What the fuck is wrong with you, Austin?

[Steel Shank 9421]

I look forward to laying pipe in the new terminal, assuming it gets built before I die.

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

30 minutes ago, royiv said:

By all accounts, Project Connect has been a runaway success for the world-class city of Austin.

Red ipsa loquitur

17 minutes ago, Steel Shank said:

I look forward to laying pipe in the new terminal, assuming it gets built before I die.

You got 10-12 years to lay pipe. Good luck. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

59 minutes ago, Deej said:

Too damn cheap, yet our city council passes a budget $1 billion dollars more than Dallas'. 

I can't imagine why everyone feels like being cheap.

That includes Austin energy. Dallas and Houston’s budget don’t. But I’m sure Austin voters will eventually find a way to fuck that up too. Do you think I’m defending Austin’s leadership? I’m not. It’s terrible. But what I am saying is that the government and the leadership is better than the voters deserve.

Edited September 14 by Bozo_Casanova

[Deej 76752]

3 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

But what I am saying is that the government and the leadership is better than the voters deserve.

No, it's not. Glad you think it's ok for the government and leadership to go ahead and fuck everyone over because that's what they "deserve"

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

9 minutes ago, Deej said:

No, it's not. Glad you think it's ok for the government and leadership to go ahead and fuck everyone over because that's what they "deserve"

I don’t think it’s OK. I literally just called it terrible. But the world belongs to the people who show up and considering the terrible pay and utter contempt of the voting public I’m shocked it’s as good as it is. 
If you don’t like it go down to city hall and do something about it. 

Edited September 14 by Bozo_Casanova

[royiv 9247]

19 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Red ipsa loquitur

I don’t speak German.

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

All you super serious citizens and fans of good government, I bring you glad tidings: you can make Austin better with my three step plan!

1) go to city county chambers and demand they double their own pay, and an across the board 20% increase for all non-police/fire/ems employees, because the talent pool is shit as is.

2) go to bond hearings and demand they think bigger. If it doesn’t have 10 figures demand they get there. 

3) pay attention - read the Austin Monitor and council minutes and get to know your council member and their staff. Literally call them on the phone and get an appointment about the topic of your choice. It really is that easy.

bonus step: volunteer to serve on a board or commission and really get to know how a policy is made, eventually working up to a sovereign board or enterprise commission ZAP, PC, BofA, solid waste, utilities, etc. parks, public safety or bonds. Spend the next 10-15 years doing it. Then tell me whether you think the voters deserve better.

Edited September 14 by Bozo_Casanova

[Armybrat 40822]

1 hour ago, Deej said:

If anyone can get the Project Connect cost down, it will be Fitlump. It costs nothing to run a train on her. 

Made me chortle. 

[royiv 9247]

17 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

All you super serious citizens and fans of good government, I bring you glad tidings: you can make Austin better with my three step plan!

1) go to city county chambers and demand they double their own pay, and an across the board 20% increase for all non-police/fire/ems employees, because the talent pool is shit as is.

2) go to bond hearings and demand they think bigger. If it doesn’t have 10 figures demand they get there. 

3) pay attention - read the Austin Monitor and council minutes and get to know your council member and their staff. Literally call them on the phone and get an appointment about the topic of your choice. It really is that easy.

bonus step: volunteer to serve on a board or commission and really get to know how a policy is made, eventually working up to a sovereign board or enterprise commission ZAP, PC, BofA, solid waste, utilities, etc. parks, public safety or bonds. Spend the next 10-15 years doing it. Then tell me whether you think the voters deserve better.

1. That’s a non-starter in the current environment of COA government and you know that. Any councilmember who takes on your proposal is writing their political death warrant. I’m not saying that you don’t have a point about you get what you pay for, but in a world where elected officials are concerned about being re-elected they know how exactly unpopular your proposal would be. Add to that, the backlash from APD, AFD and ATCEMS would be tremendous.

2. Project Connect has fucked future bond propositions. It’s going to be an uphill battle from now on. Sure, there was a confluence of issues, but the simple fact that planners totally forgot to take CVC restrictions into account on Congress Avenue is totally incompetent and, contrary to what you might believe, is negligence to sell something to the voters that is not possible given laws that are on the books.

3. Agree. If people paid more attention at a local level, our communities would all be better places to live. I’ve been impressed how accessible my city council member here in Houston is. Given, I do donate to her so I won’t pretend that I’m not buying some level of access.

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

13 minutes ago, royiv said:

1. That’s a non-starter in the current environment of COA government and you know that

Of course it’s a nonstarter, that’s why nobody good will run for office. And around we go.
 

13 minutes ago, royiv said:

2. Project Connect has fucked future bond propositions.

Nah. Project connect was underfunded and too small to begin with, because Austin votes down a lot of bonds. Voters here are penny wise and pound foolish.
 

14 minutes ago, royiv said:

3. Agree. If people paid more attention at a local level, our communities would all be better places to live

With the exception of one where there’s a different dynamic involved, the entire council is pretty easy to get time with in Austin. But honestly it’s more important to talk to staff.

[royiv 9247]

5 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Nah. Project connect was underfunded and too small to begin with, because Austin votes down a lot of bonds. Voters here are penny wise and pound foolish.

100% agree with you on the rest of your reply, but disagree on Project Connect. It was poorly planned, has been poorly executed and, as a result, it’s going to have longer lasting impacts on future bond proposals further promulgating the idea that COA can’t be trusted. A proposal was put on the ballot that was DOA on day one. That’s not a way to build trust with voters.

