October 2008

News

10/21/2008

Congressman Says Businesses Need Incentives to Stimulate Flagging Economy

U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX) said tough economic times lie ahead for the U.S, but there are solutions that could lead to a recovery.

“We are going through hard times now, but I believe we are being challenged as generations past were challenged,” McCaul said to Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce members at the Chamber’s October general membership luncheon. “I am confident we will pass the test and be the better for it.”

McCaul is currently serving his second term representing Texas' 10th District in the United States Congress. The 10th Congressional District of Texas stretches across eight counties from Austin to the Houston suburbs, including Cy-Fair Chamber territory.

McCaul said he did not vote in favor of the $700 billion bailout package recently passed by Congress because he had “moral issues with it.”

“If felt it took money from families and gave to the top investment firms to bail them out,” McCaul said.

He said he was also disappointed that key reforms originally proposed in the bill were removed, and he could not support a bailout package without those.

When talking about stimulating the U.S. economy, McCaul said, it is important to look at what has worked throughout history and what has not.

For example, in the early 1900s raising taxes to stimulate the economy did not work and the country was plunged into the Great Depression. When, during the administrations of deceased former presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, the U.S. government wanted to stimulate the economy the capital gains tax was reduced. That worked, McCaul said.

Congress has another $300 billion bailout package waiting for action when members return to session, and McCaul said he hopes that a reduced capital gains tax is part of that equation. They also need to work on reducing the business tax, which is the second-highest in the world.

“We need to create conditions that get the economy moving,” McCaul said. “We are not setting out a welcome mat for businesses when we have the second-highest business tax.”

“The worst thing we can do right now is increase the tax burden in the U.S.,” he said.

He said it is also important for the U.S. to reduce its independence on foreign energy supplies.

“Energy is an important ingredient in our economy and I favor the ‘all of the above’ energy approach,” McCaul said. “That includes alternative energy sources, nuclear power, and tapping into reserves we have not yet tapped. We need to make more energy in our own country so we are not dependent on oil from countries who, frankly, do not like us.”

He said energy independence is a matter of economic security and of national security.

McCaul said he would continue to support and fight hard for businesses. He is proud to have been presented the “Spirit of Enterprise Award” from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for his support of pro-growth legislation during the second session of the 110 th Congress.

The U.S. Chamber’s Sprit of Enterprise Award is given annually to members of Congress based on rankings it gives for key business votes outlined in its yearly publication How They Voted . McCaul holds a cumulative 93% ranking during his tenure in Congress.

“Everything I do is based on how it can protect U.S. citizens and create jobs,” he said.

10/07/2008

Precinct 3 Moves Forward with Highway 290-Area Road Projects

As of early October, about 96 percent of the Harris County Precinct 3 traffic signals that were out of operation due to Hurricane Ike are up and running, said Paul Hawkins, assistant manager of engineering for Precinct 3 Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack's office. Employees worked hard to resume operations so that life could return to normal for Cy-Fair area residents.

Hawkins said Precinct 3 is also working hard to get projects underway that will improve day-to-day mobility in the area.

Looking back at the comments he made at a meeting with the members of Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce’s Mobility Committee last year, Hawkins said Precinct 3 was in need of funding to move forward with capital improvement projects. At that time, it did not look like many projects would be able to move forward unless money came through.

A year later, the list of Precinct 3 road, bridge and drainage projects under design is looking healthy.

“I don’t know how he did it, but Commissioner Radack found the money to do more projects,” Hawkins told Chamber members Oct. 2. “He wants our two-lane roads converted into 4-lane divided roadways because they are safer, look better and move more traffic.”

“Every two-lane corridor in the (Highway) 290 area is under design,” Hawkins said.

Harris County voters also approved a series of bond proposals Nov. 6, 2007, including $190 million for road projects and $95 million for park bonds. The road and park bond funds will be split, according to a formula, between Harris County’s four precincts. However, it will take some time before those funds are made available to the commissioners.

Hawkins said Precinct 3 has completed 80 projects in the past 10 years, totaling $176.1 million.

As of Oct. 7, he said, 13 projects worth $50 million are under construction, and 11 of those projects are in the Cy-Fair area.

Those include Cypress North Houston from N. Eldridge Parkway to Oak Plaza/Marcia, Cypress Rose Hill Road from Highway 290 to Cypress Needle Drive, Huffmeister Road from Ravensway to Telge, Mueschke Road from Highway 290 to 0.8 miles north of Highway 290, and Spring Cypress Road from Huffmeister to Highway 290 and from hempstead Highway to Highway 290.

Another 53 projects – totaling $148 million – are in various stages of the design process.

There is also a new Precinct 3 community center project in the design phase. That center will be constructed on Queenston Boulevard near West Road in the Copperfield area.

Hawkins said Precinct 3’s focus has shifted from road projects surrounding and intersecting with Interstate 10 to those in the Highway 290 area. Precinct 3 focused in the past on west Houston because of the Katy Freeway reconstruction project, which is due to wrap up this year.

Though it is unclear when construction will start on the Highway 290/Hempstead Highway reconstruction project, Precinct 3 officials see the need to get those lateral projects underway so there are alternative routes for Cy-Fair commuters to use during the construction phase.

