An update on the Texas Parkway Corridor project led to a not-so-friendly exchange between Missouri City Councilman Jerry Wyatt, At-large Position 1, and Councilwoman Cynthia Lenton-Gary, District B, at Monday night’s council meeting.
City council voted earlier this month to approve the effective tax rate of $0.5284 – the rate the city has to levy to generate the same amount of money as the previous year – which was about a penny higher than last year’s rate due to decreased property values. Lenton-Gary was the lone nay vote on the rate, with Councilman Robin Elackatt absent.
Following City Manager Frank Simpson’s presentation on the Texas Parkway project, Wyatt commented that projects such as rehabilitating the corridor cost money – taxpayer money.
“When people don’t support the tax rate, which definitely affects their district, it creates a problem,” said Wyatt at Monday night’s meeting. “When the district person doesn’t support it, it makes it hard for everyone else to have to deal with this.”
“I have to comment because I feel like a finger was just pointed at me,” said Lenton-Gary, to which Wyatt responded that “the finger was pointed at you.”
“You know, Jerry, I think as council what we have to do is respect each other’s opinion,” said Lenton-Gary. “No, I didn’t support the tax rate, and I didn’t support it for my reasons, and I think that instead of attacking me for my opinion, my opinion should either be respected or questioned – you should talk to me about why I made that decision.”
Lenton-Gary explained that she voted against the tax rate because people in her district were approaching her and questioning higher taxes when they say there have been no noticeable improvements in their part of the city.
“I have to think about the people who actually put me in office,” said Lenton-Gary.
“But at the same time, I would tell those same people that I am supporting them, this is what we are doing,” said Wyatt. “And that’s your opinion and I respect that. The fact is your opinion is wrong.”
Lenton-Gary said she did not think that the general public needed to hear council members “debating in a negative way,” to which Wyatt replied, “I think your public needs to hear this kind of conversation.”
Councilman Brett Kolaja made the comment that to decrease the taxes you have to “decide what you want to do without” and said the tax rate is based on the costs of running the city.
“Absolutely,” said Lenton-Gary. “But you have to realize we are individuals…if I choose to vote against a tax increase, that’s my choice.”
The current budget cut almost $700,000 from the previous year’s budget, and with the newly adopted tax rate the city had to cut about $750,000 more. According to city representatives, $350,000 will be saved by not filling all open, full-time position vacancies, other than those in the police department, fire department and public safety dispatchers. Lower than expected employee health insurance premiums will save the city $100,000, and the city will lower the contingency account by $200,000. An additional $50,000 will be saved by a reduction in various line items, such as conference training, travel accounts and minor tool accounts.
“I am going to stand firm on what I believe,” said Wyatt.
“And so will I, I can promise you that,” responded Lenton-Gary.
21. October 2009 at 9:24 am
“santhony says:
October 21st, 2009 at 9:13 am (#)
stop repeating yourself and misdirecting”
I think thats wonderful advice for you to follow troll
21. October 2009 at 9:13 am
See #55 and stop repeating yourself and misdirecting on the tax increases. Gary has voted against 2 of the last 3 rate increases. How’s that for a history lesson? And how can you raise taxes while voting against them? And how can you raise them on one party and not the other? You are a funny liberal, tax, borrow and spend troll… LOL
21. October 2009 at 8:30 am
Titled a History Lesson For Community Organizers
“Time for a history lesson for the community organizers.
At one time subdivisions in MC paid off duty officers to patrol their subdivisions. The community organizers like Shelia Hackson Lee and Lenton-Gary cried “thats not fair” and the entitlement crowd said “we want it too”. The dem politicians agreed and passed laws stopping subdivisions from paying for services. Thats right made it illegal to pay for services. So The subs told their councils we still want the services and the entitlement crowd cried “me too”. What happened? HIGHER TAXES!
Now dems are trying to shift the burden of taxes to repub voters by buying votes just like Shelia Lenten-Gary wants to do. She wants the free ride for votes.
If you want the extra services you gotta pay for them. If you want to live in a golfing community you gotta pay the dues.