[gsoda3 3245]

3 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

We build great plans. We just don’t execute them.

 

Respectfully - Do you realize how delusional that sounds? I have a plan for my kids to make the NBA but they can't shoot, dribble, or rebound.  An effective plan takes into account the capabilities of those involved given their assets. A great plan maximizes their efficiency.  I can't think of the last effective plan to come from the CoA, much less the last great plan. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

8 minutes ago, royiv said:

100% agree with you on the rest of your reply, but disagree on Project Connect. It was poorly planned, has been poorly executed and, as a result, it’s going to have longer lasting impacts on future bond proposals further promulgating the idea that COA can’t be trusted. A proposal was put on the ballot that was DOA on day one. That’s not a way to build trust with voters.

The first Project Connect bond election failed in 2013. Then they passed a way overdue and relatively modest bond in 2020, just in time for the cost of everything to rise and interests rates to go up. Shit happens. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

5 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

Respectfully - Do you realize how delusional that sounds?

Respectfully -  I can only imagine what knowledge sounds like to the ignorant. 
 

Let me say it again- we are world glass at planning- decades of very smart, well thought out and appropriately scaled highway plans, train plans, land use maps, the works. Then our voters and their chosen representatives kill them. That’s the story of how Austin squandered ridiculous natural advantages and doomed itself to gridlock over a 40 year period, because it’s probably too late to really fix anything. 

Edited September 14 by Bozo_Casanova

[royiv 9247]

2 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

The first Project Connect bond election failed in 2013. Then they passed a way overdue and relatively modest bond in 2020, just in time for the cost of everything to rise and interests rates to go up. Shit happens. 

It wasn’t just the cost of everything to go up, although that was certainly a big factor. It was lack of planning to know how to properly budget what they were asking for. They didn’t even fucking know about the CVCs and they way underestimated the cost to bore tunnels in Austin. I took one look at that proposal and knew they could never pull it off at that price tag and that was before the costs of everything to go up. It was never realistic and the city as a whole is going to suffer for it in the future. 

[gsoda3 3245]

6 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Respectfully -  I can only imagine what knowledge sounds like to the ignorant. 
 

Let me say it again- we are world glass at planning- decades of very smart, well thought out and appropriately scaled highway plans, train plans, land use maps, the works. Then our voters and their chosen representatives kill them. That’s the story of how Austin squandered ridiculous natural advantages and doomed itself to gridlock over a 40 year period, because it’s probably too late to really fix anything. 

who is "we" and why is there a disconnect between you and the council?

[royiv 9247]

5 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Respectfully -  I can only imagine what knowledge sounds like to the ignorant. 
 

Let me say it again- we are world glass at planning- decades of very smart, well thought out and appropriately scaled highway plans, train plans, land use maps, the works. Then our voters and their chosen representatives kill them. That’s the story of how Austin squandered ridiculous natural advantages and doomed itself to gridlock over a 40 year period, because it’s probably too late to really fix anything. 

I was born in and grew up in Austin and follow Austin very closely as it’s my hometown and all my family lives there. I’m serious when I ask what well thought out highway plans, land use plans, train plans, etc have been put forward? I can’t think of any brilliant plans that have been put forward and even if they had, the inability to push the ball down the field can’t be solely blamed on the taxpayers. Leaders and bureaucrats are also accountable to getting results.

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

7 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

who is "we" and why is there a disconnect between you and the council?

We meaning the city of Austin not me personally. 
Are you asking why there’s a disconnect between the city’s professional staff and the council? Boy, that could fill volumes, but basically because the voters vote for assholes who throw staff and good work under the bus at the slightest controversy, and you reward them for it. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

7 minutes ago, royiv said:

I’m serious when I ask what well thought out highway plans, land use plans, train plans, etc have been put forward? I can’t think of any brilliant plans that have been put forward

You should look into it

7 minutes ago, royiv said:

the inability to push the ball down the field can’t be solely blamed on the taxpayers.

Why not? They pay for it and hire the people in charge.

[royiv 9247]

1 minute ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

You should look into it

Why not? They pay for it and hire the people in charge.

Okay. Was attempting to engage in dialogue, but I see you’re not interested. Good night and good luck.

[gsoda3 3245]

1 hour ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

We meaning the city of Austin not me personally. 
Are you asking why there’s a disconnect between the city’s professional staff and the council? Boy, that could fill volumes, but basically because the voters vote for assholes who throw staff and good work under the bus at the slightest controversy, and you reward them for it. 

you come up with plan.  council says no.  you think of another plan.  city says yes, it goes on ballot.  is that how it works? 

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

6 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

you come up with plan.  council says no.  you think of another plan.  city says yes, it goes on ballot.  is that how it works? 

