The following letter ran as a paid advertisement in the Springtown Epigraph and the Weatherford Democrat prior to the March 2nd Primary. George Conley made some statements in the letter which are misleading at best. After his comments I respond to set the record straight.
Reading my Guest Editorial (which ran in the Weatherford Telegram on February 17, 2010) would make Conley’s letter and my comments more understandable. Here is a link to my Guest Editorial. http://commish3.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/guest-editorial-commissioner-john-roth/#comment-38
Conley’s Endorsement of Riley
CONLEY: As County Commissioner, I am asked by many which candidates in local elections are, in my opinion, going to represent their best interest if elected. For the following reasons, which are a mere few of many, I strongly recommend you keep a proven conservative leader as your County Judge and vote to re-elect Mark Riley.
ROTH: I’m not quite sure what George’s definition of a conservative is, but just saying it doesn’t make it so. Look at voting records and you decide.
CONLEY: Being a relatively new Commissioner, I’ve observed studied, and listened intently to the many issues discussed during each meeting of Commissioners Court. I take the time to investigate words written and/or spoken which are portrayed to you as being factual. I believe to be factual the information should also be complete.
ROTH: I challenge anyone to prove that the information I provide is not factual. If anything I have said is not correct, I will correct the information ASAP. One of the main reasons I created my blog was to provide more complete information on the court’s decisions.
CONLEY: I read and re-read the information written by Commissioner John Roth, Precinct 3, per the Guest Editorial printed in the February 17, 2010 issue of the Weatherford Telegram. I investigated and searched for facts that would support each statement made by Roth. I believe his statements are either non-factual or incomplete. The following is what I believe to be the facts and the reason I urge you to join me in keeping dedication, experience and conservative leadership by re-electing Mark Riley for County Judge.
ROTH: Twice, so far, Mr. Conley insinuates that I do not tell the truth. He says my statements are non-factual or incomplete. Which is it? He needs to be consistent with his argument and provide complete and factual information. Be specific!
CONLEY: The following is what I’ve concluded to be the facts about our existing county government under the guidance of County Judge Mark Riley:
Fact 1: The average general fund reserve is 60-90 days not simply 9 days.
ROTH: There is no such thing as an average “fund balance”. On the General Fund’s Balance Sheet under Equity, line 2-271-000-010 shows the Fund Balance to be $1,614,749.63. Fund Balance does not float around…it is exact, to the penny. He may be confused with cash flow in our bank account balance…that has nothing to do with the Fund Balance of the General Fund.
Let’s do the math to figure out how many days of fund balance we have in reserve…
If you take the fund balance on the balance sheet and subtract the amount of fund balance used to balance this year’s (2009-2010) budget, then the amount remaining is the fund balance reserve that is available in case of unforeseen expenses or an emergency situation. The amount of fund balance used in the 2009-2010 budget can be found on the county’s website home page…just click on Adopted Budget and go to page 82 where you will find line 3-399-000-001 Unexpended Fund Balance $742,697. On the same page, just under that line is the Total Revenue Line with an amount of $35,961,003. The Total Revenue equals the Total Expenditures which can be found on page 78. Hang in…we are almost there.
Fund Balance – Committed Fund Balance = Available Fund Balance
$1,614,749.63 – $742,697 = $872,052.63
Total Budget divided by the number of days in the year = Daily Needs
$35,961,003 / 365 = $98,523.30
Available Fund Balance divided by our Daily Needs = Days in Reserve
$872,052.63 / $98,523.30 = 8.85 Days in General Fund Reserve
Please let me set the record straight. To say we had 9 days in reserve was indeed not factual. I did not intend to mislead anyone. The fact is: Parker County has 8.85 Days available in General Fund “Fund Balance” Reserves.
CONLEY: The bond rating of any county must be considered in the formula. Under the leadership of Judge Riley, Parker County has been upgraded to a bond rating of AA. This can be compared to the “credit scores” you and I look to. The AA rating means lower interest on any borrowed money.
ROTH: Actually, it’s AA-, but he wasn’t too far off. Good bond ratings depend on having adequate General Fund Reserves.
CONLEY: County Judge Mark Riley did not support raising taxes to add to the reserve funds as his experience told him the reserve funds will grow as fees and sales taxes rebound, which is happening now. I learned the county has collected 58% of the budgeted (expected) revenue in only 4.5 months. Judge Riley has lead Parker County to being 30+ days ahead of schedule in the collection of revenues. Reserve funds grown this way.
