Christmas With The Democrats

The Democratic Party of Collin County held their annual Christmas Party at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Plano this year, and it was a blast! Everyone was there, from Dan Dodd, the party chairman, to Tom Daley, candidate for U.S. Congress District 4.

It was a great chance to sit and speak with several of the party members and celebrate Christmas with close friends. Politics took a back seat to remembering the reason for the season, as they say. Merry Christmas to all!

A loss for Collin County - and its employees

After almost twenty years of receiving annual bonuses based on longevity of service within the county, our county employees will now have their own bonuses reduced, and any new hires to the county will not receive them at all. Commissioner Hoagland, who had his longevity pay severed last year after it became a political issue, has finally succeeded in decreasing this benefit to the employees of the county.

But what did they lose? More than anything else, a motivational tool for hiring and retention of county employees. Longevity pay was touted as unneccesary because Collin County is 'agressive' in their salary system. But being agressive as a government entity is near impossible unless you take into account annual bonuses and benefits that private sector employees receive. And longevity pay USED to do that for the county.
It was a retention tool and a morale builder because it not only gave employees a reward for sticking around, it gave them something to look forward to in the far future. Now in five short years, we'll have two classes of employees - those who get big checks at the end of each year, and those who wonder what the heck they're still doing working for the government.

Winners and Losers in the 2007 Bond Package

In today's bond election, voters agreed to disagree with Keith Self about expansion and maintenance for Collin County's roads. We gained a leg up on the inner-city congestion and poor infrastructure of roads in nearly every city of the county. Even parks throughout the county received a boost, although by the time $17 million gets spread out over every city in the county, no single park project will be totally funded.
There was one big loser, though. Keith Self led a one-man crusade to stop progress in the county, and he kept citizens from understanding what the real problems were until it was almost too late. Fortunately, labelling vital infrastructure needs as "pork" didn't quite resonate with voters, and it looks like Collin County will move into the next phase of its development after all.

Another area of progress is the School Board bond packages for Prosper and Lovejoy ISDs, and the tax increase for Blue Ridge ISD. These school districts need funding to increase their capacity for our ever-growing county, and we're fortunate that the voters recognize how fast their cities are growing.
As we continue on, with our oasis of home price increases and new home building, Collin County is going to need forward-thinking citizens more and more.

If Keith Self doesn't trust himself, should we?

The argument about whether or not to vote for our November County Bond comes down to one of trust. Both sides say that they’re certain money can’t be raised by any other means than by a bond package – the Commissioners say the cities need money, the Judge says the main thoroughfares need it. But both can’t be right, can they?

Well they’re both correct about who NEEDS the money, because the cities desperately need more infrastructure at the local level to handle the increase in population – McKinney, Allen, and Frisco have all grown at phenomenal rates over the last five years, and Prosper, Melissa, and Celina are expected to grow at equally high rates over the next five years.

Yet at the same time, we have a definite need for money to build up Hwy 75 north of Allen, as anyone who lives north of 121 can easily attest. The wait in traffic to arrive in Dallas at 8am from the town of Prosper already requires you to leave home at 6:30 in the morning on a good day! Let’s just imagine what five years of continued growth would do to that commute.

So it’s a question of who should the County help FIRST and who has to wait. If the cities wait, we in McKinney will have to foot a higher tax bill over the next five years to pay for an increase in municipal infrastructure. The local mayors seem ready for the challenge either way, although who wouldn’t be happy with getting half the bill when the tab is twenty million dollars?

If the highway upgrades have to wait, who’s going to foot the bill for them? The Texas Department of Transportation just spent $3 Million on a campaign to inform people that they’re out of money. Write your own joke there, but we know for certain that TxDoT is out of the picture. Can the North Texas Toll Authority pay for it? The NTTA is giving the North Texas Council of Governments $2.6 Billion to pay for expansions in the area. But counties from Waco to the Red River have submitted over $8 Billion in requests for their local projects. What’s the chance of Collin County to have Hwy 75 and surrounding projects actually receive the needed funds? Very slim, indeed.

Greetings and Salutations!

Greetings and Salutations, my friends and fellows!