No. It's more like this:

 

Years zero: Consensus develops that we have an issue on the horizon, council tasks staff and commissions to gather input and develop plans

Year 1: Staff and commissions gather input and develop plans

Year 2: NEIGHBORS FREAK OUT! Council backpedals, tasks commissions and staff to include neighborhood cranks in process

Year 3-5: Staff tweaks plan while waiting out war of attrition between factions participating in the process

Year 4: 1/3 of council is replaced, running on "changing the culture of city hall," and "including the voices of the neighborhoods." New council members appoint neighborhood cranks to key commissions

Year 5: staff and city management bring  compromise plans to council. Council passes on 1st reading, and schedule months of hearings to gather feedback. NEIGHBORS FREAK OUT! Council decides to start over, sends back to staff and commissions to gather input and develop plans

Year 5: staff and commissions develop plans

Year 6: NEIGHBORS FREAK OUT! Council backpedals, tasks commissions and staff to include neighborhood cranks in process

Year 7-9: Staff tweaks plan while waiting out war of attrition between factions participating in the process

Year 8: 1/3 of council is replaced, running on "changing the culture of city hall," and "including the voices of the neighborhoods." New council members appoint neighborhood cranks to key commissions

Year 9: staff and city management bring  compromise plans to council. Council passes on 1st reading, and schedule months of hearings to gather feedback. NEIGHBORS FREAK OUT! Council decides to start over, sends back to staff and commissions to gather input and develop plans

eventually you find yourself in a bond year and whatever bullshit on the table at that moment winds up in front of the public, CHEAPSKATES FREAK OUT, and it's a coin flip from there

repeat ad infinitum

Edited September 14 by Bozo_Casanova

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

8 hours ago, royiv said:

Okay. Was attempting to engage in dialogue, but I see you’re not interested. Good night and good luck.

Oh, you were looking for me to tell you about some plans? 
There was the 2012 comprehensive plan, "Imagine Austin". Priority program #1 was to replace our city's broken and crippling land use code. That process has been started over three times since and is currently on hold, after two separate rewrites were killed by neighborhood cranks.  As we sit here twelve years later it has taken 5 years longer to replace the code than it took to put humans on the moon with slide rules and graph paper.

There was the 1962 highway plan, which included a massive innner city freeway network, on Riverside, 15th street, Lamar, 35th, and more

There was the plan to make Loop 360 an actual loop

There was the  2000 rail plan

My favorite to think about is the 1985 Highway plan, which would have built a set of true, viable bypass loops around the central city, but alas was gutted by a coalition of environmentalists and community activists by land speculators who then used that pretext to build 130 too far east to do any good.

 

Edited September 14 by Bozo_Casanova

[Samson's Wig 3190]

12 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

well you evidently missed the 2000 transportation bond, the 2013 school bond, the 2014 transportation bonds, etc et al. 
And then there’s the shit they don’t even put in front of you because you’re all too goddamn cheap and would reject it, and then there’s the shit they don’t even bring you because of the mediocrities you elect to office and the mouth breathers and hangers on they appoint, and then there’s the shit you would never vote for because most of you act like this is a fucking backwater rather than a world-class city and I think it’s because you that’s what you want.

Dallas and Houston don’t have these problems because they’re too busy moaning how great it was in 1975. 
 

And that’s the irony. People who don’t know anything thinks we don’t plan, that’s not true. We build great plans. We just don’t execute them. You don’t want to meet the future, we want a Time Machine back to the day before you got here.

no offense though. 😉

 

 

I'm sorry, but I can't wrap my head around your view of this city, other than I think you may be too close to how the sausage is made to have an objective opinion.  You're way off lumping me into the group you are, which is what you do with anyone who doesn't see the city through your oddly tinted lens.   And yes, while I was being (only mildly) hyperbolic about voters here rubber-stamping bonds without understanding what they're even voting for, let's not be disingenuous and act like we don't pass damn near every tax hike or bond in this town just because a couple of items haven't gone through over the decades. And none of that has anything to do with management of the airport, which is what was being discussed.  I suppose you thought the handling of the imminent domain move on the south terminal was managed with skill and grace.  I agree that voters here suck, as do the elected officials.  But I also think you moved somewhere hoping for a world class city, and that is not something Austin ever was and likely ever will be, regardless of what voters do or don't want.  It's just what it is. You live in a fairy tale.  Detroit has the highest taxes of any city in America.  How's that working for them?   Throwing more money at bad leadership isn't going to solve anything, but it will continue the tradition of graft in this city quite well.

You've managed to label just about everyone as dumb or incompent, whether it's the majority voters, the minority voters, or the city leadership. Who does that leave that knows what they're doing and can implement this magical world class city experience you are looking for?  You?   If you're the only genius who knows what's best for Austin, and if everyone else would just stay out of the way and do things your way, we'd be living in a modern marvel of a city?  Sign me up, seriously.  Maybe we should elect you Emporer of Austin, and all our problems will be solved.  Just let me know how much to make the check out for.  If you can deliver that I'm all in.  Hell, if you could just deliver a functional light rail system for a reasonable cost and without funneling millions to your buddies I'll fully support your dictatorship.  But I think you're just another naive idealist with an authoritarian streak who wants to live in a magical fairy tale city that suits your specific needs and wants everyone else to pay for it, just like most Austin voters.

No offense, though. 

