I ran across this the other day and felt VERY vindicated about all the times I pointed out how monumentally stupid our City council was back in 2019 or so when they were constantly giving out “free stuff” to developers:
The gist of the argument is that Marble Falls DOUBLED their impact fees this year and the developer is arguing that he should be grandfathered in at the old rate. I don’t really have an opinion on that part of the article. They can fight it out in court. I’d be pissed too if I stared building my development when the impact fee was $6,000 and they doubled it to $12,000 halfway through the project. But that is neither here nor there.
What IS IMPORTANT, is that Marble Falls (who morons like Ryan Ward are happy to point to when it comes to comparing our City salaries and begging for raises)WAS charging $6,000 PER HOUSE as an “impact fee” in the first place!
Back in 2019 or so, we had an extremely weak and low-IQ City council. We had Talbert, Monroe, Toups, Williamson. Basically a bunch of chicks who are completely clueless about how the real world works and have ZERO business sense and ZERO foresight.
So what happened when Deorald Finney wanted to build 67 houses over there at Stone Valley? He asked to have ALL FEES waived. Building permits, electrical hookups, you name it. A total giveaway. And Monroe and Williamson said YES!
Thankfully, they lost that vote 5-2but the City council DID vote to give Finney “FREE” electrical hookups for his 67 houses – which cost the City $72,000 in lost fees (roughly $1100 per house).
I Hope Deorald Finney Invites TJ Monroe and Chuck Williamson Over For The Mansion Warming Party!
I have spilled a LOT of ink on that shitty deal as well as the other shitty deal they did with the Brodie Estates development – to whom Talbert handed $185,000 in taxpayer money. That development STILL isn’t done, which is in total violation of the original agreement.
Will S2M2 (Brodie Estates) Have To Return the $185,000 They Scammed From Taxpayers?
Locals Ask a Very Good Question. The Answer Lies With Misti Talbert’s Handouts To Developers.
Thank Goodness City Council Handed The Developer of Stone Valley $72,000
I made the point REPEATEDLY that not only should these guys get ZERO tax dollars from the City, THEY should be paying the CITY a LOT more as an impact fee. More like $3,000 per house. So instead of pocketing $72,000, our buddy Finney should have PAID the City $207,000. If he says no and declines to build the houses, then fuck him. Too bad.
Everyone was ALL WORRIED that it would increase the cost of a house by $3,000 and thus crush demand. Well, guess what? After promising to sell the houses for “between $150,000 and $180,000” our buddy Finney found out the market was quite a bit higher and sold them for more like $200,000 to $250,000!
Did the City see any of that windfall profit? Was there a clawback provision so the City could at LEAST get the $72,000 it was owed? Fuck no! Because Talbert, Monroe and Williamson are complete and total morons!
That means Finney pocketed roughly THREE MILLION DOLLARS in windfall profits after he talked the morons on City council into waiving $72,000 in electrical hookups.
Instead of listening to someone much smarter than her (me), imbeciles like Misti Talbert sneered at me and called me a “keyboard warrior.”
Well, here we are five years laterand the City needs to spend upwards of $3 million to $4 million to upgrade our water and wastewater systems. Guess who pays for that? You do. There are roughly a couple thousand water customers in town who will be splitting that bill. One way or another, your household will be on the hook for about $2,000 for your share of this bullshit. Finney? He’s laughing at you from Hawaii with an extra 3 mil in the bank! Suckers!!!
Even FIVE years later, Talbert and Monroe’s shitty decisions are haunting the City of Lampasas.