ROTH: If it were only that simple. Reserve funds grow at the END of the budget year if revenues exceed expenses. The best way to accomplish this is to cut expenses…not raise taxes!
It is absurd to say that the County Judge led us to being 30+ days ahead of schedule in revenue collections. Ad valorem tax revenue makes up 62.1% of the county’s projected revenue and at this point in our budget year 90% of those taxes have been received. That’s not because someone did a good job collecting revenue…it’s because people pay their taxes starting in December.
CONLEY: County Judge Mark Riley once told me decisions made in Commissioners Court are often difficult and sometimes unpopular. Endless hours were dedicated to the budget process as Judge Riley shared his knowledge and expertise. Pay raises were not given to Parker County employees, elected officials, employee contribution for health insurance was increased and new jobs were not allowed. Funds were needed to cover increases in the cost of fuel, utilities, and insurance. Instead of raising taxes, difficult decisions were made.
ROTH: Judge Riley is right that decisions made in Commissioners Court are often difficult and unpopular. This was my fourth budget season and we spent less time on this budget than any of the others. The Judges General Fund budget for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year is $2,452,149 higher than the total actual 2008-2009 General Fund expenses.
CONLEY: A $450,000 expenditure for a radio system was approved by majority vote to come from reserve funds. Taxes were not raised, but all citizens can be assured emergency services in Parker County will be there for them. Decisions may have been difficult, but were made to avoid raising taxes. This was done under the conservative leadership of County Judge Mark Riley.
ROTH: The expenditure for the radio system is being paid out of a $3 million tax note and was not paid for with General Fund “Fund Balance” reserves. A tax note is a loan (in this case for capital purchases) secured by future tax dollars. The $450,000 he refers to is an installment payment and not the total purchase. The actual payment is $470,877.67 and was paid last year on January 26, 2009 and this year on January 25, 2010.
CONLEY: Commissioner Roth indicated you might not hear much about local county government. He failed to tell you may go to www.co.parker.tx.us where you will find all financial information, including the budget, as well as other facts. Only 3 of the 254 Texas counties received the Texas State Comptroller’s Gold Star Award for Transparency in Local Government. I’m proud Parker County is 1 of the 3. Because County Judge Mark Riley wants you to have facts as to how our tax dollars are spent he led the way to make this happen.
ROTH: The transparency on the website is great but it is not enough. The way the information is displayed is way too confusing and needs to be better organized. Archived Commissioners Court minutes should be on the website as well so that the public can see if we do what we say we are going to do.
CONLEY: Commissioner Roth claims long term planning is not in place. Having been a commissioner for over 6 years it seems to me he should have noticed it is in place. I guess he didn’t know the $915,000 (market value) purchase of real estate is part of long term planning. Interest has already been expressed by the State for its use in the future. He should have noticed we are under budget and ahead of construction schedule for the outer loop highway. He should know neither commissioners nor the County Judge have authority over roadways belonging to the State or a City. As a Court we can and do support their efforts.
ROTH: There is no long range transportation plan. The bond projects are great, but it is not part of a comprehensive 5, 10 and 20 year plan. The real estate purchased was bought for appraised value…I wonder what it is worth in today’s market? No purpose for the property was given when we purchased it and no purpose has been given in court since. If the State is interested in the property then that needs to be discussed in open court and not in private meetings.
CONLEY: John Roth, Commissioner of Precinct 3 voted against the current budget – the budget that did not raise our taxes. By his vote he did not support allocated funds to ESD #6 which provides fire protection in Precinct 3. He did not support the budget for law enforcement, for the people’s court in Precinct 3, or funding for his own budget. At any time he was able to place any item on the Commissioners Court agenda. I believe he should have at least placed issues to support his constituents in Precinct 3. To do so would have exposed the fact that Precinct 3, under his ‘conservative’ direction is in debt more than all other precincts combined.
ROTH: Those statements are so ludicrous that they don’t deserve a reply.
I know that as a Commissioner I am elected to protect and serve Precinct 1 first and then all of Parker County. I am confident that asking you to re-elect Mark Riley as your County Judge all of Parker County will be better served by a true conservative with the experience, knowledge, and the fiscal responsibility we need and expect from a County leader.
Respectfully submitted,
George Conley
Parker County Commissioner, Precinct 1
P. O. Box 660 Springtown, Texas 67082