[Brisketexan 105058]

 
I'm sorry, but I can't wrap my head around your view of this city, other than I think you may be too close to how the sausage is made to have an objective opinion.  You're way off lumping me into the group you are, which is what you do with anyone who doesn't see the city through your oddly tinted lens.   And yes, while I was being (only mildly) hyperbolic about voters here rubber-stamping bonds without understanding what they're even voting for, let's not be disingenuous and act like we don't pass damn near every tax hike or bond in this town just because a couple of items haven't gone through over the decades. And none of that has anything to do with management of the airport, which is what was being discussed.  I suppose you thought the handling of the imminent domain move on the south terminal was managed with skill and grace.  I agree that voters here suck, as do the elected officials.  But I also think you moved somewhere hoping for a world class city, and that is not something Austin ever was and likely ever will be, regardless of what voters do or don't want.  It's just what it is. You live in a fairy tale.  Detroit has the highest taxes of any city in America.  How's that working for them?   Throwing more money at bad leadership isn't going to solve anything, but it will continue the tradition of graft in this city quite well.
You've managed to label just about everyone as dumb or incompent, whether it's the majority voters, the minority voters, or the city leadership. Who does that leave that knows what they're doing and can implement this magical world class city experience you are looking for?  You?   If you're the only genius who knows what's best for Austin, and if everyone else would just stay out of the way and do things your way, we'd be living in a modern marvel of a city?  Sign me up, seriously.  Maybe we should elect you Emporer of Austin, and all our problems will be solved.  Just let me know how much to make the check out for.  If you can deliver that I'm all in.  Hell, if you could just deliver a functional light rail system for a reasonable cost and without funneling millions to your buddies I'll fully support your dictatorship.  But I think you're just another naive idealist with an authoritarian streak who wants to live in a magical fairy tale city that suits your specific needs and wants everyone else to pay for it, just like most Austin voters.
No offense, though. 

The hell of it is…he’s not wrong.
Austin is and has been a slave to NIMBY, insular “neighborhood groups” for the past 50 years. They make sure that nothing that is actually effective and comprehensive ever gets done.
We could plan a Thanksgiving dinner, and they would attack Big Turkey, potatoes ruin our neighborhoods, pie is not enviro friendly, and why should the gravy be over on my end of the table instead of the other end?
The result of that process is a meal served in April, consisting of a single boiled chicken leg and some kale.
Austin’s provincial “neighborhood groups” are the poison pill that ruins everything.

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

1 hour ago, Samson's Wig said:

You've managed to label just about everyone as dumb or incompent, whether it's the majority voters, the minority voters, or the city leadership. Who does that leave that knows what they're doing and can implement this magical world class city experience you are looking for?

That’s the irony of it all. What to do (or what could have been done before it was too late rather) was well understood and discussed, thus the discussion of plans. As a city (citizens, staff, officials) we’re quite good at collectively figuring out what to do. We just don’t do those things, because of who dominates the process and what they care about. And who lets them dominate - the rest of us. 
it’s just the culture of the city, and it’s changing somewhat, but too late to really make things work well. About all we can do is reactively mitigate things now unless something terrible happens and presents the opportunity to start some things over again. 

Edited September 14 by Bozo_Casanova

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

We can’t, for example:

- go back to the 90s and move 130 to where it was supposed to be.

- go back to 2000 and pass the rail

- go back to 1984 and listen when they tell us that it will cause massive sprawl when the city starts growing again.
Etc Et al. 

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

1 hour ago, Samson's Wig said:

I suppose you thought the handling of the imminent domain move on the south terminal was managed with skill and grace. 

???

[royiv 9247]

7 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Oh, you were looking for me to tell you about some plans? 
There was the 2012 comprehensive plan, "Imagine Austin". Priority program #1 was to replace our city's broken and crippling land use code. That process has been started over three times since and is currently on hold, after two separate rewrites were killed by neighborhood cranks.  As we sit here twelve years later it has taken 5 years longer to replace the code than it took to put humans on the moon with slide rules and graph paper.

There was the 1962 highway plan, which included a massive innner city freeway network, on Riverside, 15th street, Lamar, 35th, and more

There was the plan to make Loop 360 an actual loop

There was the  2000 rail plan

My favorite to think about is the 1985 Highway plan, which would have built a set of true, viable bypass loops around the central city, but alas was gutted by a coalition of environmentalists and community activists by land speculators who then used that pretext to build 130 too far east to do any good.

 

@Samson's Wig already did a good job summarizing my thoughts at a high level, but at a macro level I don’t see how any of the plans you bulleted are world-class. Quite the opposite specifally on the 1962 highway plan that would have cut a freeway right through some of Austin’s most valuable land. I can’t imagine Austin being the city it is today with a freeway parallel to Town Lake going down 1st St and then crossing the lake in the center of downtown. The hike and bike, arguably one of Austin’s crown jewels and one of its most unique features would be adjacent to a gridlocked freeway. It would be analogous to the Pierce Elevated in downtown Houston that the state is about to spend billions to remove.

One point I will fully agree with you on is Austin’s outdated land use code. But given Austin politics since forever, the inability to make any meaningful changes is a feature not a bug of Austin city government.

This idea that Austin is a world-class city is far-fetched. Is it one of America‘s great large (not mega) cities? Absolutely. It’s a long way from being considered world-class and a lot of that is centered around the fact that Austin, outside of UT and the Dells, does not have a history of philanthropy. The wealth in Austin is relatively recent and built off of tech and those folks haven’t really given back in any meaningful way (again, the Dells being the exception).

Edited September 14 by royiv

[Texas Jeff 1944]

A little bond history, numbers are not inflation adjusted:

We need bonds, I am not against them, but it is generally true that Austin voters have supported bond elections during the last twenty years:

Austin ISD has a package every 4-5 years and almost all have passed and they are badly needed:

2022 - 2.44 billion - passed

2017 - 1.050 billion - passed

2013 - 489.7 million - passed, another 403 million failed.  I think there were 2 props passed, 2 failed.  All were close votes.