Now once again Shelia Lenten-Gary which services do you want cut to your voters?
MC is a no free ride zone.”
21. October 2009 at 7:11 am
“santhony says:
October 20th, 2009 at 8:01 pm (#)
Your logic and “story telling” sounds good,”
how true you claim a Phd but don’t know fact from fairy tales.
At least learn how to spell ddecent.
MC is a no free ride zone.
20. October 2009 at 8:01 pm
Your logic and “story telling” sounds good, but as usual it is pure fantasy and your name-smithing is undeserved. What is really sad is the fact that it took Gary to give Owen’s bunch of toadies a lesson on fiscal conservatism.
When she first took office her first vote was to vote down another Owen lead increase and she stood on her own as she did again this time. And it has been you repeatedly that has tried to derail the conversations about where the money has been going (golfer). It is you and Owens bunch that refused to purchase the club outright in a deal with the QVMUD and QVHOA and now are locked in renovations for a course that they do not have clear title to. It is your buddies that voted and paid for several roads in or near the ETJ for a Houston developer and kept the money and emphasis going to the hwy 6 area. It was your buddies who voted in the purchase of bottom land from Houston developers at above market price for bottom land that just happens to be a similar amount to the current deficit. As a matter of fact you defended the TIRZ that was established for several ETJ developers that is diverting tens of millions of potential tax dollars away from city coffers. Jerry W. defended that initiative too along with Owen and both accept contributions from executives of that same company.
You see twit-charlie, you are a lying again as usual and libeling council-woman Gary for listening to her electorate unlike Owen/Wyatt who take campaign financing from big corporate developers doing business with the city and they turn around and vote in their projects, which in most rational peoples minds is a conflict of interest at the very least. They take their orders not from the voters.
“MC is a no free ride zone.” ftbendconman/wadefishin/johnbernardbooks (charlie)
It is a free ride for the “pay to players”, but not for the taxpayers who are footing the bill for your crony-boys.
“…services do you want cut to your voters?” ftbendconman/charlie again
The answer is simple. Stop feeding the crony machine with abatements, special zones and other tax incentives. Reduce city government and those city administrative positions added over the last several years (including the asst. city mgr and extra PR person they hired from SL).
When the city lets the private corps invest and build their own properties that they will reap the benefit from, I’m sure the budget will look a hell of alot different. Just think, you’d be out of a job crony-boy and they would have to put in their own roads as the state law requires, but never enforces…..how’s that corporate welfare queeny-charlie?
20. October 2009 at 6:52 pm
Time for a history lesson for the community organizers.
At one time subdivisions in MC paid off duty officers to patrol their subdivisions. The community organizers like Shelia Hackson Lee and Lenton-Gary cried “thats not fair” and the entitlement crowd said “we want it too”. The dem politicians agreed and passed laws stopping subdivisions from paying for services. Thats right made it illegal to pay for services. So The subs told their councils we still want the services and the entitlement crowd cried “me too”. What happened? HIGHER TAXES!
Now dems are trying to shift the burden of taxes to repub voters by buying votes just like Shelia Lenten-Gary wants to do. She wants the free ride for votes.
If you want the extra services you gotta pay for them. If you want to live in a golfing community you gotta pay the dues.
Now once again Shelia Lenten-Gary which services do you want cut to your voters?
MC is a no free ride zone.
20. October 2009 at 6:49 pm
mega/jbb claims he doesn’t live in MC, but me doth think he’s lying again….lol
20. October 2009 at 5:00 pm
Wow, do I hear a neighborly person expressing concern for the well being of others in his community, or is it the worst form of a parasite who can’t wait for others to hurt?
These parasites must be eliminated from the “public service” that they are providing. They are an irritant in a healthy economy, but they will kill a fragile economy.
20. October 2009 at 4:47 pm
When did this turn into the OH-WHOA-IS-ME board anyway?
20. October 2009 at 4:46 pm
Hey scud, don’t you have some HOA whining to do somewhere? WHAAA WHAAA WHAAAAAA