By Amarillo Pioneer Publisher's Committee
While the focus of 2020 has been on the presidential race dominating the headlines, there are three items on the Amarillo ballot which could forever change the face of local government in Amarillo, from your tax bill to the way government operates. And it is our publisher’s committee’s opinion that voters should firmly reject all three propositions this November.
On the ballot this November is potentially the largest bond election in Amarillo history — a $275 million bond package to fund the majority of a $319 million spending plan for various downtown projects. Billed as Proposition A, proponents have claimed this bond package is needed to repair the Amarillo Civic Center Complex. What those same proponents fail to tell you is this item carries a 39% tax increase and funds a number of other projects which have nothing to do with the Amarillo Civic Center Complex. Notably, some of the projects in this year’s bond are also recycled from several ballot propositions which were defeated by voters in 2016.
However, there are also two other important items which could change the way your local government operates.
Proposition B would extend the terms of members of the Amarillo City Council by two years each, giving Council four year terms. This is perhaps the most egregious grab for power to date by the current City Council, with no other City Council ever attempting such a self-serving rewrite of the Amarillo City Charter, the governing document for our city. There are also a number of unanswered questions about Proposition B, such as how the extended terms would be put into place and when the terms would take effect. Some have also argued the term extensions could very well be retroactive, a claim which City Hall has forcefully denied. However, regardless of the retroactive possibilities of Proposition B, there are still a minefield of unanswered questions over extended terms.
The final proposition on Amarillo ballots this November is Proposition C, which would cut the number of Amarillo City Council meetings by half each year. Proposition C brings two problems to the table. First, and perhaps most obviously, Proposition C reduces the number of public comment sessions and chances for citizens to hold their elected officials accountable by half. This hurts the ability for citizens to be involved and creates more confusion about what is happening at City Hall. The other major issue with Proposition C is it extends the time frame for ordinances to be passed. Ordinances passed by the Amarillo City Council require two readings and two votes before taking effect. Right now, if an ordinance receives back to back votes, it takes two weeks to pass an ordinance. Taking City Hall at its word that two meetings would be scheduled each month following the passage of Proposition C, it would then take a month or more for an ordinance to be passed at the earliest. Some ordinances, if votes are pushed back for whatever reason, could potentially wait months for a final vote. This is particularly troublesome when dealing with issues such as zoning and planning ordinances, which must be passed quickly and efficiently to allow for local businesses to complete their projects.
All three propositions are extremely troubling for a number of reasons.
First, Proposition A is possibly the largest single bond in Amarillo history, carrying with it a 39% tax increase in the middle of a recession. It is worth noting local businesses are closing their doors daily and many people are out of work due to the ongoing pandemic. At the moment we are writing this piece, there also remains a chance that further shutdowns are coming due to Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent rules on reopenings and Amarillo’s COVID-19 hospitalization rate over the past week. This is not the economic climate to be putting more debt on the taxpayers’ credit card.
It is worth noting citizens would not just be hit with the tax increase for the debt approved on the ballot, but would also be hit with additional tax increases to fund debt associated with the projects which will not be approved by taxpayers. That debt would fund part of the remaining costs associated with the $319 million project. There is also nothing explicitly binding to hold City Hall’s feet to the fire on project specifics. For example, local residents still do not truly know the full scope of all of the projects in the bond or even how many seats the final arena would hold. There remain a multitude of unanswered questions surrounding Proposition A.
For Propositions B and C, these rewrites of the city charter benefit nobody but those who are currently in office.
While those pushing Proposition B want four-year terms for the City Council, the current system of two-year terms has served Amarillo citizens well for over a century, with voters having the opportunity every two years to either re-elect their favorite council members, or to change the direction of the city. It is also worth noting the entire current composition of the Amarillo City Council was elected on a clean-sweep in 2017, and now is demanding four-year terms to prevent voters from having the opportunity to “flip the whole boat again,” in the words of Mayor Ginger Nelson.
Proposition C has similar issues, considering weekly meetings have been a common practice for decades in Amarillo and never became an issue until the current members of the Amarillo City Council complained. There have been arguments that the current weekly meeting schedule hurts council members’ work schedules and private lives. However, this would be an easy fix, considering that if the City Council was worried about their work schedules, they could easily revert to back to evening meetings, something which was abandoned under this City Council. The candidates who ran for the City Council knew there would be a weekly time commitment associated with being an elected official. If they did not want to face the weekly time commitment associated with the job, then they never should have run for office.
Overall, Propositions A, B, and C all have major issues which do not benefit local taxpayers in any shape, form, or fashion. Under the passage of these three propositions, you would experience one of the largest tax increases in Amarillo history, fewer elections to have a say in your government, and fewer opportunities to express your concerns to your elected representatives. These three propositions are a bad deal for Amarillo.
We recommend voters vote against Propositions A, B, and C in the November election. Cast a ballot for the future by ensuring we will have a low tax rate with a positive economic climate for business growth, regular elections to have our voices heard, and numerous opportunities to participate in our government.
The best way to ensure you will continue to have the opportunity to hold your government accountable is to oppose Propositions A, B, and C this year.
Early voting begins October 13. Election Day is November 3.
Please note: A publisher’s committee endorsement does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the Amarillo Pioneer’s advertisers or staff. An endorsement of one candidate does not represent a criticism of other candidates running unless otherwise stated. Endorsements may be offered in additional races. A primary endorsement does not necessarily indicate a general election endorsement, as local general election endorsements will be handled on a case-by-case basis.