“There are over 1 million residents in Precinct 3 and half live in unincorporated areas, and more than half of Precinct 3 is undeveloped,” Hawkins said. “We also have three of the fastest-growing school districts in Precinct 3.”

All of that creates an urgent need, as well as challenges, in keeping up with mobility projects, he said.

10/07/2008

State Senator Patrick Predicts a Tough 2009 Legislative Session

The Hurricane Ike recovery effort, the country’s financial crisis, and a downturn in various economic sectors – real estate and vehicle sales among them - will have a heavy impact on the Texas Legislature’s 2009 session, said State Sen. Dan Patrick.

“These are very serious times,” Patrick told members of the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce’s Governmental Affairs Committee Oct. 2. “Our country has allowed itself to get in this position because we have unlimited spending with little discipline.”

“We have to be careful that this does not happen in Texas ,” he said. “We are required to have a balanced budget (in Texas ) so we will either have to raise taxes or cut spending.”

Cy-Fair Chamber Board Chairman Reginald Lillie said while those local and national issues were weighing on members’ minds, top issues for the Chamber going into the 2009 legislative session include mobility and education.

“Mobility and education both distinctly impact the growth of our community,” Lillie said. “We would like for residents to be educated and employed in the Cy-Fair area, but if mobility is not improved, it could impact growth in our community.”

“If we don’t address these issues, Cy-Fair may become less attractive for businesses looking to relocate and move into our area,” he said.

Lillie said Chamber leaders anticipated working closely and well with Patrick on issues affecting Cy-Fair during the 2009 session.

Patrick said he recognizes and agrees that Cypress - Fairbanks Independent School District , and Lone Star College–CyFair are facing serious funding issues; and that the Cy-Fair area is choking in traffic.

“Everyone has a legitimate need for more funding, but the question is, Where do we get the money?” Patrick said. “To add funding in one area, we have to cut funding in another area.”

Patrick said the state’s $164 billion budget is largely dedicated to funding Health & Human Services (36 cents out of every $1.00) and education (50 cents out of every dollar), so tough choices have to be made when considering where to cut spending.

He said there is a projected $10-14 billion “surplus,” depending on who you talk to at the state, and about $8 billion would probably be dedicated to school property tax relief. Another $8 billion will probably be needed to fund the balance of Hurricane Ike recovery costs not covered by the federal government.

“We need to get away from property taxes,” Patrick said. “That is the worst possible way to fund government. We need to fight for commercial property tax caps so that businesses have some stability and are able to plan for the future.”

Patrick said he believes the state needs to move to a sales tax funding method. Every one-cent in sales tax in the state of Texas generates about $3 billion in revenue.

In order to eliminate school property taxes, the state would need to add 6 cents to the sales tax ($18 billion). While that probably would not go over well, Patrick said the state could raise the sales tax by 2 cents, and the average homeowner would save about $2,000 a year in property taxes.

“We also need significant major reform in our spending,” Patrick said.

He said he realized Cy-Fair ISD was facing a difficult financial challenge this year, and was appealing to the state for help. He said he would continue conversations with school officials.

Cy-Fair ISD School officials say the district is facing a financial crisis because Texas ’ state funding system includes a “hold harmless” clause, which states that no school district would be negatively impacted by the new system. However, they say, that “hold harmless” includes no inflation factor, nor any benefit from property value growth.

Cy-Fair ISD’s “target revenue” - the cumulative amount of state and local funds that the district will collect for every Weighted Average Daily Attendance student (WADA) – was set in the 2005-06 budget and will never increase without legislative intervention. The district receives approximately $300 less per WADA than Spring ISD and approximately $500 less than Houston ISD.

They say Cy-Fair ISD's five-year financial projection, based on business as usual, indicates that the district would become insolvent within two years.

Patrick said he realized Cy-Fair’s mobility problems were growing, and added to that the Texas Department of Transportation is facing its own financial crisis.

He said toll roads may be an inevitable part of the solution.

“The good news is, there is no reason we can’t conquer these issues if we work together,” Patrick said.

Working toward that goal, he asked for a letter of support from the Cy-Fair Houston Chamber board in his quest to obtain a position on the influential Senate Finance Committee. That committee helps to determine what areas will receive extra funding and what areas will see cutbacks.

Patrick said west/northwest Harris County needs a voice on that committee.

Archived News

09/08/2008 "Discover Cy-Fair" Golf Tourney Oct. 29

09/08/2008 Troyer Leaves Impressive Legacy as she Embarks on New Career Venture

09/08/2008 Mobility Forum Sets Stage for Transit-Oriented Movement

08/07/2008 Toll Road Projects could ease Congestion on Highway 290. The Questions is: WHEN?

08/07/2008 Democratict Congressional Candidate Vows to Better Represent Chamber, Residents if Elected to District 7 Seat

07/02/2008 Bury+Partners, Inc. Underwrites the First Annual Chamber Mobility Forum

07/02/2008 Houston Distributing Company Monte Carlo Night is set for Friday, July 25!

07/02/2008 Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce Eighth Annual Business Expo has changed to a new location

06/29/2008 Bury+Partners, Inc. Underwrites the First Annual Chamber Mobility Forum

06/22/2008 Towne Lake Independence Celebration is set for July 5th