A special work session of the Rowlett City Council on Wednesday drew a large crowd mostly made up of city employees. The crowd was too large to hold the session in the conference room so the council moved the meeting into the council chambers to accommodate the overflow. The session was called by Mayor John Harper to address concerns that the council members may have with the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

“When the city manager presented a proposed budget on Aug. 3, I told you my concerns, then I repeated those same concerns when I requested this extra meeting,” Harper said. “I now have had the chance to speak with most of you about the budget proposal and the reasons for my concerns. I hope that I convince you to join me in approving a budget that does not raise taxes, does not borrow money, does not use savings but does spend only what it earns and still maintains core city services for our residents.”

Harper began the meeting by indicating he would be separating the issues he had into three categories – recurring expenses, nonrecurring expenses and transfers.

“I am proposing a zero-growth budget for recurring spending,” Harper said. “My recommendation for the recurring portion of the budget is to accept the projected current recurring revenues for fiscal year 2011 — $71.3 million for all funds,” Harper said. “I want to adopt a no-growth budget for recurring spending keeping it the same as anticipated for fiscal year 2010 — $67.5 million.”

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Work session draws a crowd

Rowlett is, considering this time of financial instability, in a much better position than many cities. When you consider the size of Rowlett and the number of citizens, somewhere around 60K, it becomes obvious why MONEY Magazine ranked us in the Top 25 best places to live in America.

Our Mayor, Dr. John Harper, has angered a few of his City Council cohorts by taking a solid CONSERVATIVE stance regarding Fiscal Responsibility and the spending of our tax dollars here in Rowlett.

One of the Core Principles of the TEA Party is Fiscal Responsibility. I am a staunch believer in the Principles of the TEA Party. I am well known in the Rowlett area as a member of the TEA Party, but in this instance I speak for me, a private citizen, and not as a TEA Party member.

Michael Gallops, councilman, indicated he supported the budget as it was proposed.

“I am OK with the budget the way it was proposed,” Gallops said.

Mikey? I have to ask…how did you con so many people into voting for you? It obviously wasn’t your earth shattering ideas and masterful oratory skills.

Mr. Gallops, a past President and former member of The Rowlett TEA Party, ran as a Conservative on the GOP ticket. If Mr. Gallops is “OK with the budget the way it was proposed” I have to wonder if he (Gallops) knows the definition of conservative and actually remembers the Core Values he claimed to embrace.

I also have to wonder about the validity of the hushed rumors that are floating around Rowlett of Mr. Gallops being a lot more aligned with Democratic views than those of the GOP members and Conservatives in general. Yes, I said rumors. But those rumors are being proffered in a few private discussions lately.

Words are cheap, and when you speak in generalities, when you never take a specific stand on anything. Well…actions speak louder than words Mikey.

Councilwoman Donna Davis echoed Gallops thoughts regarding the budget.

“I felt comfortable considering the fact that this year (the city staff) has been very conservative about what was spent,” Davis said. “I felt like we had already taken a good step in the right direction.”

Donna, instead of toeing the line and spending OUR hard earned dollars, perhaps you need to look into this: Fiscal Conservatism. Look it up, read the definition, several times. Memorize it, live it, embrace it fully, and know this, We, The People are the ones you work for, and We, The People are not exactly pleased with the direction of our Council at this time!

Mayor Pro Tem Todd Gottel urged caution about cutting too much from the fund.

“There are needs that we do have,” Gottel said. “We are going to replace trucks and stuff.”

Todd Gottel has, if I am not mistaken, aspirations of becoming Rowlett’s next Mayor.

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