2008 - 343.7 million - passed

2004 - 519.5 million - passed

City of Austin likes a two year cycle and they mostly pass:

2022 bond - $350 million - passed

2020 bond - $460 million - passed

2020 Project Connect - 20% city tax increase dedicated to fund the Austin Transit Partnership, aka Project Connect, $300 million of which was to be spent on anti-displacement measures.  Total cost was projected to be 7.1 billion with the federal government paying half.

2018 bond - $925 million - passed

2016 bond - $720 million - passed

2014 bond - $600 million - failed - this was the rail project connecting Riverside, going up through the east side of downtown and campus, and going on to ACC Highland Mall.

The 2014 bond is almost the same route as Project Connect, but Project Connect originally had one line as a north/south line going up South Congress, through the downtown tunnel, and then up Lamar, and a separate line following the Riverside path and going to the Airport.

2013 bond - $65 million - passed

2012 bond - $306.6 million - passed

2010 bond - $90 million - passed

2006 bond - $567.4 million - passed

Travis County - other than the courthouse their bonds have passed - some of the years here are off by one because they are fiscal years:

2023 bond - $509 million - passed

2018 bond - $184 million - passed

2016 bond - $287 million - failed - this was to build a new downtown courthouse.  It just failed 49/51.  They built a new downtown courthouse anyway without voter approval, but it is closer to campus than the original location.

2012 bond - $214 million - passed

2006 bond - $124.3 - passed

2002 bond - $127.5 - passed

ACC 

2022 bond - $770 million - passed

2014 bond - $385 million - passed

Cap Metro

2004 - Red Line vote - passed - proposed 60 million with a 30 million federal match, cost as of 2010 was $105 million with no match.

2000 - 52 mile system (14 mile starter system) to be funded by sales tax and federal funds - 1.9 billion - failed.  It passed in Austin but narrowly failed in the larger Cap Metro service area, which IMHO led to the 2014 and 2020 election being City of Austin votes designed to pass, and thus the need for the Austin Transit Partnership as a bridge between the city and Cap Metro.

I may have missed a few  but those are the ones I could find.

[Texas Jeff 1944]

For the record I was totally down for gondolas:

 

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

59 minutes ago, Texas Jeff said:

A little bond history, numbers are not inflation adjusted:

We need bonds, I am not against them, but it is generally true that Austin voters have supported bond elections during the last twenty years:

Austin ISD has a package every 4-5 years and almost all have passed and they are badly needed:

2022 - 2.44 billion - passed

2017 - 1.050 billion - passed

2013 - 489.7 million - passed, another 403 million failed.  I think there were 2 props passed, 2 failed.  All were close votes.

2008 - 343.7 million - passed

2004 - 519.5 million - passed

City of Austin likes a two year cycle and they mostly pass:

2022 bond - $350 million - passed

2020 bond - $460 million - passed

2020 Project Connect - 20% city tax increase dedicated to fund the Austin Transit Partnership, aka Project Connect, $300 million of which was to be spent on anti-displacement measures.  Total cost was projected to be 7.1 billion with the federal government paying half.

2018 bond - $925 million - passed

2016 bond - $720 million - passed

2014 bond - $600 million - failed - this was the rail project connecting Riverside, going up through the east side of downtown and campus, and going on to ACC Highland Mall.

The 2014 bond is almost the same route as Project Connect, but Project Connect originally had one line as a north/south line going up South Congress, through the downtown tunnel, and then up Lamar, and a separate line following the Riverside path and going to the Airport.

2013 bond - $65 million - passed

2012 bond - $306.6 million - passed

2010 bond - $90 million - passed

2006 bond - $567.4 million - passed

Travis County - other than the courthouse their bonds have passed - some of the years here are off by one because they are fiscal years:

2023 bond - $509 million - passed

2018 bond - $184 million - passed

2016 bond - $287 million - failed - this was to build a new downtown courthouse.  It just failed 49/51.  They built a new downtown courthouse anyway without voter approval, but it is closer to campus than the original location.

2012 bond - $214 million - passed

2006 bond - $124.3 - passed

2002 bond - $127.5 - passed

ACC 

2022 bond - $770 million - passed

2014 bond - $385 million - passed

Cap Metro

2004 - Red Line vote - passed - proposed 60 million with a 30 million federal match, cost as of 2010 was $105 million with no match.

2000 - 52 mile system (14 mile starter system) to be funded by sales tax and federal funds - 1.9 billion - failed.  It passed in Austin but narrowly failed in the larger Cap Metro service area, which IMHO led to the 2014 and 2020 election being City of Austin votes designed to pass, and thus the need for the Austin Transit Partnership as a bridge between the city and Cap Metro.

I may have missed a few  but those are the ones I could find.

I basically agree, but with the color commentary about process above. It’s less about how often we say yes and more about what is put in front of us and why it is put there.

Edited September 14 by Bozo_Casanova

[High Plains Drifter 11026]

23 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

All you super serious citizens and fans of good government, I bring you glad tidings: you can make Austin better with my three step plan!

1) go to city county chambers and demand they double their own pay, and an across the board 20% increase for all non-police/fire/ems employees, because the talent pool is shit as is.

2) go to bond hearings and demand they think bigger. If it doesn’t have 10 figures demand they get there. 

3) pay attention - read the Austin Monitor and council minutes and get to know your council member and their staff. Literally call them on the phone and get an appointment about the topic of your choice. It really is that easy.

bonus step: volunteer to serve on a board or commission and really get to know how a policy is made, eventually working up to a sovereign board or enterprise commission ZAP, PC, BofA, solid waste, utilities, etc. parks, public safety or bonds. Spend the next 10-15 years doing it. Then tell me whether you think the voters deserve better.

