October 2011
Lake Travis
Economic Impact Report

Effective Governing vs. Political Sound Bites

No new taxes! Relieve highway congestion! Less Government! Improve our education system! Preserve and enhance our quality of life! These are the sound bites in every election campaign, but what do they mean? Can elected officials do all of these things at the same time? Not likely because sound bites may win an election, but they don’t always offer solutions to the day-to-day responsibilities of good government.

Let’s take “No new taxes,” for example. Since the State has decided to essentially govern on this sound bite, the proposed State budget cuts will pass their responsibilities onto local jurisdictions. Therefore, issues that are important like “Relieve highway congestion” will be almost a non-starter because the revenues are not there. “Cut Crime”- with fewer funds available to meet burgeoning population demands, budget cuts may result in a lower percentage of law-enforcement officers per capita. The crime rate will likely go up because there will be fewer programs to help people develop job skills, find and keep those jobs, or keep at-risk students in school. Inmates will be paroled sooner, because jails and prisons cannot afford to keep the needed levels of staffing. Proposed cuts in programs that help parolees become law-abiding citizens will impact parolees’ potential return to crime. “Unfunded mandates” for public safety, criminal justice and health and human services constitute the largest percentage of the county’s budget. These budget items already are lean and these basic services are absolutely required by state law.

So what else? “Improve our educational system” - here is what a “no new taxes” political sound bite means for our schools: Our children will likely have more students in their classes, thereby giving our children less personal interaction with their teachers, and our students will have less variety of educational choices in school. The cost to send our kids to Texas colleges and universities will likely be higher than the already “high” that it is.

How about “preserve and enhance our quality of life”? Personal safety is a big component and with the proposed budget cuts, response times to our emergency calls may be longer for a variety of reasons—like not enough money to keep law enforcement and emergency services appropriately equipped and manned. Park fees will be higher and hours of use may be shorter because of the lack of tax money to support them. Some could be closed. “Less government” may mean less enforcement of environmental regulations, impacting our water quality, health and safety.

So all of this because of “no new taxes”? Guess what? Our taxes will probably have to go up anyway because so many of the proposed State cuts to “balance the budget” will just “kick the can” down the road to the local level where basic services are absolutely required. In these tough times, good governance requires hard choices. No one likes to pay more money in taxes. Every penny is important. Tax money supports the basic necessities of our society including our schools, our roads, our safety and our quality of life.

Did you know that we pay significantly less in federal income taxes than we did in the 1950’s? The Travis County tax rate in 2011 is lower than it was in 1999 and that your Travis County tax rate has been within the same .10/per $100 valuation range since Fiscal Year 1995. And did you know that the Legislature’s so-called overhaul and resulting reduction of property taxes in the 2006 Legislative Session, which was replaced by a Business Tax that did not bring in the anticipated revenues, is one of the chief causes of our current gargantuan state budget shortfall?

Political sound bite mandates are interrelated and are often at odds with one another. Because of the potential impacts, I recommend paying careful attention to the domino effect of proposed budget cuts—at all levels of government. Ask yourself, “If this happens, how will it affect me, my family, my children, my business?” We each have a responsibility to be fully informed so we can make wise decisions regarding our governance. Together, we can make good things happen in our lives. My office is always available to you at 854-9333 or by email, Karen.Huber@co.travis.tx.us.

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