The Times reports that the city chief financial officer is suggesting that the city close public swimming pools, libraries, and recreation centers next year to help balance the budget.
Enough!
Evidently he feels that we cannot afford to operate these facilities. Yet the city continues to spend money developing new properties like splash parks, cultural centers, arenas and other such things.
Build then close
Will they close these new facilities too right after we build them.
If we don’t have enough money to operate what we have then we certainly should not be building more.
Personally, I don’t believe that he is serious. Instead I think that he is just a front man trying to justify a coming property tax increase.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Yes, if things are that bad we need to stop building more and put up a cessation of further Q of L issues ballot item to the voters. They also need to listen to Lost Dog preservationists on state law regarding the PSB, EPWU reimbursement for that property as the compensation is a fraction of the $11 million they were telling voters they would need to pay.
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Shut down the trolleys.
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ditto
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I say that we should vote all of the rest of us into office and get rid of the politicians. Then maybe good common sense can prevail.
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Good grief…again!
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Given that this proves the Paso Del Norte Q of L education campaign was a pack of lies, it is time for EP voters to have a choice on whether they want to continue this fiscal foolishness or just stop spending on projects we can’t fund operating expenses on. Virtually everything is over budget, besides the operating expense relief, it would also eliminate the need for COs for the overbudgeted, not yet built stuff. The taxpayers didn’t vote for COs or higher taxes.
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The QOL bond was a basket of shiny objects used partly to divert attention from the ballpark giveaway. Taxpayers did vote for higher taxes because nothing in the QOL bond was free.
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They promised us the QoL projects wouldn’t raise our taxes very much.
http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/local_news/city-cfo-how-we-ll-pay-off-big-bond-debt/article_d9e0e61c-0b21-11e2-834c-0019bb30f31a.html
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the article is behind a paywall
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El Paso Inc., Sept 30, 2012: “As El Paso taxpayers look ahead to the Nov. 6 quality of life bond election, some are asking how the city can pay for all those projects and everything else without imposing huge tax increases.
The city’s chief financial officer, Carmen Arrieta-Candelaria, confidently says it can.”
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Or there’s this article from your second favorite website; http://elchuqueno.com/you-messed-up-you-trusted-us/
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That’s true. They basically told taxpayers that doing the bond issue would allow them to keep taxes low. Anyone who pointed out that was a lie was labeled a crazy.
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If taxpayers did not have the common sense to know that the $228 million QOL bonds and a $50 million ballpark would raise taxes more than “not very much,” then voters and non-voters have no one to blame but themselves. Did voters really believe and trust city council? The massive ad campaign funded by special interests to sell QOL and ballpark to the public was a giant red flag. Then there are all the people who didn’t care enough to vote at all.
The woman in the photo of the story you linked is the same person on whose watch the ballpark and QOL projects were under-budgeted. She was later rewarded with another highly paid government position at EPISD and helped sell taxpayers the $668 million EPISD bond.
Those three bonds alone add up to $1,000,000,000, plus interest. You have to add that to previously existing debt.
A billion dollars is about $2,000 for every El Paso resident age 18+. That does not include interest and the additional money you have to pay because things are costing more than you were told. That $2,000 does not include increased operating costs.
Have you received $2,000 worth of additional services since 2012?
Do you think you’ll ever get $2,000 in value from those expenditures?
The problem is not just with city council and city management. It is the small group of business people who control council and management. The problem of special interests never changes even as council reps and city managers come and go.
The reality is that taxpayers are allowing this to happen.
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QOL bonds were more like $428 million and although the ballpark was represented at $50 million with relocations it cost about $200 million.
Those approved values do not include the fact that City Council has changed the purpose and scope of the majority of those projects and at least tripled the cost.
Seriously how did we go from spray parks to 5 acre water parks?
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The corporations that influences and control the city council and the rest of the city employees use the homeowner as a unending source of cash. Totally immoral. It isn’t even a creative plan. I don’t understand why this behavior is not illegal. Only 3% of voters is not enough. The city leaders should be trying to discover why the people aren’t voting instead of taking advantage.The great places in the world have creative, dynamic, energetic people, that attracts others and creates industry and new ideas. This money agenda is a killer for creativity. Also these expensive projects that were going to bring in revenue failed. The definition of insanity, right?
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Expect the largest possible tax increase without requiring public vote.
SB2 – preemptive attack
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