 

fuck all that. I'd rather bitch on social media. 

 

[Armybrat 40822]

17 hours ago, Texas Jeff said:

A little bond history, numbers are not inflation adjusted:

We need bonds, I am not against them, but it is generally true that Austin voters have supported bond elections during the last twenty years:

Austin ISD has a package every 4-5 years and almost all have passed and they are badly needed:

2022 - 2.44 billion - passed

2017 - 1.050 billion - passed

2013 - 489.7 million - passed, another 403 million failed.  I think there were 2 props passed, 2 failed.  All were close votes.

2008 - 343.7 million - passed

2004 - 519.5 million - passed

City of Austin likes a two year cycle and they mostly pass:

2022 bond - $350 million - passed

2020 bond - $460 million - passed

2020 Project Connect - 20% city tax increase dedicated to fund the Austin Transit Partnership, aka Project Connect, $300 million of which was to be spent on anti-displacement measures.  Total cost was projected to be 7.1 billion with the federal government paying half.

2018 bond - $925 million - passed

2016 bond - $720 million - passed

2014 bond - $600 million - failed - this was the rail project connecting Riverside, going up through the east side of downtown and campus, and going on to ACC Highland Mall.

The 2014 bond is almost the same route as Project Connect, but Project Connect originally had one line as a north/south line going up South Congress, through the downtown tunnel, and then up Lamar, and a separate line following the Riverside path and going to the Airport.

2013 bond - $65 million - passed

2012 bond - $306.6 million - passed

2010 bond - $90 million - passed

2006 bond - $567.4 million - passed

Travis County - other than the courthouse their bonds have passed - some of the years here are off by one because they are fiscal years:

2023 bond - $509 million - passed

2018 bond - $184 million - passed

2016 bond - $287 million - failed - this was to build a new downtown courthouse.  It just failed 49/51.  They built a new downtown courthouse anyway without voter approval, but it is closer to campus than the original location.

2012 bond - $214 million - passed

2006 bond - $124.3 - passed

2002 bond - $127.5 - passed

ACC 

2022 bond - $770 million - passed

2014 bond - $385 million - passed

Cap Metro

2004 - Red Line vote - passed - proposed 60 million with a 30 million federal match, cost as of 2010 was $105 million with no match.

2000 - 52 mile system (14 mile starter system) to be funded by sales tax and federal funds - 1.9 billion - failed.  It passed in Austin but narrowly failed in the larger Cap Metro service area, which IMHO led to the 2014 and 2020 election being City of Austin votes designed to pass, and thus the need for the Austin Transit Partnership as a bridge between the city and Cap Metro.

I may have missed a few  but those are the ones I could find.

Cue up that Bouldin Creek neighborhood longtime resident that “voted for all the bond issues to make Austin a better place to live”……. 
and she couldn’t understand why she was literally being taxed out of her house. 
smh

Let’s brag some more about highly educated the Austin populace is.

 

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

27 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Cue up that Bouldin Creek neighborhood longtime resident that “voted for all the bond issues to make Austin a better place to live”……. 
and she couldn’t understand why she was literally being taxed out of her house. 
smh

Let’s brag some more about highly educated the Austin populace is.

 

City of Austin is about 1/4 of her property tax burden and the *city* rate isn’t high vs other cities. 
Her problem is that Texas is a high tax state that punishes middle class people for making good long term real estate investments in growing cities to subsidized football stadiums and road construction in outer ring suburbs that vote for the party in power. 
And, as a retired teacher in an outer ring suburb you know this. 
But the fact remains that we could waive her city of Austin taxes and she would still be suffering, and for the same reasons. 
 

Edited September 15 by Bozo_Casanova

[HenryJames 66035]

18 hours ago, Texas Jeff said:

A little bond history, numbers are not inflation adjusted:

We need bonds, I am not against them, but it is generally true that Austin voters have supported bond elections during the last twenty years:

Austin ISD has a package every 4-5 years and almost all have passed and they are badly needed:

2022 - 2.44 billion - passed

2017 - 1.050 billion - passed

2013 - 489.7 million - passed, another 403 million failed.  I think there were 2 props passed, 2 failed.  All were close votes.

2008 - 343.7 million - passed

2004 - 519.5 million - passed

City of Austin likes a two year cycle and they mostly pass:

2022 bond - $350 million - passed

2020 bond - $460 million - passed

2020 Project Connect - 20% city tax increase dedicated to fund the Austin Transit Partnership, aka Project Connect, $300 million of which was to be spent on anti-displacement measures.  Total cost was projected to be 7.1 billion with the federal government paying half.

2018 bond - $925 million - passed

2016 bond - $720 million - passed

2014 bond - $600 million - failed - this was the rail project connecting Riverside, going up through the east side of downtown and campus, and going on to ACC Highland Mall.

The 2014 bond is almost the same route as Project Connect, but Project Connect originally had one line as a north/south line going up South Congress, through the downtown tunnel, and then up Lamar, and a separate line following the Riverside path and going to the Airport.

