Local citizens notched a win for government accountability after successfully petitioning their North Texas city to get approval from voters before issuing millions in new taxpayer-supported debt. On July 28, the Farmers Branch City Council tentatively approved a plan...
Texas has the second highest per capita local debt in the nation and four West Texas cities – El Paso, Lubbock, Abilene, and San Angelo – are partially to blame. A recent article published by the State Comptroller’s office stated that between 2006 and 2015, the amount...
In the midst of the holiday season, city officials are attempting to pile more debt on taxpayers in order to purchase a palatial office space for city employees. Tomorrow, the City of San Antonio will vote on the issuance of $52 million in Certificates of Obligation...
After a robust debate at Tuesday’s city council meeting, a resolution, which would serve as the first step in issuing approximately $22 million in new debt (via Certificates of Obligation) for Midland, failed by a 2-5 vote. The overarching argument reiterated by...
Texas taxpayers are currently burdened with the second-highest local debt in the nation, on a per capita basis, when compared to the nation’s ten largest states. While the largest public borrowers in Texas are government school districts, nearly one-third of the $330...
Legislation filed today would increase government transparency, requiring greater information be available to taxpayers about public debt while ensuring the state’s pensions are making their actuarial data more readily available. The legislation was inspired by the...
