Fairly/Photo by Fairly Group
Local businessman Alex Fairly has filed a lawsuit against the City of Amarillo in an attempt to halt the city’s new civic center plan. The lawsuit, which was announced earlier today in a statement by Fairly’s group “Inspire Amarillo,” was filed in the 108th District Court last Friday.
In the statement published by Inspire Amarillo, Fairly noted similarities between the city’s failed $275 million Proposition A from 2020 and the new $260 million plan. The lawsuit itself alleges that the city’s actions are an attempt to “thwart and contravene the will of Amarillo’s citizens and voters.” The suit seeks “injunctive relief preventing the City of Amarillo from incurring such debt.” The lawsuit is signed by T. Kynn Walden of the WaldenReynard law firm based in Nederland, Texas.
Fairly had been critical of the Prop A civic center proposal during the 2020 election. Shortly after Prop A was rejected by voters, Fairly unveiled a $110 million dollar alternative plan, though the city was not receptive to the plan.
Speaking exclusively to The Amarillo Pioneer this evening, Fairly said the following about the city’s actions:
“This entire process has become unhealthy and unprincipled. There are times in life where we need to take a stand and this is one of those time for me.”
The City of Amarillo’s legal department could not be immediately reached for a comment.
The full statement from Inspire Amarillo regarding the lawsuit is included below, as is a link to a PDF of the lawsuit.
LAWSUIT STATEMENT
$260,000,000 in New Debt
In November 2020, Amarillo voters rejected a $275 million bond issue (you might remember it as ‘Prop A’) that would have helped pay for a new entertainment and event complex to replace the current civic center facility.
More than 60 percent of voters voted against raising property taxes to pay for the project.
But last week on May 24th, just 19 months after Prop A failed, the city council moved forward by issuing $260 million in debt for the project.
‘One and Done’
The new proposal was largely developed behind the scenes, out of sight from the public. It was approved with no advance notice to the public or opportunity for input.
City Council member Cole Stanley, who didn’t become aware of the proposal until a few days before the vote, asked for more time to consider it before a vote was taken. His request was denied.
The council also forewent the tradition of providing two readings on an issue before voting on it.
It was one and done.
Bringing Back Prop A
After the Prop A bond election failed in 2020, a two-person committee was formed to determine how to move forward with the project. Jason Herrick, an Amarillo businessman and head of the Amarillo Matters Political Action Committee, led this committee at the behest of the Mayor, serving alongside Assistant City Manager Andrew Freeman to work on a plan.
The committee’s first step was to hire consultants – at a cost of nearly $500,000 - to explore a way to get the project funded without having to raise taxes or ask for taxpayer permission.
But they had a dilemma: voters had said ‘no’ in 2020, the consultants didn’t find any acceptable private-partner solutions, and state law requires a three-year waiting period before they could issue Certificates of Obligation (which don’t require voter approval).
So last week, our city council voted to use ‘Anticipation Notes’ to issue the $260 million debt – again, without our approval. It was their version of saying ‘we’re going ahead anyway’.
They also used Anticipation Notes to pay for the relocation of Amarillo’s City Hall several months ago. We were told moving City Hall was necessary because it is worn out beyond feasable repair. But it now appears that moving City Hall was simply the first step in bringing back Prop A as it effectively cleared out the space needed for a new arena.
The Kicker
Anticipation Notes (Texas Government Code 1431) were intended to give Texas municipalities the ability to issue shorter-term debt for necessary/critical or emergency types of projects. For example, if a bridge had collapsed, Anticipation Notes could be used to pay for the repairs because of the timely and urgent nature of such a project. In short, Anticipation Notes were never intended to be used to build things like a new Civic Center.
The ordinance the city council approved says the debt will be paid for by “a tax on all taxable property in the City…“. The kicker is that the city portion of our property taxes will be increased - likely, by at least 30 percent – without our approval in order to pay back the $260 million.
Accountability
Going against the wishes of the voters isn’t the only mistake the Amarillo City Council made when they approved the issuance of more than a quarter billion dollars in debt on May 24.
Multiple attorneys who we engaged believe the four members of the council who voted for the debt issuance may have violated both the spirit and letter of Texas law regarding the issuance of this debt which is why I have filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to pause the project, as well as challenging the legality of the city council’s action.
Having to bring a lawsuit is never a preferred option. It will cost both the city, and me. But core American principles are worth defending.
When government leaders try to impose taxes without notice or a good-faith discussion, flashing red lights should be going off for every citizen, no matter which side of an issue you are on. And it’s especially concerning when elected officials contradict voters and potentially circumvent the law to do it.
Elected officials must be held accountable for their actions. I hope this lawsuit will play a role in that.
Win or lose, we’ll get to have an honest public discussion.
Thanks for your time in reading this.
-Alex Fairly
This story was originally published at 5:53 pm local time. The story was updated at 6:43 pm local time to include a comment from Alex Fairly.