2013 bond - $65 million - passed

2012 bond - $306.6 million - passed

2010 bond - $90 million - passed

2006 bond - $567.4 million - passed

Travis County - other than the courthouse their bonds have passed - some of the years here are off by one because they are fiscal years:

2023 bond - $509 million - passed

2018 bond - $184 million - passed

2016 bond - $287 million - failed - this was to build a new downtown courthouse.  It just failed 49/51.  They built a new downtown courthouse anyway without voter approval, but it is closer to campus than the original location.

2012 bond - $214 million - passed

2006 bond - $124.3 - passed

2002 bond - $127.5 - passed

ACC 

2022 bond - $770 million - passed

2014 bond - $385 million - passed

Cap Metro

2004 - Red Line vote - passed - proposed 60 million with a 30 million federal match, cost as of 2010 was $105 million with no match.

2000 - 52 mile system (14 mile starter system) to be funded by sales tax and federal funds - 1.9 billion - failed.  It passed in Austin but narrowly failed in the larger Cap Metro service area, which IMHO led to the 2014 and 2020 election being City of Austin votes designed to pass, and thus the need for the Austin Transit Partnership as a bridge between the city and Cap Metro.

I may have missed a few  but those are the ones I could find.

[Armybrat 40822]

40 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

City of Austin is about 1/4 of her property tax burden and the *city* rate isn’t high vs other cities. 
Her problem is that Texas is a high tax state that punishes middle class people for making good long term real estate investments in growing cities to subsidized football stadiums and road construction in outer ring suburbs that vote for the party in power. 
And, as a retired teacher in an outer ring suburb you know this. 
But the fact remains that we could waive her city of Austin taxes and she would still be suffering, and for the same reasons. 
 

Her desire to make the city a “better place to live” has not helped the school district at all, what with the rising demand for housing which drives up the values and taxes…. Which includes the school tax liability (never mind the ill-conceived “Robin Hood Plan” that has backfired badly for the city’s taxpayers).

You should know this.

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

1 minute ago, Armybrat said:

Her desire to make the city a “better place to live” has not helped the school district at all, what with the rising demand for housing which drives up the values and taxes…. Which includes the school tax liability (never mind the ill-conceived “Robin Hood Plan” that has backfired badly for the city’s taxpayers).

You should know this.

Uh, I think we’re saying the same thing, but her taxes would not be meaningfully lower if she hadn’t voted for the bonds. 
 

But thank you for the cheap seats illustration of the mindset that prevents Austin from ever trying to do anything meaningful.

[Armybrat 40822]

Your city council’s idea of “meaningful”?

Some of it is laudable, a lot of it is laughable, and its execution is abysmal in too many cases.

Edited September 15 by Armybrat
From the cheap seats in Section 1 - row 69

[jimmyjazz 45882]

I remember the Shipman/Bradley/Barnstone years when Austin government was seriously anti-growth (except for pet projects that lined certain people's pockets).  Their perspective damaged Austin as much as anything did.

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

3 hours ago, Armybrat said:

Your city council’s idea of “meaningful”?

 Oh no, of course not.

[Orange&White 5522]

On 9/14/2024 at 2:11 PM, Bozo_Casanova said:

We can’t, for example:

- go back to the 90s and move 130 to where it was supposed to be.

130 is a toll road built by private enterprise and none of was in the city limits when it was constructed. It was also a portion of the Trans Texas Corridor project being pushed by Perry(?) and the State. I’m not sure “we” had a say in it, did we?

Edited September 16 by Orange&White

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

1 hour ago, Orange&White said:

130 is a toll road built by private enterprise and none of was in the city limits when it was constructed. It was also a portion of the Trans Texas Corridor project being pushed by Perry(?) and the State. I’m not sure “we” had a say in it, did we?

Oh, no. Now see this is a story of just how powerful the people who show up can be in Austin, and it had so many twists and turns that I don’t know where to begin, so I’m going to leave a lot of detail out but the essentials are are pretty straightforward and covered well here.

Upthread I posted a highway plan map from the mid 1980’s. Around that same time, the Texas Transportation Commission ordered what was then called the highway department to figure out an alternate route from San Antonio to Austin that would bypass I35.

Originally that was called highway 297, and then it was merged into the “MoKan” expressway route from the map I posted and where the planners landed was to build the section around Austin where 183 currently is. 

This was inconvenient for land speculators, who enlisted allies in the environmental movement and their allies on the Eastside to oppose it, and managed to pressure CAMPO and the city yo fight to move the route east, where land could be cheaply acquired, and along came TTC. 

BTW- would anyone like to guess the name of Austin‘s most successful eminent domain attorney?

Edited September 16 by Bozo_Casanova

[Orange&White 5522]

I did not take from that article that the decision to put 130 where it is was driven by land speculators. That actually seemed like the least discussed issue in the location.

It sounded to me that the other local governments that would be affected by the alignment, rightfully, chose what was best for their communities, and that there was far more emphasis and discussion based on how many existing residents would be displaced and surrounding existing residents would be affected by the route. Throw in a little bit of "Smart Growth" restrictions and a few environmental concerns and I think that is how the route was chosen.

A City of Austin planner was quoted in the article saying that the surrounding communities (Lockhart, RR, Georgetown) should be annexing the areas.

So it still sounds like it wasn't an Austin decision of where 130 got dropped.

[PvilleStang 2875]

On 9/13/2024 at 7:17 PM, Bozo_Casanova said:

well you evidently missed the 2000 transportation bond, the 2013 school bond, the 2014 transportation bonds, etc et al. 
And then there’s the shit they don’t even put in front of you because you’re all too goddamn cheap and would reject it, and then there’s the shit they don’t even bring you because of the mediocrities you elect to office and the mouth breathers and hangers on they appoint, and then there’s the shit you would never vote for because most of you act like this is a fucking backwater rather than a world-class city and I think it’s because you that’s what you want.

