "10 Reasons Why a Tax Increase is a Terrible Idea." (And by "terrible," I assume she means terrrrrrible. Anyway.) Margolin, of course, is among the handful of council members jo ... More >>

The DARPA Initiative: SMU, DOD Partner Again, This Time on Prosthetics That Feel

​SMU and the Department of Defense are already partners on that paper-thin camera straight outta 1984 by way of Minority Report. Now the Hilltop sends word of its latest DOD partnership -- a $5.6-mil Neurophotonics Research Center that'll be run by Marc Christensen, electrical engineering chair in ... More >>

Hunt on Why She's For a Tax Hike, How City Will Be Held Accountable and "The Two Toms"

Patrick MichelsAngela Hunt at a budget town hall in late August at Frontiers of Flight Museum​Yesterday, shortly after I posted that budget amendment memo in which eight council members called for a 4.91-cent tax hike, I heard from countless Friends of Unfair Park who said, more or less: "Yeah, bu ... More >>

This Just In: Eight Council Members Tell Mary Suhm They Want a 4.91-Cent Tax Hike

Do not expect a repeat of this scene any time soon, at least when it comes to the FY2010-11 budget.​Moments ago I received from council member Angela Hunt's office a memo that follows, in which Hunt and seven of her colleagues (Delia Jasso, Vonciel Hill, Steve Salazar, Carolyn Davis, Pauline Medra ... More >>

City Manager Mary Suhm: Call for Tax Hike "Pretty Universal" at Budget Town Halls

Sam MertenMary Suhm​"Do a tax rate increase." That's how City Manager Mary Suhm sums up the feedback from Thursday night's budget meeting at Edna Rowe Elementary. "That's pretty universal when we're at town hall meetings," she says. Despite the overwhelming number of residents pleading for ... More >>

Guess We'll Have to Wait Till Noon to Hear About Mayor's Plans to "Ease Budget Situation"

From this morning's property tax hike briefing​At 9 this morning, the council will yet again sit down to debate the budget, and most of the briefing will likely focus on cuts to Park and Rec, which is looking to lose around $15.4 million out of its budget in the coming fiscal year (from $64,266,76 ... More >>

The Mayor Doesn't Want a Tax Hike. Some Council Members Do. A Few Citizens Too. You?

​I've been trying to tell you: Word from inside City Hall is that a tax hike of at least one cent "actually might happen." The reason: That's what The People are demanding at these budget town halls, if only to keep the rec centers open and the parks mowed. And a one-cent hike, in addition to the ... More >>

After Pleading Guilty to Tax Evasion, Realtor Nicky Sheets Gets 40 Months in Federal Prison

Eleanor Mowery Sheets and husband Nicky​The headline -- and the freshly baked press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office that follows -- says it all. U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle sentenced high-tone realtor John Nicholas Sheets -- married to one Eleanor Mowery Sheets, who copped to four co ... More >>

DART Sends Word: Sales Tax Drop Will Cause "Indefinite" Delays of Three Significant Projects

​We've known since March that Dallas Area Rapid Transit's $3-billion drop in sales tax receipts would put on hold several key projects, chief among them the second downtown rail line, or D2. But exactly what and for how long? Those are answers we didn't know, not until this evening. DART spokesman ... More >>

Amazing But True: City's Not Giving Up On, Um, "Problematic" Bama Pie Project

This is what the Bama Pie building looked like when I drove by it on New Year's Day of this year.​Longtime Friends of Unfair Park probably don't need a recap concerning the tragicomic goings-on at the former Bama Pie Co. building across the street from Fair Park. This blog is littered with stories ... More >>

Dallas Area Rapid Transit's Drop in Sales Tax Receipts Prompts "Review of Operations, Future Capital Projects"

​Dallas Area Rapid Transit's board of directors met this afternoon to discuss the ramifications of a significant decline in sales tax receipts. Originally, DART had budgeted for $387.8 million; the numbers, according to the transit agency, are presently looking $15 to $20 million short of that. Th ... More >>

Yesterday's Cry Was But One of Many Great Days in Randy Neugebauer History

McBloggerRep. Randy Neugebauer and some friend of his​First we didn't know who shouted "Baby Killer!" at Rep. Bart Stupak last night, during the health care debate. Joe Barton knew, but he wasn't talking. Then, we found out: It was Lubbock's own Rep. Randy Neugebauer, which, according to Jim anywa ... More >>

Hodge Admits to Receiving More Than $30,000 From Potashniks, Using Campaign Contributions For "Personal Benefit"

Hodge landed herself quite a deal.​The indictment against Terri Hodge has always looked much more damning than the evidence facing the rest of the gang involved in the City Hall corruption case, and it turns out that, well, it's all true. Hodge admitted as much in her factual résumé, which s ... More >>

DISD May Still Get to Raze Historic Church, But Not Before Turning Over Financial Records

From left: Michael Amonett of OOCCL, Jason Roberts of Bike Friendly Oak Cliff and attorney John McCall Jr. after today's hearing​Schutze is right -- they ought to trademark it, "The Oak Cliff Way." Now, it's more than likely the  Old Oak Cliff Conservation League won't stop the Dallas Indepen ... More >>

Even Stephen Hawking Couldn't Figure Out the Fuzzy Math Behind How We Are Going To Pay For the Trinity River Park.

National League of Cities: If You Think Dallas's '09-'10 Budget Looks Bad, Wait Till Next Year

Sam MertenCity Manager Mary Suhm debuting her 2009-'10 budget to the media three weeks ago​On August 10, when the Dallas City Council met to discuss City Manager Mary Suhm's budget proposal that gut services and employees to make room for a $190-million budget shortfall, the city's chief financial ... More >>

Out of the Pool: City Council to Get a Detailed Look at Cuts to Park and Rec's Budget

Click to expand City Manager Mary Suhm's list of proposed pool closings in the coming fiscal year​For those Friends of Unfair Park who haven't read through the entire FY2009-2010 proposed city of Dallas budget, the city council's biting off tiny pieces during regularly scheduled briefings in advan ... More >>

In the Cedars, Central Dallas Ministries Struggles to Find Support for Housing Project

View Larger MapOn Tuesday, the Dallas City Council's Housing Committee discussed 13 projects seeking low-income housing tax credits, among them Akard Plaza, which is being developed by Central Dallas Ministries' 7-year-old affordable-housing subsidiary Central Dallas Community Development Corporatio ... More >>

DISD Now $316,000 Lighter

Paying the Toll, One Road at a Time

A Different Kind of Social Security Card

You, Snooze. We Lose.

TIF for Tat, Part II

Enough Already

Sometimes City Hall is generous to a fault

Drunk Tellers

Run down to the City Council Bank. They're giving money away!

Drug Money

Dallas County's innovative DIVERT court program is caught in a budget squeeze

What's That Smell?

The stink of broken promises in the last big bond election

Trashy Dreams

The city hopes its new "eco-park" will mean jobs and business. That may take some luck.

Taxpayers, Arise!

A little-known chapter of the city charter says we don't have to take it anymore

Sweetheart Deal

How does Virginia McGuire make a profit in the nonprofit business of creating affordable housing? Simple. She pays her husband.

The Little-People Tax

Dallas tax appraisers can't keep up with Ross Perot. But if you're Average Joe, they've got your number.

Taxing Situation

A tax-protesting CEO enlists his employees in the cause

Wolf? What wolf?

A humongous lawsuit knocks on the door at City Hall, and we're gonna end up paying--one way or the other

Get real

Arena shills say only tourists will get soaked by a new tax on rental cars. They're lying.

Letters

Blah, blah

Hypercritical politics deliver nowhere politicians