The time of change is drawing upon us, and I have decided to make my mark in the very fabric of Collin County's government. I have announced my candidacy for the Commissioner of Collin County, in Precinct 3, and will be campaigning from here to November of 2008!
Our first major event will be gathering signatures at the Plano Balloon Festival this weekend, so if you have a chance, please stop by and say hello. The width and breadth of my family and friends are gathered to support this campaign; it is not mine alone, it is our campaign for Collin County Commissioner!
I have a blog and website debuting Friday at www.victor4collincounty.com and will even have video of my introduction speech by this weekend. Stop by and see what's changing in our universe. Cheer us on, donate to the cause, or just say 'hi' as we campaign all the way to 2008!

Thank you all for your support,

Victor Manuel,
Candidate for Collin County Commissioner, Precinct 3

www.victor4collincounty.com
<http://www.victor4collincounty.com/>

Maybe I just like Underdogs...

After a thorough review of Keith Self's presentation, Joe Jayne's blog, and the Collin County Engineering Web Site, I've decided that Keith is on the ball here. The projects that are suggested with this $235 Million bond are concentrated on cities that can handle the load of municipal construction already. Even McKinney has more than enough tax base to run its own share of the construction projects until after the County has taken care of the main highways.

We need to be pro-active in getting Highway 75 and SH 380 up and running. Everyone from local citizens to area trucking companies already complain that this entire section of highways is a mess. With Collin County slated to expand to nearly double its size in the next 10-15 years, we cannot begin soon enough to complete the expansion of our major transportation arteries. If you live in the area and don't see the traffic on our highways, you're riding a bike to work. At night.

My only regret in all of this is that he couldn't keep the Commissioners wrangled into their May agreement with the State to do the Pass-Through financing in the first place! Keith and the Commissioners had a deal several months ago to use bond money to fix the highways and get paid back from the state. Even with a 4-year turnaround of the $180 million that Texas promised us, we'd be ahead of the 8-year time limit that this bond package proposes!

If we agree to this bond, we agree to no construction on 75 and 380 for many years to come – TxDoT will be busy with constructing Hwy 121, and we’ll be left holding the bag on Central. If the cities are that concerned about traffic in and around their civic centers, I have one word for them, and it's a dirty word around these parts... Dart!

In the end, we need more long-term vision and a committment to the issues that matter in Collin County. When four Republican Commissioners and their Republican County Judge can't agree, the tree just needs a bit more shaking.

Ever Onward,

Victor.

Bond... _County_ Bond

The Commissioners and County Judge are at odds over a $329 million bond package that goes up for a vote in November. The County Judge says it's too much, and that we should fix the highways. The Commissioners say it's just right and that we have to fix the infrastructure of the cities first.



I'm going to have to dive deeper into this to make sense of it... both sides make it sound so simple that you just can't take it at face value. The County would contribute $235 million to support road projects countywide, and have almost $200 million of that matched by city funds. A group of $420 million in road projects without a tax increase is more than any one entitiy could do by itself.



But Keith Self is reminding them of the promises made in April of this year for the County to step up and finance the expansion and construction on Hwy 75, SH 380, and SH289 (Preston). The cost to the County for the project depends on who you ask, but it's estimated to be at least $160 million in funds. The only problem with Keith's position is that now he's at the point of asking voters to say "no" to an existing bond package, with nothing for them to say "yes" for.



I'm going to attend not only Keith's meetings on the issue, but also the presentations of Joe Jaynes and Phillys Cole to find out more about the issue. I suggest you do the same!

... and we're live!

Today is the release of our web site for the race. You can check out the updates for the campaign at http://www.victorforcollincounty.com/ from now on. I refer to this as "our campaign" and "our race" because this project belongs not only to me as the candidate, but to my family, friends, and the team of incredible people who are helping to put this all together.

Thanks to Suzi, Patrick, Anthony, Edward, Winter, Joel, John, Steve, Richard, Julie, Doloris, Sonya, Allison, and everyone else who's going to be joining on. Together we are going to make a change for the better in Collin County, Texas!

Groundbreaking... in more ways than one

Tuesday I enjoyed the groundbreaking ceremony for the new additions at Collin County Community College in McKinney. Central Park campus was the first built, and the most recent to be expanded. This is a needed addition for the students in the northern half of the county, and the college is definitely getting their money's worth.

It was interesting to watch the Commissioner's Court discuss the budget as well on Tuesday. They requested comments on the budget for 2008, and heard quite a few. A State Trooper argued the need to keep a clerk within their department instead of moving the position to one of the County Courts. It was denied, and we'll have to see exactly what impact that's going to have on the ability of our local enforcers to keep on the streets. The sergeant wasn't very happy about the prospects, though.