Dallas and Houston don’t have these problems because they’re too busy moaning how great it was in 1975. 
 

And that’s the irony. People who don’t know anything thinks we don’t plan, that’s not true. We build great plans. We just don’t execute them. You don’t want to meet the future, we want a Time Machine back to the day before you got here.

no offense though. 😉

 

Bullshit.  The average Austin voter approves anything put in front of them so long as Casar or Alter or some other moron endorses it first.  Project Connect ring a bell?  Our taxes are in a rapid ascent in the last decade, and no end in sight.

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

16 minutes ago, Orange&White said:

I did not take from that article that the decision to put 130 where it is was driven by land speculators. That actually seemed like the least discussed issue in the location.

It sounded to me that the other local governments that would be affected by the alignment, rightfully, chose what was best for their communities, and that there was far more emphasis and discussion based on how many existing residents would be displaced and surrounding existing residents would be affected by the route. Throw in a little bit of "Smart Growth" restrictions and a few environmental concerns and I think that is how the route was chosen.

You are absolutely right that’s what the article says, and I posted the article because it does a good job of summarizing the facts. 
But what I’m saying is that the discussion about community interest was very shaped by land speculation- in other words that the neighborhood and environmental activism was shaped by its leadership circle in a direction very friendly to land speculators who would be benefit from the route much further east, and the downside would be that 130 wasn’t viable as a bypass route.

Doesn’t it strike you as funny, for example, that many of Austin’s most traditionally powerful environmental leaders (like SOS) have become implicitly or sometimes even explicitly pro-sprawl? Doesn’t it seem strange that most or many of Austin’s neighborhood leaders are stridently against changes to the code that would repopulate their neighborhoods with children and thus stabilize their public school district?

This is what I think people don’t get- they think that the problem with Austin is graft, and it’s not. 130 isn’t useless as a bypass route because someone was on the take. 130 is useless because the people who wanted it routed further east in the early 2000s were part of the same ruling coalition as the traditional environmentalists and the most powerful neighborhood groups. 

 

11 minutes ago, PvilleStang said:

Bullshit.  The average Austin voter approves anything put in front of them so long as Casar or Alter or some other moron endorses it first.  Project Connect ring a bell?  Our taxes are in a rapid ascent in the last decade, and no end in sight.

Your property wealth is rising even faster, so congratulations.

[PvilleStang 2875]

3 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Your property wealth is rising even faster, so congratulations.

Tax RATE is increasing yearly, while the market is in a correction phase right now.  The fact that our appraisals have gone DOWN YoY and the net value of our properties have gone down somewhere around 30-40% from their peak (using Zillow estimates of our property values), all while our annual tax bill has only increased (our Austin property is not homesteaded, so no argument of catching up on that cap) shows you this is patently false.  Now take into account for Landlords, many are unable to cover the increased costs of taxes and rising insurance rates because of the increased amounts of rental inventory along with the stagnation of population growth.  Renters bitch when their monthly rent goes up 10%, but they don't realize the cost just went up 70% to the owners.

[Bozo_Casanova 26434]

2 minutes ago, PvilleStang said:

Tax RATE is increasing yearly, while the market is in a correction phase right now.  The fact that our appraisals have gone DOWN YoY and the net value of our properties have gone down somewhere around 30-40% from their peak (using Zillow estimates of our property values), all while our annual tax bill has only increased (our Austin property is not homesteaded, so no argument of catching up on that cap) shows you this is patently false.  Now take into account for Landlords, many are unable to cover the increased costs of taxes and rising insurance rates because of the increased amounts of rental inventory along with the stagnation of population growth.  Renters bitch when their monthly rent goes up 10%, but they don't realize the cost just went up 70% to the owners.

I get it, but the rate is not especially high compared to other cities and the fact remains that most of your tax burden is not city taxes. The school district is being strangled by recapture and student loss, and many of the other things are just the cost of waiting to long. 
I hope I’ve been clear- I am not trying to defend anything. I don’t think the long term outlook for Austin is great, without some real surprises to the upside.

[chainsaw 9857]

If the city doesn't invest in world class infrastructure now, it will pay world class prices later

[Brisketexan 105058]

10 minutes ago, PvilleStang said:

Tax RATE is increasing yearly, while the market is in a correction phase right now.  The fact that our appraisals have gone DOWN YoY and the net value of our properties have gone down somewhere around 30-40% from their peak (using Zillow estimates of our property values), all while our annual tax bill has only increased (our Austin property is not homesteaded, so no argument of catching up on that cap) shows you this is patently false.  Now take into account for Landlords, many are unable to cover the increased costs of taxes and rising insurance rates because of the increased amounts of rental inventory along with the stagnation of population growth.  Renters bitch when their monthly rent goes up 10%, but they don't realize the cost just went up 70% to the owners.

Tax rate has been pretty flat (and per new state law, pretty much has to stay that way).  As a percentage of your total property tax bill, city tax has ranged from 22-24% over the past 10+ years (data I looked at went back that far, ended in 2022).

Plenty to gripe about in Austin gov't and planning.  But our tax RATE is not inordinately high.  Dallas is at .7357 per $100 (city tax rate).  Austin is at... .4776 per $100.